Bonhams Skinner

A rare Holtzapffel & Company rose engine lathe turned a few heads at Skinner’s recent Science, Technology and Clocks sale to take $190,000 (£124,185) as the top lot of the day.

Weathervanes have always been at the pinnacle of aspirations for collectors of American folk art.

LEADING US regional saleroom Skinner are to launch an online-only auction platform.

THIS Holtzapffel & Deyerlein ornamental turning lathe made in London c.1827 came up for sale at Skinner in Marlborough, Massachusetts in a Science, Technology and Clocks sale.

ESTIMATED at $20,000-30,000, this Vezzi porcelain octagonal teapot and cover attracted great interest among European buyers at the latest sale held by Skinner in Boston.

THE so-called Frog Service made by Wedgwood for Catherine the Great was one of the most prestigious creations by the Staffordshire entrepreneur and one that helped forge his international reputation.

THE deadly sin of avarice was the theme of this large 16th century Flemish tapestry, but the warning failed to temper the desire of bidders when it came up at Skinner's most recent sale of European furniture and decorative arts in Boston in the USA on April 11.

AN impressive example of Renaissance revivalism seen at Boston-based auction house Skinner on March 17 combined blue chip-names in both provenance and maker.

A former long-term employee of New England auctioneers Skinner has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly stealing over $724,000 worth of cash and auctioned property.

FOUND hanging in a Boston bathroom, the whereabouts of this Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) illustration had been a mystery for more than 80 years. Entitled The Climax, and hanging in the lavatory alongside another Beardsley pen-and-ink drawing called A Platonic Lament, the owners had no idea of its significance.

East Coast auctioneer Skinner are to move their suburban headquarters from Bolton to Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Following Christie’s decision to hold liquor sales in New York, Boston auctioneer Skinner is to launch a wine department.

HIGH spot of the Asian works of art section of Skinners’ July 17 sale in Boston was an $85,000 (£49,945) bid on a pair of 16th/17th century, cane-seated hardwood ‘Official’s Hat’ chairs from the collection of Professor James Hightower. In a post-sale announcement, Skinners Asian specialist described them as “quintessential examples... and undoubtedly the finest pair of hat chairs to have come on the market in decades”.

THE biggest surprise in the July 17 sale held by Skinners of Boston was provided by a pair of Chinese chairs, but the pair of 3 7/8in (10cm) high, Wedgwood & Bentley blue jasper portrait medallions of c.1779 right, depicting William Penn & Benjamin Franklin, also did well.

TWO of the more successful lots from a May 14 sale of American and European pictures held in Boston by Skinners are seen here.

Walking may be an unfashionably slow mode of transport in today’s time-pressured world, but lengthy periods spent on foot in past centuries were made more pleasurable by a vast array of walking aids. This material is now seriously collected and a cluster of cane collections have appeared on the market of late.

Setting new standards of perfection in a condition-conscious toy marketplace at Skinner’s of Boston Massachusetts on July 20 was an unopened 1962 Mattel shipping carton containing 12 New Fashion Queen Barbies.

USA: THREE pieces of Tiffany art glass and a Tiffany-type lamp from the Handel factory – sold by Doyles of New York on June 5 and by Skinners of Boston on June 22 – are featured here.

Fare dodging is a chronic problem on public transport. But in 19th century America it was the passengers who had to keep an eye on the authorities, not the other way around.

USA: AUCTIONEERS Skinner Inc. are bidding to capture a larger slice of the top end of the market by moving their flagship American Furniture and Decorative Arts department out of the small town of Bolton and into Boston.