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Auction: The Eileen Ford Estate and Others | Sunday, March 1, 2015, 10am est

The Eileen Ford Estate and Others | Art, Antiques, Decorative Arts, Furnishings, Asian Arts, Oriental Rugs, Silver, Jewelry and Collectibles Live Salesroom Auction: Sunday, March 1, 2015, 10am est Exhibition: February 27-28, 11am-5pm Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on LiveAuctioneers.com Browse the Virtual Print Catalog Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Material Culture is pleased to offer at auction a fine selection of several hundred items from the Eileen Ford estate. Called the grand dame, doyenne and mother of the modern modeling industry, Eileen Ford shaped our standard of beauty for decades as a co-founder of Ford Models, one of the most important and influential modeling agencies of the twentieth century. Not only was Ford Models the number one modeling agency in the world, Eileen enforced fair pay and practices in an industry that had long exploited models, transforming modeling from a hobby to one of the world’s most glamorous careers. She was also known for a strict but motherly approach, compelling her models to their own standards of professional behavior and healthy practices. Born in Manhattan in 1922, Eileen was a model herself during her years at Barnard College, working with one of the [...]

2020-01-07T13:17:51-05:00February 9th, 2015|Uncategorized|
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Asian, Ethnographic & Tribal Arts | Feb 15

Asian, Ethnographic & Tribal Arts Live Salesroom Auction: Sunday, February 15, 2015, 10am est Exhibition: February 13-14, 11am-5pm Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on LiveAuctioneers.com Browse the Virtual Print Catalog Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Virtual Print Catalog

2020-01-07T13:17:51-05:00February 2nd, 2015|Uncategorized|
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Winter Estates: Art, Antiques, Americana, Oriental Rugs, Asian & Decorative Arts

Winter Estates: Art, Antiques, Americana, Oriental Rugs, Asian & Decorative Arts Auction: Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10am est Exhibition: December 18-19, 11am-5pm Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on LiveAuctioneers.com Browse the Virtual Print Catalog Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) In the middle of the holiday season, Material Culture will host a Winter Estates sale subtitled “Art, Antiques, Decorative and Ethnographic Arts.” Over 700 lots come fresh to the market in this December 20 sale, including fine art, Oriental rugs, Asian decorative arts, and American advertising, ephemera and decorative arts. With a broad range of collectibles, a fine selection of vintage postcards, antique Continental ceramics, art books, and more, the auction promises to have tempting lots for almost every kind of collector. Fine art at the auction presents pieces in many different genres. Oil pantings on canvas, such as “Bathing Boys” (lot 29), by Indonesian painter I.W.J. Munut (b. 1941) are on offer in the sale. A color woodcut by Luigi Rist (American, 1888-1959), titled “We Repeat (Still life with Radishes)” (lot 400) is charming with a hint of the surreal. Sculpture is led by a Curtis Jere tabletop sculpture of birds, rendered in [...]

2020-01-07T13:17:45-05:00December 11th, 2014|Uncategorized|
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Promoting Peace Through Art

Material Culture Presents: The Afghan Peace Rug Project For the past 30 years, Afghan war rugs have been highly valued and internationally collected as pieces of modern folk art. These rugs, woven by Afghan village artisans since 1979 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, depict images of the wars and conflict that have been a trademark of this country for the past three decades. In an effort to both revitalize the Afghan economy and reshape its image from one of war to one of peace, Material Culture has partnered with a group of village rug producers in Afghanistan to launch the Peace Rug Project. Working with the same village artisans who have been weaving images of tanks, guns and hand grenades for years, the Peace Rug Project has challenged these artisans to leave behind this imagery and weave instead images of peace. Small, folk-art sized wool carpets using natural dyes and depicting images of flowers, birds, animals, village life, and all manner of personal expression, have begun to emerge from Afghan villages and Material Culture is proud to bring them to the international market. This series of unique, one of a kind rugs, each depicting the weaver's vision of the peaceful [...]

