APRIL ESTATES

APRIL ESTATES FOLK & FINE ART | ETHNOGRAPHIC & TEXTILE ARTS | DECORATIVE ARTS & ANTIQUES Live Showroom Auction: Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 10AM ET Public Exhibition: April 21-22, 11AM – 4PM 510 LOTS, NO RESERVES BUYER’S PREMIUM: IN-HOUSE, PHONE, ABSENTEE: 25% Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live Online: Online Bidding Also Available on these Portals: NOTE: There Are No Hidden or Confidential Reserves; All Acceptable Bidding Commences at the Online Start Price. We Sell Approximately 60-80 Lots Per Hour. Shown below are a small sampling of lots. Please go to one of the online portal links above to view the entire auction catalog.

2025-03-31T16:23:23-04:00March 31st, 2025|Uncategorized|

THE RUBBER MEETS THE RUG!

ORIENTAL RUGS FOR FINAL SALE FROM RETIRING DEALERS & ESTATES Live Showroom Auction: Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 11AM EST Public Exhibition: Viewing by Appointment: March 24-25, 11AM – 4PM 312 LOTS, NO RESERVES BUYER’S PREMIUM: IN-HOUSE, PHONE, ABSENTEE: 25% Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live Online: Online Bidding Also Available on these Portals: NOTE: There Are No Hidden or Confidential Reserves; All Acceptable Bidding Commences at the Online Start Price. We Sell Approximately 60-80 Lots Per Hour. Shown below are a small sampling of lots. Please go to one of the online portal links above to view the entire auction catalog.

2025-03-13T10:46:05-04:00March 6th, 2025|Uncategorized|

THE TRAVELED COLLECTOR | AUCTION, MARCH 31

THE TRAVELED COLLECTOR | FOLK & FINE ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD Live Showroom Auction: Monday, March 31, 10AM ET Public Exhibition: March 29-30, 11AM – 4PM Join us! Exhibition Reception/Refreshments & Guest Speaker, Sunday, March 30, Noon to 3PM The Joy of Art Collecting | An Informal Gallery Walkthrough of Exhibition Highlights with Jose Zelaya, 1PM Jose Zelaya is a Philadelphia-based gallery owner, curator, and collector best known for his expertise in vintage Haitian art, which he has represented for over 25 years. A native New Yorker, Zelaya was immersed in the vibrant Manhattan art scene of the 1990s, where he worked alongside esteemed Haitian art dealers and collectors, including Gloria Frank, Fahimie Marks, Leon Sevilla, and Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme. His passion and dedication to Haitian art have led to the placement of numerous works in prestigious museum collections. Recently, he contributed paintings to notable exhibitions such as Afro-Atlantic Histories at MASP (São Paulo, Brazil), the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), and the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), and the Biennale Arte 2024 (Venice) as part of Foreigners Everywhere. In 2014, Zelaya curated an extraordinary auction exhibition at Material Culture titled Direct From the Eye: The Jonathan Demme Collection of Self-Taught Art, showcasing [...]

2025-03-13T10:35:23-04:00March 4th, 2025|Uncategorized|

ANTIQUE FURNITURE SHIPMENT JUST ARRIVED

ANTIQUE FURNITURE SHIPMENT JUST ARRIVED NOW IN STOCK Contact: store@materialculture.com Call: (215) 849-8030 For decades, Material Culture has sourced and sold antique Anglo-Indian furniture in our retail store, owing to its great popularity, home utility, and bench-made quality—qualities sorely lacking in today’s contemporary, mass-manufactured, “disposable” furniture. The adaptability of this furniture enhances its usefulness. Slim shelves become perfect spice or curio cabinets, while larger pieces fit seamlessly into dens, living rooms, or kitchens. The slim depth of this furniture allows it to fit more easily into rooms and hallways that would not accommodate bulkier forms, making it ideal for smaller urban apartments. Lastly, instead of ending up in the junk pile like much contemporary furniture, antique Anglo-Indian furniture can always be resold and find new homes for continued, reliable service. For much of their history, most Indians did not use Western types of furniture in their homes, but rather low tables and cushions on the floor, for lounging, eating and sleeping, while Indian Royals also used ceremonial pieces like thrones. Starting in the 16th century, European conquests of various parts of India meant an influx over time of Portuguese, French, Dutch and English domestic habits, including furniture uses and styles. [...]

