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A Conversation withNicholas DawesNicholas Dawes began his career in his nativeEngland in the late 1960's and brings fortyyears of experience in the antiques and fineart auction business. He emigrated to New Yorkin 1979 and has pursued his career there asan auctioneer, appraiser, author, lecturer andantiques dealer.Nick is a former department head andauctioneer at Sotheby’s where he had specialresponsibilities for appraising the estate of Mrs.John Hay Whitney. He also conceived and helpedorganize two of the most successful live auctionsof sports memorabilia in the history of the hobby.courses on English and French furniture at theBard Graduate Center.Considered this country's leading authority onthe work of Rene Lalique, Nick is the author ofthree standard works on decorative arts whichhave collectively sold over 100,000 copies, andhas written scores of articles and providedcountless lectures internationally. He has beena faculty member of Parsons, the New Schoolfor Design, since 1984, and has taught LuxuryMarketing at Columbia Business School andHe first appeared as an appraiser on 'AntiquesRoadshow' for PBS in the second broadcastof the show, and has appeared regularly eversince, discussing ceramics, glass, silver andother decorative arts. Nick is currently a VicePresident with Heritage Auctions, based inthe New York offices, overseeing SpecialCollections and large Estates, as well as the ArtGlass and Gentleman Collector auctions.Q: You recently oversawQ: Estates often includethe sale of Maritime Art &material of many differentShip Models from the MBNAtypes and values – how does anCollection. How does such aexecutor or advisor initially dealsale come about and whatwith such a collection of items?are some of the uniqueA: Every estate is different, whichchallenges to a large auctionpresents new challenges, andof similar and related itemsrewards, to the appraisal team. Anin such a specific category?executor needs to be aware that,while this may be the first time theyA: This was definitely a ‘specialare in this position and it may seemcollection’ and I enjoyed itoverwhelming, an experiencedenormously. A colleague andappraiser has been there manyI were invited to view thistimes before. A good generalUnited States, an oil painting by James Edward Buttersworth,corporate collection last yearappraiser should be first to visitsold for 68,500 from the MBNA Collection of Maritime Art & Ship Modelsand, after much consideration,and will be able to determine theproposed handling the sale of itapproximate value of the entire estate contents in a relatively short time,then go about the business of valuing each item in turn more methodically as a single owner auction, which brings many benefits to the consignoras required. The best asset the appraiser can bring to this task is sound and auctioneer. This was something of a gamble as we knew weknowledge, a thorough network of expert contacts and sources of reliable, were entering a specialized and rather small field of interest, but theup-to-date information. (Editor’s note: A major auction house, such as material was of very high quality and superbly presented, which helpedHeritage Auctions, with in-house expertise in many areas and a keen enormously and drew strong interest from our existing clients, thoughunderstanding of values in the current market is often the perfect fit for a many of the ultimate buyers were new to Heritage. Once agreed, ourgoal was to maximize the return. I searched for suitable locations forlarge multi-category estate or collection.)several weeks, visiting Boston; Mystic, CT; Philadelphia; Wilmington,Q: What can an advisor, executor or steward of a collection do to DE; Baltimore; and Norfolk, VA; among others – including New York andDallas. I chose to hold the event at the Navy & Marine Memorial Stadiumprepare for an accurate and complete evaluation?in Annapolis, MD, two weeks after the Annapolis Boat Show. The facilityA: I can think of five things:is expansive and very easily accessible, ideal for displaying large ship1. Make the legal status of the estate and executor, and your objectives, models and paintings, and the town has an unprecedented associationvery clear to the appraiser prior to any visit or valuations.with marine history combined with a large catchment population2. Don’t throw anything away until the appraiser has seen of boating enthusiasts and collectors. Promoting the auction posedit–anything.several challenges as this was a new endeavor for Heritage Auctions.3. Make copies of any old appraisal documents or receipts and share We advertised in the UK and received good press with US publicationsand websites related to nautical collecting, and chose to sponsor thethem with the appraiser.4. Place an old blanket or furniture pad on dining and large tables, and Annapolis Boat Show which allowed us to distribute catalogues andinvitations, and proved very successful. There were a lot of logisticalunpack stored items for ease of inspection.problems as you can imagine, but Heritage is use to holding auctions all5. Hire one appraisal company only. Do not be tempted to hire different over the United States and has an excellent team for this kind of event.people for different categories, or allow anyone to ‘do it as a favor.’44

