Blog
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The Continuing Adventures of an eBay Trader
2:15 PM PST, 8/2/2008
It's always fun learning about different objects and antiques in my business. I've recently had the opportunity to list three elephant Ivory carvings for a client of mine.
While I'm not an expert on such objects I am a dogged researcher and was able to find out some very interesting facts about these three pieces.
First, I had to try and find out when and where they most likely came from. They had Chinese markings on them so that was a helpful clue, and the seller informed me that they were inherited from his great grandmother who had traveled extensively around the world from the 1920's through the 1940's.
I was curious to find out what the markings said, so I posted some pictures of the pieces and the markings on an eBay community forum and within hours was immediately rewarded with their translations!
Each piece had a series of Chinese characters in black and a square marking in red. This red marking translated to "Made In The Reign of Chenhua".
Now Chenhua reigned during the Ming Dynasty 1464 - 1487, so at first I wondered if these could actually be that old.
Further delving into the subject matter brought me into contact with a UK dealer who was able to estimate their age for me as likely being from 1880 - 1920.
I was also provided with the following information: "most Chinese carvers scripted their works with dynasties or poems rather than a name, where as in Japan they signed them after master carvers"
This helped clear up the mystery of the red markings. Each piece also had a short poetic title as follows:
The 12" tall Ivory carving of a beautiful asian woman holding a bouquet of flowers read "Meiyan Hua Shen "Beautiful and Alluring Flowers and Spirits."
The 9" tall Ivory sculpture of what might be mother and daughter holding painted fans and featuring a colorful butterfly was titled "Cang Cong Nongdie A Blue Mass of Butterflies. (Actually, nongdie refers specifically to the Skipper family of butterflies)"
And finally the 7" long Ivory figure of a man possibly wooing his young love reads: "Tan Yu Gu Song Ting "Playing as the Lonely Pine Listens."
All three are so intricately detailed and exquisite in their design and beauty that it is absolutely intoxicating to the mind.
From what I am given to understand, Chinese Ivories of this size are hard to find and don't come to market very often, so if you are a collector and are interested in these you can view them in my eBay store at www.stores.ebay.com/lazares-bazaar
Just enter "Ivory" in the store search box and they should all come up.
I should also note that per the CITES 1989 Ban on the International trade in Ivory (of which I fully support), these pieces were brought to the USA well before the ban (1920 - 1940), and can only be sold within the USA.
Stay tuned for my next installment of "Adventures of an eBay Trader" where I discuss the upcoming auction for an incredibly fine 1st Edition (Limited Edition) Signed copy of John Steinbecks "East of Eden". this is an incredible find that I'll be putting up for auction come September 5, 2008. You can also preview it in my eBay store.
Warmest Regards to all,
Stephan at LazaresBazaar.com
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Sir Frank Brangwyn Signed Etching
2:33 PM PST, 10/18/2007
Been a while since I've posted a blog. Business is coming along very well, new and interesting items coming my way daily.
I've been fortunate to make the acquaintance of a former Art Researcher from New York. She used to consult for LLoyds of London and others and is hugely knowledgeable when it comes to oil paintings, sculptures, etchings, water colours and the like. She also has an extensive collection herself and is bringing me pieces to sell, the first one being the Frank Brangwyn Signed Etching.
It's titled "Ponte Rotto Rome" and is accompanied by a 1928 Book called Famous Water-Colour Painters and features Brangwyns water colors as well.
Very exciting. I know she has other great peices that we'll be putting up for auction over the next few months as well. If you would like to see the listing go to: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300160211897
Well that's all for now. Look forward to more updates soon. Stephan at LazaresBazaar.com
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Antiques and Art
2:03 PM PST, 5/31/2007
Jason again. I'd post more often but we've been really busy lately, which is good, because that means there's a lot of business! We just got in a bunch of antique and vintage furniture, including chairs, lamps, tables, even some canoe oars - including a rocking chair that's almost 200 years old! We also got in some silk artwork by an unknown artist in China, as well as paintings by a once-local professional artist. We should be catching up and getting all of this listed soon, so check our eBay store regularly! -
Comics, Comics, and more Comics
1:48 PM PST, 5/22/2007
We just started going through the collection of comics we've gotten in, and there are a TON! We have probably around 220 Avengers comics alone (which we're in the process of listing now), and numerous other series we'll be getting to soon enough. In addition, we're finishing up a collection of 17 excellent glossy baseball press photos from the AP Wire in the 1940s. Should be an exciting next few days! -
Jason's First Post
2:04 PM PST, 5/15/2007
Hey, I'm Jason, and I just started work at Lazare's Bazaar about a week ago, so you'll be hearing more from me as time goes on. First things first: we're working on listing a couple of women's jackets and purses we got in recently. The jackets are both from Hong Kong; one's from Francesca Rose, with a nice black denim style with silver-colored buttons - the contrast makes it look pretty sharp - with some little black beads you wouldn't even notice until the light shines on them just right. The other is from Cedars, and it's a pretty expensive jacket with an extremely colorful and complex design made out of overlapping fabrics and threaded beads - not exactly my thing, mind you, but it should make someone pretty happy. As for the purses, one is from Gucci, which I gather is a fairly well-known purse designer - but I have to say that although we couldn't identify the maker of the other purse and frankly it's in worse condition than the Gucci one, I like the way it looks better - but then, I don't know anything about fashion. Either way, it's leather, with a little hand tooled pattern that resembles a plant. We're also listing a handheld electronic Sudoku puzzler from Leed's. Now this sort of thing is more up my alley. It's got a tremendous amount of Sudoku puzzles, all divided into five different levels of difficulty. It's even got a puzzle editor for the user-generated content folks - or maybe it just lets you copy puzzles you've found elsewhere. I didn't have any time to mess around with it All of that should be listed soon, if it isn't already. We also got in a tremendous collection of pipes and pipe stands in many, many different styles - we even got a pipe in that was carved to resemble a man's face. Even though I don't collect pipes and am not a smoker myself, I thought they looked really neat, so you should definitely look out for those in the next few days if you're a collector or, I suppose, just really like pipes. We'll be putting most of them up in a big lot, and making separate auctions for two of the pipes that are probably worth more. The "man's head as pipe" one is part of the lot, though, so you'll have to bid on that if you want it. -
It Keeps on Getting Better - JOHN LENNON!!!
