This is the second and final part of my thoughts on appraising wine aptly titled;

Know Your Grapes – Appraising Wine 

Part Deux

 As with any appraisal, when selecting a qualified appraiser look for a formal, up to date, education in appraisal theory, procedures, ethics, and law. The appraiser you hire should also be familiar with the type of property you want appraised and know how to value it correctly.

 

Wine is no different.

 

Wine, like other asset classes including art, antiques and firearms includes the areas of product knowledge, market knowledge and appraisal methodology. In an attempt to keep this simple, personal property appraisal methodology, industry accepted standards, will be assumed. (I know the problem with assumptions, no need to remind me here) Your appraiser must be well versed in all three.

 

In this final article I’ll list just a few aspects of Market Knowledge. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, just things to think about. 

 

Does your appraiser know 

 

Wine Marketing – How are different wines from different countries marketed

                                   Winery Only, Wholesale, Retail, Restaurant?

Provenance – Where did the wine come from?

                                   Winery, Broker, Auction, Private Collector, Wholesaler, Retail

                       How did it arrive?  

                                   Planes, Trains & Automobiles, (sorry, that was a Steve

                                   Martin and John Candy movie from 1987!) Trucks, Ships

                        When did it arrive?

                                   What was the time of year shipped with respect to the

                                   countries Involved?  Was the Heat or AC on? (Stable climate)

                        How was it stored?

                                   Stored in a Basement / Closet / Basement Closet! / Refrigerator

Primary & Secondary Markets for Sales – Wineries, Retail outlets, Live/Online Auctions

Emerald Art Services, LLC provides wine appraisals for insurance, equitable distribution and liquidation. We also provide collection inventory management and related software.

Ferdinand Brader exhibit to be held at the Canton Museum of Art in Canton, Ohio, December 2014 – March 2015.

Search continues for missing Brader drawings. Currently only 150 of an estimated 980 drawings have been located. We need your help to locate the missing 830 drawing for the illustrated book which will accompany the exhibition and will list all his known drawings. Contact Brader scholar and researcher, Kathleen Wieschaus-Voss, at kwieschaus@aol.com .

Known Brader drawings by County and Township*

STARK COUNTY OH (73)

– Nimishillen: 16

– Washington: 9

– Lake: 8

– Lawrence: 8

– Plain: 8

– Marlboro: 8

– Osnaburg: 5

– Paris: 3

– Pike: 2

– Sandy: 2

– Perry: 1

– Bethlehem: 1

– Lexington: 1

– Canton: 1

WAYNE COUNTY OH (6)
– Baughman: 2
– Chippewa: 4
MEDINA COUNTY OH (3)
– Wadsworth: 3
COLUMBIANA COUNTY OH (1)

 

Ferdinand Arnold Brader, born in Kaltbrunn, Canton St.Gallen, Switzerland 1833, immigrated to America in the 1870s and for the next twenty years traveled through Pennsylvania and Ohio documenting rural life in America with hundreds of large scale detailed drawings. These unique pencil drawings are a glimpse into American life from 1875 to 1895 and are treasured by owners and collectors.

With meticulous care, Ferdinand Brader identified the owners and township of each property he visited and used a sequential numbering and dating system which helps scholars date the drawings. Research is underway to catalog the drawings as more examples of his work become known. The goal of the research and of the forthcoming exhibit is to trace and illustrate the path of Ferdinand Brader as he traveled through the countryside and to deepen our understanding of the American family heritage.

 

Please help out my friend and fellow appraiser with this project if you can!

http://www.braderexhibit.com/

Art Actually to take over Royal Caribbean Art Auctions from Park West

In May of 2010, Royal Caribbean dropped Park West, the company that handles art auctions on most cruise ships ending their cruise line art program.  Now, Royal Caribbean is relaunching its cruise line art program, capitalizing on their extensive fleetwide art collection Art on Royal. 

The new exclusive program is much more comprehensive and expands the breadth of onboard art-inspired events, with tours, seminars and auctions. Art on Royal integrates the entire onboard collection aboard Royal Caribbean’s fleet featuring Royal Art Icons, select artists among the entire Royal Caribbean Art Collection, and works by Royal Caribbean Signature Artists Romero Britto and Thomas Kinkade. This exclusive program, developed in partnership with Art Actually, was first piloted aboard Oasis of the Seas; is also currently aboard Adventure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas; and will be available on most ships by the end of the year.

Through the unique Art on Royal program, guests have the opportunity to view and purchase a one-of-a-kind piece, as well as enjoy events on select sailings throughout the year. In addition, Art on Royal offers a range of gifts, souvenirs and high-valued originals, including limited-edition signed photography, prints and objects, one-off unique pieces, wall pieces and reliefs, miniatures, and artist commissions.

“Guests have always marveled at our art and many have inquired into how to purchase them” said Bauer. “Art on Royal will offer guests the opportunity to take home a lasting work of art as a memory of their cruise vacation, as well as provide a broad menu of enriching, art-inspired programs, featuring Royal Caribbean Signature Artists and Royal Art Icons pieces. This new art program is part of the Royal Advantage, Royal Caribbean’s commitment to deliver a compelling and most contemporary vacation experience.”

Art on Royal is managed by Art Actually and is inspired by the art that is on permanent display across the Royal Caribbean fleet. This extensive art collection has been compiled over a period of 20 years and contains thousands of unique art works by hundreds of established and emerging artists. The Royal Caribbean Art Collection is one of the largest private collections to be on display in its entirety on a constant basis.

