May you live in interesting times……. We are very pleased to introduce our new art director Jon W. Hite. You might have noticed the new and greatly improved Instagram feed. More changes are coming with his help. We hope to have our new warehouse open on Bryant in a few…

Does it matter if something is real? Recently and actually fairly slowly this thought about whether or not something is real and does it matter has been developing. Classic good taste has largely passed away for almost all of us. To some degree it is a question of exposure and…

A new Generation of Collectors Takes Charge A fascinating thing happened when COVID19 freed up time for people to explore what is available. Collectors are no longer tethered to local markets and dealers. With a click they can be shopping anywhere in the world what is available for them. Last…

Good old fashioned Magic Through a series of fortunate circumstances a very large crystal ball came into our lives. A short while latter it was on its way to London. Via shipper. My colleague decided not to proceed when he learned about the shipping costs. I was happy to return…

How to tell roughly when a piece was made. At the moment there is an a huge rotation in the antiques market. In case you have not heard some of the best buyers are about 30 or younger. They sense an opportunity and are most likely bored with slick catalog…

Like it or not we are all subject to what I like to call big Mother. Far from the meritocracy we where pitched it has become an electronic gangster collecting money from sellers and buyers alike. One of these behemoths has decided to literally cut out the vender. They ruined…

Can you make a sows ear into a silk purse? One of my favorite colleagues, a rare and talented survivor of the incredible finicky antiques trade regularly makes jokes about the idiocy that crosses the sales rooms. He likes to joke about making a silk purse and the other one…

Evaluating art in general or for purchase. I spent a fair amount of time fiddling with some Chinese and Japanese paintings that needed sorting. Fortunately I have some good help available in London. They represent aesthetics I appreciate but honestly the fine details escape me. The language barrier does not…

Some quick words about antique restoration. Sooner or later you probably will have a piece you own or are thinking of buying that needs some professional attention / repair. A classic example is chairs. Every 50 to 70 years they need to be re-glued. Natural hide glues last about that…