2025-03-28T16:14:58-04:00February 26th, 2025|Uncategorized|

ORIENTAL RUGS FROM AMERICAN ESTATES | 72, AUCTION, FEBRUARY 25

ORIENTAL RUGS FROM AMERICAN ESTATES | 72 Live Showroom Auction: Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 11AM EST Public Exhibition: February 23-24, 11AM-4PM Join Us! Opening Exhibition Reception & Refreshments, Sunday, February 23, Noon to 4PM 383 LOTS, NO RESERVES BUYER’S PREMIUM: IN-HOUSE, PHONE, ABSENTEE: 25% Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live Online: Online Bidding Also Available on these Portals: NOTE: There Are No Hidden or Confidential Reserves; All Acceptable Bidding Commences at the Online Start Price. We Sell Approximately 60-80 Lots Per Hour. Shown below are a small sampling of lots. Please go to one of the online portal links above to view the entire auction catalog.

2025-02-04T16:18:59-05:00February 3rd, 2025|Uncategorized|

BACK IN THE DAY

Material Culture is located in what was once the largest radio manufacturing plant in the world! What Would Arthur Atwater Kent Think of 4700 Wissahickon Today? Arthur Atwater Kent (1873-1949) Founded by Arthur Atwater Kent (1873-1949), the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company became, by 1925, the largest maker of radios in the world. At its peak, in 1929, the company employed over 12,000 workers here at 4700 Wissahickon Ave. manufacturing nearly one million radio sets annually. The 32 acre single-expanse building with serrated glass-roof was an architectural sensation and received thousands of international visitors. The company also sponsored the popular "Atwater Kent Hour", a top-rated radio concert music program heard on NBC and CBS from 1926 to 1934. The show featured top entertainment and became one of the most popular and acclaimed regular radio programs of the era. Since 1993, Material Culture has recycled a sizable portion of Atwater Kent's factory in a number of inventive and ground-breaking ways: Atwater Kent Radio Manufacturing Plant (1946) • As a warehouse store that is equal parts Grand Bazaar and Post-Modern Industrial, a space filled with legendary values and surprises, where thousands of savvy shoppers, designers, collectors, and businesses around [...]

2025-02-03T12:27:29-05:00February 3rd, 2025|Uncategorized|

INTERNATIONAL TEXTILE ARTS | AUCTION, FEBRUARY 26

INTERNATIONAL TEXTILE ARTS | 41 Live Showroom Auction: Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 11AM EST Public Exhibition: February 23-24-25, 11AM-4PM Join Us! Opening Exhibition Reception & Refreshments, Sunday, February 23, Noon to 4PM 309 LOTS, NO RESERVES BUYER’S PREMIUM: IN-HOUSE, PHONE, ABSENTEE: 25% Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live Online: Online Bidding Also Available on these Portals: NOTE: There Are No Hidden or Confidential Reserves; All Acceptable Bidding Commences at the Online Start Price. We Sell Approximately 60-80 Lots Per Hour. Shown below are a small sampling of lots. Please go to one of the online portal links above to view the entire auction catalog.

2025-02-01T09:08:28-05:00January 30th, 2025|Uncategorized|

WINTER ESTATES | AUCTION, FEBRUARY 11

WINTER ESTATES | FOLK & FINE ART | ETHNOGRAPHIC | DECORATIVE ARTS & ANTIQUES | ORIENTAL RUGS 538 LOTS | NO RESERVES Live Showroom Auction: Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 10AM ET Public Exhibition: February 9-10, 11AM-4PM BUYER’S PREMIUM: IN-HOUSE, PHONE, ABSENTEE: 25% Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live Online: Online Bidding Also Available on these Portals:  

2025-01-19T16:36:08-05:00January 18th, 2025|Uncategorized|