Thank you to:

http://www.gadling.com/2011/07/04/cruise-line-art-program-builds-on-past-looks-to-future/

 

A Wee Bit of Irish History

O’Donnell Abu is probably the best known and most popular O’Donnell song. The tune was composed in the early part of the 19th century by a man from Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. His name was Joseph Haliday and he was bandmaster of the Cavan Militia. He died in Dublin in 1846, aged 71 years.

Michael McCann, a young Galway man, added words to the music. The composition first appeared in ‘The Nation’ of January, 1843 and was then called ‘The Clan Connell War Song’. McCann, afterwards emigrated to America but later returned to England. At the time of his death in 1883 he was a shopkeeper in London. A celtic cross marks his grave in St. Patrick’s Catholic cemetery.

Years later Seosamh Mac Grianna, Rann-na-Feirsde, did the Irish translation.

O’DONNELL ABU

1.

Proudly the note of the trumpet is sounding
Loudly the war cries arise on the gale;
Fleetly the steed by Lough Swilly is bounding,
To join the thick squadrons in Saimear’s green vale.
On, ev’ry mountaineer,
Strangers to fight and fear;
Rush to the standard of dauntless Red Hugh!
Bonnaught and Gallowglass,
Throng from each mountain pass;
On for old Erin, “O’Donnell Abu!”

2.

Princely O’Neill to our aid is advancing,
With many a chieftain and warrior clan;
A thousand proud steeds in his vanguard are prancing,
‘Neath the borders brave from the banks of the Bann:
Many a heart shall quail,
Under its coat of mail;
Deeply the merciless foeman shall rue
When on his ear shall ring,
Borne on the breeze’s wing,
Tír Chonaill’s dread war-cry, “O’Donnell Abu!”

3.

Wildly o’er Desmond the war-wolf is howling,
Fearless the eagle sweeps over the plain,
The fox in the streets of the city is prowling –
All, all who would scare them are banished or slain!
Grasp every stalwart hand
Hackbut and battle brand –
Pay them all back the debt so long due;
Norris and Clifford well
Can of Tirconnell tell;
Onward to glory – “O’Donnell Abu!”

4.

Sacred the cause that Clan Connell’s defending –
The altars we kneel at and homes of our sires;
Ruthless the ruin the foe is extending –
Midnight is red with the plunderer’s fires.
On with O’Donnell, then,
Fight the old fight again,
Sons of Tirconnell,
All valiant and true:
Make the false Saxon feel
Erin’s avenging steel
Strike for your country! – “O’Donnell Abu!”

Is It Fine Art, A Collectible Or An Antique?

Although any item could be placed into one or more of the following groups, there are some general guidelines for placing an item into a category…

 

 Fine Art – “a visual art considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic purposes

                         and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness, specifically, painting, sculpture,

                        drawing, watercolor, graphics, and architecture.” The word “fine” does not so

                        much denote the quality of the artwork in question, but the purity of the

                        discipline.[1]

 Collectible – A collectible is typically a manufactured item designed for people to collect.

                               In addition, a collectible can be an item made without the intention of

                              special interest but due to rarity or uniqueness, production fault, human

                              error, nostaliga, or other events, becomes sought after due to its rarity in

                              these circumstances.  A collectible does not necessarily have to be valuable

                              or antique.

 Antique – The word antique comes from the Latin word antiquus, meaning old.

                         Although there are many opinions as to how old an item must be to be

                         considered on antique, there have been a couple formal attempts in defining

                         the term. One such attempt was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 which

                         defined an antique as “works of art, collections in illustration of the progress,

                         of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery or porcelain

                         artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value

                        which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830.” Another attempt is

                        made by U.S.Customs and Border Protection defining an antique as “an article

                        over 100 years of age at the time of importation.” These definitions are arguably

                       only for taxation purposes. In a commercial situation I would suggest that an

                       antique is “a decorative object, piece of furniture, or other work of art created

                       in an earlier period” . There are many things that are old, but simply being old

                       does not imply that the item is an antique or even valuable. 

 

---

[1] Dictionary.com – Unabridged

Int’l Mezzotint Society page on Facebook

Trout, mezzotint by: David Crown

The International Mezzotint Society

 

The International Mezzotint Society now has a presence on Facebook. 

[http://www.math.ufl.edu/~glover/mezzotint.html]

 

Check it out at…

http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Mezzotint-Society/292301830839?ref=ts

 

 

Development of Hairline Cracks in Oil Paintings

Why do oil paintings develop hairline cracks and acrylic paintings do not?

This is directly related to the binders used in oil and acrylic paint. Oil paint binder (linseed oil) dries to an inflexible weak film. As temperature and humidity conditions change and the substrate expands and contracts, this inflexible film can crack. In addition, linseed oil dries very slowly. If the lower paint layers contain more linseed oil than paint applied on top, the top layers will tend to dry sooner. This may cause cracks to develop.

Acrylic paint remains flexible, which prevents the paint film from cracking. Acrylic paint binder (acrylic polymer emulsion) dries to a flexible paint film because the molecules interlock. They “move” with the substrate (canvas) during expansion and contraction due to heat or cold and humidity.

                                                                                                            © 2010 – EAS

Inland Marine Insurance

Check out my new Group on LinkedIn designed to assist with questions related to Inland Marine policies.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=2264487&trk=eml-grp-sub