8:00 PM PST, 5/3/2007
Had such a great time with the antique playing cards, I didn't think it could get any better, and then what happens? I receive a call from a fellow John Lennon fanatic who feels it is time to divest himself of his collection. YES!!! I have had more fun listening and reading and viewing the life and times of my absolute musical hero that I feel as if I'm reliving those years. I've only had time to get some of the early vinyl singles up, the 45 RPM's and so forth with such great songs as IMAGINE, INSTANT KARMA, POWER TO THE PEOPLE, MIND GAMES, HAPPY XMAS, and so many more. From picture sleeves to imports from Japan of Be-Bop-A-Lu-La, it's one treasure after another and I am absolutely ecstatic. If I could I would bid on many of these items myself. From Musketeer Gripweeds and the Third Troup "How I Won The War" to the 1983 calendar featuring photos of John and Yoko's Toronto Love-In, I can't get enough, and so much more to go through yet. Please if you are a BEATLES fan, or just into one of the FAB FOUR, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, or Ringo Starr, or even the controversial Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band, keep an eye out on our store. I've added a new category just for John Lennon Collection items, and will be adding to it regularly. Wow! I LOVE THIS JOB!!! LOL :) -
Antique Playing Cards ca. 1890
1:48 PM PST, 5/1/2007
Just had the most fun researching and listing some antique playing cards that had been in this sellers family for years and years. Was finally able to determine that they are of antique playing cards was most likely made by the New York Consolidated Card Company (Samuel Hart) c. 1890. [Dawson/Hochman, p.56, NY42b] The company made these decks with both Faro (one way) and Poker (two way) courts. This deck has the Faro courts. While I am not a collector of cards myself, I would rate these cards as being in good to very good condition. You can see in the images the Ace of spades does have a small corner crease and there is some staining from what looks like soot, grease, or dirt on most of the card fronts. Written on the Ace of Spades in the banner are the words "American Manufacture". This was one of my more fun listings to date. Man, I'm loving this job!! -
Back on Track with GI JOE!
7:08 PM PST, 3/28/2007
Had the most fun this last weekend as I got to play with my childhood toys again and revisit memories of my youth. Had the good fortune to list some vintage GI Joe dolls from 1964 along with outfits, foot locker and lots of extras. So much fun. Also some Corgi and Dinky diecast cars came in with them. Even 007 James Bonds Aston Martin DB5 which has a pop up bullet proof shield for the rear windshield. Pop out machine gun headlights and an ejector seat that really tosses out the bad guy (Jaws). Probably the most fun I've had since I started this business. Well that and learning all about the different trading cards out there. Tobacco cards, celebrity cards, military cards and of course sports cards. Had some great new ones come in which will be listed tomorrow, including my favorite Uncle Sam series cards. Also researching flatware and tableware for a new customer who brought me some Community Coronation Flatware circa 1936 I believe. Every day something new and exciting to learn. Lovin' this business. -
Over a Month since last Blog
2:56 PM PST, 3/23/2007
Wow, I can't believe how quickly the time goes. It's been a month since my last blog and I've just been jammed with new listings. My first Mickey Mantle Card!! Just listed it today. What a thing of beauty. Also Pete Rose, Johnny Bench All Star Rookie cards. Yankee team checklist, Roger Maris and lots more military wings cards, uncle sam cards, just crazy. Coming next week I hope to be listing some old Corgi diecast cars as well as some vintage GI Joe Dolls, so please keep an eye out if your a collector. Had some vintage umbrellas go for a pretty penny recently as well. I had researched them and estimated about 1/2 what they actually sold for, much to my sellers pleasent surprise. How much fun is this job!! Gotta love it! More to come, don't you know.... -
Business is Good
2:21 PM PST, 2/20/2007
Business is definately picking up. Had a great write up in local weekly paper and the phone's been ringing steadily since. Now posting first lot of Marvel and DC comic books including some of my childhood favorites like Shazam, The Shadow, Logans Run, Wolverine, X-Men, The Teen Titans Spider Man and more. Also received some very cool Vintage Art Deco lamps which I would have bought myself if I had a room to put them in. They are SWEET. Will be listing a painting by Clementine Hunter later this week, so keep an eye out on that. Jewelry sold last week as did the Antique flute and of course the baseball cards move all the time. Will keep posting more cards as they come in. Now have two collectors listing their cards with me so you will see some more great stuff coming up. Was disappointed that the Lowden D-10 Dreadnought guitar did not sell. Had lots of watchers, but opening bid might have been a touch too high. Will re-list this week at a slightly lower price, but it's such a sweet instrument hate to list it for too little. Guess thas all for now. Kids are great, had wonderful visit from their NANA last week. She brought a Wisconsin chill with her to Florida, but I didn't mind. Liked the change in weather myself. Anyhow, as the saying goes, see ya all next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel. Steph.
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