Maritime Paintings & ShipModels Bring 1.4 MillionJames Edward Butterworth’s oil United States, fromthe MBNA Collection of Maritime Art & Ship Models,brought 68,500 to lead Heritage Auctions’ October 27,2012 Maritime & Ship Models Signature Auction. Thesale’s 323 lots enjoyed a 99% sell-through rate to realize 1.4 million, exceeding the high estimate. Of the almost500 participants, nearly a fifth attended the auctionin person at the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps MemorialStadium. “The collection was assembled by the MBNACorporation, at one time the largest independentcredit card issuer in the world,” said Nick Dawes, VicePresident of Special Collections at Heritage. “It runs thegamut from early 19th century to modern day paintingsand models, representing maritime trade, exploration,warfare and recreation from the discovery of Americato the Americas Cup. The collection is a comprehensivelook at the best maritime art has to offer.”The original ship’s bellfrom HMS Activity soldfor 11,250. The Activitywas a WWII escort carrierof the British Royal Navylaunched in 1942. The bellis presented in a periodmounting with dolphinbases standing a fullsixty inches tall.Among the sale’s more than100 vintage models, of which100% were sold, an imposingship model of the frigate‘Virginia’ sold for 17,500. Theactual ‘Virginia’ was launchedin Maryland in 1776 andserved for less than two yearsbefore being captured by theBritish in 1778. The model,made by craftsman John M.Bobbitt, shows the ship closeto completion and featuresexposed hull ribsusing cherry andboxwood.The MBNA Collection – perhaps the finest collection ofmaritime art ever assembled – included more than 100unique and intriguing scale ship models. “We are thrilledwith the results,” Dawes said. “Exhibiting this groupingduring the Annapolis Boat Show and holding the sale atthe Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium set the stagefor success: the venues appealed to passionate biddersand perfectly accentuated this unique collection,contributing to it selling above its high estimate.”TerminologySell-through Rate – the percentage of lots actually soldjust 50% to 60% of the lots may be the result of poor marketing, aduring an auction – usually based on either the number of lotsweak market for the material presented or too high reserve pricessold or by the percentage of value of the sold lots in relation to theand starting bids.expected auction estimates.In large auctions with many different categories of material andThe success of an auction as a whole is often judged on the totalsale amount, but that doesn’t always give a true picture of howthe bulk of the auction actually fared. A few lots that sell for recordamounts can easily slant the sale result totals. The sell-throughrate or percentage of lots actually sold during the auction providesa more accurate summary of the success of an auction. Basedon either the number of lots or the pre-auction dollar amountsections of lots of a related type, sell-through rates may vary fromone part of an auction to another. Poor sales in one category mayaffect the sale rates in the auction as whole, but may be confinedto just that segment of the auction. When looking at the auctionresults, it is best to look all the information available – the total saleresults, the sell-through rate by lot, the sell-through rate by dollarexpected at the auction, the sell-through rate tells how the buyingamount, and the sell-through rates of certain types of items. Pastmarket responded to the auction. A percentage of 80% or more issale statistics, as a reflection of performance and ability, shouldconsidered a very good sell-through – with auctions in the 90% toalways be considered when deciding upon the right auction venue100% rate being exemplary. Auctions that post sell-through rates offor a collection.5

Former FinancialAdvisor FollowsHis Passion forRare Coins– LLOYD MINCY JOINS HERITAGE AUCTIONS ASNUMISMATIC CONSIGNMENT DIRECTORHeritage Auctions has announced that professional financial advisor,longtime prominent collector, expert and member of the prestigious U.S.Gold Club, Lloyd Mincy, has joined its Dallas headquarters as ConsignmentDirector in Numismatics.“A number of Heritage Auctions’ most senior executive and numismaticstaff have worked with Lloyd over the years as he acquired and sold anumber of major rarities from his personal collection,” said Todd Imhof,Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “He has been a class actand enjoyable to work with on every single transaction. Further, Lloyd ishighly respected by every high-end dealer he has ever worked with as acollector and the company is totally confident in his ability to parlay thisreputation into a very long career here at Heritage.”Mincy comes to Heritage from theFinancial Planning community, thoughhis passion for numismatics dates backto his childhood and the age of 7 whenhis grandmother let him break open herchildhood piggy bank.