Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: alexander on October 05, 2006, 12:57:41 AM
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Here's an interesting auction i found, the listing is a lot of 12 pieces, some unknowns but one early Baccarat, one early Saint Louis, modern Trabucco, modern Twists ( Mike Hunter ) etc.
Thought i'd pass it along, i'm unable to bid on all myself, wish they'd split the lot. Starting price of 1500 euros - approx 1900-2000 usd.
They've appraiced it a bit low imho?
http://www.lauritz.com/Item/Item.aspx?LanguageId=2&ItemId=799181&nBids=5
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This is a very strange auction. Obviously somebody in charge made a very bad decision about how to sell the paperweights. Nobody in their right mind groups a Baccarat, a Trabucco, a Hunter, a St. Louis, and a Perthshire with 4 Chinese weights, unless they're a neophyte seller on eBay.
I can't believe this assortment wasn't separated in a much, much better fashion. The miniature Trabucco (the weight with the delicate pink rose buds on lace), by the way, is not by Victor, but by his twin sons Jon and David.
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You'd be amazed how they group things, quite often the rubbish is mixed in with the good stuff, as otherwise it won't sell at all. It depends also on how the vendor wishes to split the lots.
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What an eclectic mixture! Looks a bit like some of my collection :lol:
But we saw exactly the same hodge-podge of makes (and values!) in the auction the London Glassaholics visited at Christies in London earlier this year! :shock:
Even 'top' auction houses don't seem to have a clue about paperweights! :?
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I agree, the mix is terrible, and with almost no signature photos, no descriptions of the condition of the pieces, provenance etc they won't get as good a price as they could have gotten.
This auction house along with others here in Scandinavia has a problem in that they're old fashioned brick and mortar houses adapting to the net.
They do sell a lot of stuff that people bring them when the sellers don't know what they have - sometimes the auction houses are just as bad in terms of knowledge.
The valuation on this collection shows that someone at least has a clue to it's monetary value, just no clue as to how to present it well for potential buyers.
A good thing tho as it should bode well for future aquisitions from them :wink:
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The valuation on this collection shows that someone at least has a clue to it's monetary value, just no clue as to how to present it well for potential buyers.
A good thing tho as it should bode well for future aquisitions from them :wink:
But there you are, you see, they DO have a clue how to present it for potential buyers. Everyone wants to get a bargain. If you think you have found some wonders in with the dross, you will want to bid on it. If it is a single well catalogued piece, you may think it will go far too high and not bother.
I think it is reverse psychology in action That and a deep knowledge of buyer greed... :wink: :wink:
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I dunno - gathering them all up and setting a minimum price of almost 2000 dollars they're excluding quite a few collectors.
It may be a bargain but at that price i know i can't afford to buy even if i sold some pieces, especially since they don't show signatures or provenace on the Baccarat and the Saint Louis, a few fakes in the bunch and it wouldn't be worth it.
And i know this auction house isn't as professional as one would expect when it comes to presentation online - i think they've grown too fast and haven't been able to recruit enough personell.
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i think they've grown too fast and haven't been able to recruit enough personell.
Huge advantage in having only high ticket lots, you need a lot less staff to manage all the bureaucracy and warehousing. Why should they worry about $50 or less lots, they are effectively wholesalers - so good for dealers at least.
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I see the auction ended without bids, found another lot same place, modern chinese? No information given other than "recent".
What do you think?
Thanks for you input - i'm new to paperweights and still learning the basics.
(http://www.lauritz.com/images/vare/8/2/1/0/aw821082-1.jpg)
Bigger image Here (http://www.lauritz.com/images/vare/8/2/1/0/i821082-1.jpg)
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Some Chinese, some Murano, some possibly Murano-Chinese imports? Prices? They go for between £1.99 and £9.99 on ebay.
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All are China-made. My question is this: from where is this auction house getting these paperweight? Both the China-made lot and the previous lot with the Trabucco and Baccarat, etc. Who is the actual owner of the weights? Is it one collector or an assortment of collectors?
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Thanks for the input on that last auction, both auctions are from the same house, one originated with a seller in germany and the other witgh a danish seller.
The auction house does not usually bother with provenance etc on newer low end lots, so when bidding one is bidding a bit blind compared to ebay or the like where you can cotact the seller.
I've seen a modern saint louis weight with a 50 USD reserve and no further info or pics of the signature cane so my guess is this auution house just gets info from the seller, adds some intelligent if they've got it and put it out there.
So you can get some good deals but, buyer's gotta beware, just like the faceted weights i bought - marketed as italian millefiori weights - were bohemian faceted lampwork weights.
Edit - added lampwork above