Finding Maritime Items at Art Auctions
I find some nice maritime items for my collection at art auctions. I went to an art auction in Charleston last month and found a pair of candle powered navigation lights that were used on ships in the 19th century. These types of candles were also used in lighthouse stairwells.
My collection also includes a maritime item that was made in 1891. It is a chronometer, and it still keeps a great time. It is extraordinary because the broad arrow on it indicates that it was purchased by the British Navy, and they are known to have only the best timepieces. I found this piece of my collection at an art auction in New Hampshire.
I have another chronometer in my collection that I found at an art auction in Dallas. It was sold to me in a wooden box from someone that had owned it for fifty years. They had kept this maritime relic in a closet. I plan to keep it on display.
I was at an art auction in Miami a couple of years ago and found a fantastic maritime item for my collection. The compass that I won was over 100 years old and was made in Persia. The compass face has all twelve signs of the zodiac engraved on it. I thought that this was a great find.
My kids thought I was crazy when I drove to an art auction is Hartford and drove back with three hundred pounds of maritime Navy anchors. I thought they’d look great in the yard. I like to have art in my yard, in the beds I made around my trees. No one wanted to help me unload them.
I found myself in a bidding war at an art auction in Mississippi over the original builder’s plate from the SS Contessa. It is truly a unique and beautiful maritime item. I have polished it, and it gleams in the display case I bought for it.
Maritime items don’t seem to be in as much demand anymore. A few years ago, my collection got more accessible to add to for some reason. Art auctions everywhere I went started having great things on the auction block.
The brass plaques from old ships have always been one of my favorite things to find up for sale at art auctions. One of my ideal maritime plaques came from a ship that was used in WWII. The ship that the plaque was on was called the Marechal Joffre, and it was taken from the French in 1942. The Maritime Commission renamed the ship, USS Rochambeau.
I had a friend of mine that was going to attend an art auction in Anchorage a couple of years ago bid on a bell for me. I had no idea how much the freight charge was going to end up being, but I wanted this maritime item in my collection. It was magnificent.
There is going to be a lovely maritime item at an art auction I intend to attend this weekend. Lighthouse items are of interest to me more and more lately. I have found that there is going to be an antique brass oil lamp up for auction, and I plan to win it. The price will probably get up to fifteen hundred dollars, but I don’t care. I need this maritime item in my collection.
Decorative Collectibles at Art Auctions
I have found many decorative collectibles at art auctions over the years. I have a display cabinet filled with all of my finds. My favorite of all of the decorative collectibles is Pendelfin rabbits.
Pendelfin rabbits captivated my interest when I was a young girl. My dad was stationed in England, and my mother bought me my first of many decorative collectibles at an art auction. The bookends that she bought for me are extremely rare, and I recently had them appraised at more than fifteen hundred dollars.
I’ve been searching at art auctions in my area every time that decorative collectibles are advertised as being up for sale. My greatest hope is that I can find a Pendelfin item named The Shoe. I’ve been looking for this particular piece for about five years.
The larger pieces of decorative collectibles seem to get expensive fast at an art auction. I’ve seen three people at once bidding up the Pendelfin rabbits to a point where the price is just out of my reach. I love these rabbits, but I have to stay on budget when I attend an art auction.
There is one Pendelfin item that I found at an art auction early in my collection that I spend a lot more money than I wanted to. I just had no idea how much a love of decorative collectibles could end up costing. The item I bought was a three-inch by four-inch little plaque with Robert the rabbit depicted.
I sell decorative collectibles with online art auctions. I find the items at art auctions and sales that I attend in person. I have never resold a piece of Pendelfin. I keep them in my private collection. My husband bought me a Pendelfin figurine named Auctioneer. I love it.
Almost all of the rabbits produced by Pendelfin are small. These decorative collectibles have retained their value for a long time. Art auctions are a great place to hunt for really cool pieces that are larger and rare. I’ve been looking for one named Aunt Ruby for a couple of years now.
Aunt Ruby is one of the large size rabbits. I already have Uncle Soames and Mother. These were some of the first pieces of decorative collectibles. I found them at an art auction I attended with my husband before we married.
There was an anniversary piece put out by Pendelfin. I don’t think that it is worth what I keep seeing it for new and in stores that sell decorative collectibles. I’ll just keep looking for it at a reasonable price at the art auctions I attend.
I was so excited when I found two big pieces of Pendelfin decorative collectibles at the last art auction I attended. I bought both the one named Toy Shop and the one named The Castle Tavern. They look great with all of the others that I’ve bought and won at auctions over the years.
My sister called me from an art auction last year to tell me that she had found a treasure trove of decorative collectibles. She said that there was one lot that contained nine Pendelfin pieces. I authorized her to pay up to four hundred dollars for the lot because some of the pieces were chipped. I was shocked when the lot went for eighty dollars, the opening bid.