“Out scattered Indian cents, Libertyand Buffalo nickels,” said Mincy. “Iimmediately wanted Whitman albumsand started to fill in the spots.”As time passed, his collecting wasshelved due to his studies in Marketingat Michigan State University. In 1992,after 5 years with IBM, he joined Shearson Lehman Brothers, continuinghis career three years later as an independent advisor. In 2001, hepurchased an updated Red Book and soon realized he could get backinto collecting and started building a high-end collection of key daterarities.“All my free time was now spent attending auctions and establishingrelationships with dealers and collectors,” he said. “I knew what mypassion truly was. The timing of this is perfect for me and absolutelyfeels like the right thing to do. Heritage is doing things to expand thenumismatic industry and providing services to collectors that no one elsecomes close to these days and I hope to show other connoisseurs howto best utilize the company’s buying and selling platforms.”“Lloyd’s background and experience working with investors in a financialplanning capacity makes him increasingly valuable to the numismaticcommunity,” said Jim Halperin, Co-Chair and Co-Founder of HeritageAuctions, “as rare coins and currency continue to make progress as alegitimate asset class.”All About Appraisals – CharityAuctions & Tax DeductionsBy Meredith MeuwlyAs more and more charities are hosting auctions as fund raisers, clientsare asking if they can take a fair market value tax deduction on theirdonations to these auctions. The answer is maybe. Because of theRelated Use rule, taxpayers may or may not be able to take the full fairmarket value tax deduction for their donations of tangible property to acharity auction.According to the IRS, the donation of the tangible property must berelated to the non-profit’s purpose or function in order to receive the fulltax benefits of the charitable donation. The IRS does not consider itemsdonated to an institution that will be sold in a fund raiser as related use,even if the funds from the sale are to be used to support the institution’smission. The reason being is that the institution’s mission is typically notto sell property. As such, items donated to a charity auction are typicallyconsidered Unrelated Use, and donors are only allowed to take their costbasis or the fair market value as a deduction, whichever is less.Instead of donating tangible property to the charity fund raiser, aclient may consider the option of selling the property through anauction and then directing that the proceeds generated from theauction be given directly to the charity. Heritage’s dedicated CharityAuctions department is always seeking consignments to benefit yourfavorite charity. Contact Jeri Carroll, Director of Charity Auctions, [email protected] today to see how Heritage can best serve you.Whether you want to give property or cash to charity, always consult yourtax advisor to see what option is most beneficial to you.After five years at Christie’s in New York, Meredith Meuwly joined Heritage Auctions in 2007 as Senior Consignment Director in the Fine & Decorative ArtsDepartment and currently manages the Appraisal Services department. Meredith also participates as an appraiser for the Antiques Roadshow on PBS.She is a member of the Fine Art committee for the International Society of Appraisers and looks forward to assisting with any formal appraisal needs.6

Similar Does NotMean the SameR. Lalique Opalescent YellowGlass Suzanne StatuetteSold for 23,750A beautiful presentation of theLalique statuette ‘Suzanne’ made in1925 in rare, ‘butterscotch yellow’glass of unusually deep hue.Lots of bidding here.R. Lalique Clear and FrostedGlass Six Tetes Carafewith Grey PatinaSold for 8,125An especially rare and early Laliquedecanter from circa 1914. Few ofthese have survived and this onewas in superb condition with originalpatina. A true collector’s piece.R. Lalique Smoky Topaz GlassCoq Nain MascotSold for 2,625A fine and early example from circa1928 of the Lalique hood ornament‘Coq Nain’ in rare deep topazcoloration. This example is goodenough for the finest collection.R. Lalique Clear and FrostedGlass Thais StatuetteSold for 5,313A very similar, sister model entitled‘Thais’, also from 1925 and originallypriced the same by Lalique. This isactually a rarer model, but the lackof color will fail to attract strongcompetitive bidding.R. Lalique Clear GlassWingen DecanterSold for 813A perfectly fine and authentic Laliquedecanter from 1926. By the mid-1920’sLalique made large amounts of tableglass and decanters are not uncommon.Plainer examples like this are boughtmore for use than