2020-01-07T13:16:05-05:00December 10th, 2014|Store News|
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The Peacebomb Collection at Material Culture

The Peacebomb collection by ARTICLE 22, a jewelry line designed from weapons of mass destruction, is now on sale at Material Culture and will be featured in our "Give Peace" for the Holidays event on December 14th ARTICLE 22 has been recognized by global consumers and press as pioneering the transformation of weapons to jewelry and, more generally, the tangible value of transformation through fashion. Driven dually by design and development, ARTICLE 22 cultivates the untapped talents of artisans in forgotten or off-the-beaten-track places, promoting entrepreneurship and community development. ARTICLE 22 designs beautiful and meaningful collections that tell unknown stories and give back. PEACEBOMB, the first collection, is jewelry made from Vietnam War era bombs by Laotian artisans. ARTICLE 22 seeks to embody a new luxury that intimately relates our objects and ideas. As appropriate, additional giveback benefits a broader cause. For PEACEBOMB, each bracelet sold demines 3m2 of bomb littered land. The collections are composed of modern artifacts with a distinct hand feel. They are designed for those concerned by authenticity and quality, those curious to discover. Article 22 “I Love Peace” bangles are currently featured in the “My Favorite Things”  holiday gift promotion giveaway to 10 lucky winners, sponsored by the Philadelphia Daily News (click for details) [...]

2020-01-07T13:17:50-05:00December 3rd, 2014|Store News|
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Exhibition: Currency and Costume in Pre-Colonial Africa, November 22, 2014 – February 28, 2015

Exhibition, November 22nd-February 28th, 2015 Selections from the Isabella de la Houssaye and David Crane Collection The population of Africa is one of the most diverse in the world with more than 3000 distinct ethnic groups and over 2100 spoken languages. Prior to colonization, each of these ethnic groups had distinct customs and artistic traditions that were reflected in both their costume and currency. Although these ethnic groups are now organized into "countries" and many have adopted western dress and traditions, to truly understand the political and cultural history of Africa you have to have some understanding of the different ethnic groups that populate these countries. This exhibition attempts to illustrate visually through items of traditional costume and currency the differences and similarities among many of these African ethnic groups. It examines how artistic and cultural traditions informed the costume and currency of the different tribes while also exploring what the costume and currency communicated about the people who wore/used it. Prior to trade with the Europeans, traditional costume was made primarily from materials at hand—leather from animals, hand-woven textiles, textiles made from natural fibers, feathers and seeds, and objects fabricated from metals. The use of beads to make and [...]

2020-01-07T13:17:50-05:00November 16th, 2014|Store News|
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November Estates featuring Antiques, Art, Americana, Oriental Carpets, Asian, Decorative & Ethnographic Arts

November Estates: Antiques, Art, Americana, Oriental Carpets, Asian, Decorative & Ethnographic Arts Auction: Sunday, November 23, 10am est Exhibition: November 21-22, 11am-5pm 850+ Lots of Fresh to Market Items from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and New England Estates Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on LiveAuctioneers.com Browse the Virtual Print Catalog Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Material Culture’s November 23 auction brings together an enticing variety of art and artifacts.  This classic estates sale boasts 850+ lots of fresh to the market items from local Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and New England Estates. In addition to the fine, folk and ethnographic arts, carpets and antiques mentioned in the title, the sale includes jewelry, silver, antique firearms, toys, furnishings and more, providing something of interest for every collector. One of the leading lots in fine art is a lithograph entitled “Summer” (lot 5) by Philip Guston (American, 1913-1980), whose provenance includes ownership by Philadelphia-based artist Paul Cava. Two other leading lots come from Russian artists, an untitled oil on board (lot 22) dating to 1973 by Dmitry Krasnopevtsev (1925-1995), and another oil on board painting (lot 23) by Vasili [...]

2020-01-07T13:17:50-05:00November 11th, 2014|Uncategorized|
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