collecting purposes.Nicholas Dawes is Vice President of Special Collections forHeritage Auctions, the leading authority on Lalique glass, andhas been an expert appraiser on Antiques Roadshow for PBS forall sixteen seasons. He shares a few observations on a commonappraisal issue, all inspired by Heritage Auctions’ most recentauction of Tiffany, Lalique and Art Glass on November 17, 2012. inNew York, which included important collections from around thecountry and sold 93% of the lots for a total of over 1.6 million.It is a common opening in my email box: “I saw one just like it onAntiques Roadshow ” The emailer is commonly disappointed,as something ‘just like it’ may turn out to be quite different invalue, as the following few examples illustrate:R. Lalique Amethyst Tinted GlassVictoire Mascot with Original BrevesIlluminating MountSold for 21,250A superb example of the Lalique automobilehood ornament ‘Victoire’, with the amethyst tintcollector’s search for and complete with originalilluminating mount–which is almost as rare as theornament itself. This one came to auction ‘fresh’from a Texas estate, which always helps.R. Lalique Clear and Frosted GlassVictoire MascotSold for 16,250Another example of the same ornament, in finecondition but lacking the original mounting andwithout the amethyst tint that is evidence of longexposure to the sun.Lalique Clear and Frosted GlassCoq Nain MascotSold for 187Made by Lalique in the same factoryand of the same design, this modernexample of ‘Coq Nain’ from the 1980’slacks anything that will attract a seriouscollector and is relatively common.R. Lalique Red GlassFormose VaseSold for 10,625A fine example of the popular Lalique vase ‘Formose’from 1924 in rare, deep red color. Collectors oftenattempt to collect the set of colors, and red isespecially elusive, leading to plenty of competition.R. Lalique Cased Opalescent GlassFormose Vase with Grey PatinaSold for 1,875A perfectly respectable model of Formose,made in the same mold at the same time but inopalescent glass, which is less collectible todayand much easier to find.7

HERMÈS RULES AT LARGESTLUXURY ACCESSORIESAUCTION EVER – 3.2 MILLIONAn Hermès 35cm Diamond, Black Crocodile Birkin with 18K WhiteGold Hardware brought 122,500 – retaining its title as one of the mostexclusive handbags on the entire planet – to lead Heritage Auctions’Dec. 4, 2012 Holiday Handbags & Luxury Accessories event. The auctionbrought 3.2 million as bidders all over the world sought to own anexample from the largest grouping of Hermès ever offered at auction.“We are thrilled with the response,” said Matt Rubinger, Director ofLuxury Accessories at Heritage Auctions. “This was the single finestgrouping of its kind at auction and bidders zeroed in on the quality andthe rarity in the lots. Our luxury events are growing every year and thisauction sets the bar that much higher.”A Monumental Garrard Victorian Silver Figural CenterpieceSOLD on December 5, 2012 for 32,500RESCUED FROM A TAG SALE–GARRARD CENTERPIECEBRINGS 32,500 IN SILVER &DECORATIVE ARTS EVENTSA monumental Garrard Victorian centerpiece destined for a Dallasestate sale before Heritage researchers discovered it was cast frommore than 200 ounces of silver, sold for 32,500 to lead Heritage’s Dec.5-6, 2012 Silver & Vertu and Decorative Arts Signature Auctions. Theauction saw strong bidder interest for Tiffany silver objects, 19th centuryfurniture, sculpture and clocks, with a circa 1875 three piece Frenchgilt bronze, cloisonné and champlevé enamel clock garniture sellingfor 31,250.A local dealer, suspecting the Garrard centerpiece was much morethan average silver plate, suggested the consignor bring it to Heritageafter spotting it among items scheduled for a Dallas estate sale. Heritageresearchers quickly discerned it was produced circa 1851-1852 out of226.68 troy ounces by London’s R&S Garrard. Designed by EdmundCotterill (1795-1860), the centerpiece depicts a turbaned Moorish rideron horse and a camel lying beside his rider.“This is one more example why it is so important to make sure you knowwhat you have before you sell,” said Karen Rigdon, Consignment Directorof Decorative Arts at Heritage. “The consignor is overwhelmed. This isthe second time this year Heritage has granted a consignor a veritablewindfall due to our decorative arts auctions.” Following an appraisalevent in Dallas, Heritage sold a Victorian glass bead and wood mirror for 35,0008in September, much to the shock – and delight – of the consignor.Hermès rarities ruled the day, claiming more than a dozen top lothonors in the 942-lot auction. A rare 30cm Shiny Violet Porosus CrocodileBirkin Bag with Palladium

a faculty member of Parsons, the New School for Design, since 1984, and has taught Luxury Marketing at Columbia Business School and courses on English and French furniture at the Bard Graduate Center. He first appeared as an appraiser on 'Antiques Roadshow' for PBS in the second broadcast of the show, and has appeared regularly ever