#Cool #Lots #Coming #Auction #January #WorthPoint
WorthPoint’s Industry Partners are starting the year by offering some exciting items in their January auctions, ranging from a vessel for sharing a hot and spirited beverage with friends to a painting of one of the most famous dogs in the art world.
There’s an Italian saying, ”Chi beve solo si strozza” (”He who drinks alone chokes”). Lot 110a in 345 Auction’s 2024 Kickoff: Rare Finds & Vinyl Classics online-only sale ending January 11 from Pueblo West, Colorado, assures that won’t happen.
This antique friendship cup, carved from a single block of mahogany, is from the Valle d’Aosta region in Italy and is steeped in coffee folklore and camaraderie. A variation of the grolla that’s for serving wine, a friendship cup serves Valdostana coffee—espresso mixed with grappa (a grape-based pomace brandy), sugar, and spices. The lot includes an authentic recipe.
This cup’s six spouts capture the spirit of Valdostana coffee culture, which fosters communal connections and sharing a warming beverage with friends, hence its name. After the Valdostana coffee is flambéed, people take turns drinking from a different spout without their mouths touching it, and the cup isn’t put down until it’s empty. This tradition, which was still popular in the last century, especially during the winter, is diminishing now, mainly for hygienic reasons, so friendship cups are becoming more of a collectible for coffee and folklore enthusiasts. Even if it’s not used for its original purpose, the cup is still a charming symbol of friendship.
If you want to know future lottery numbers or start a side hustle as a fortune teller, an item in Grant Zahajko Auctions’s Cool Collectibles: 100 Years of Relics & Oddities live sale on January 11 in Davenport, Washington, is of particular interest: lot 53, a vintage crystal ball with a metal stand.
Antique and vintage crystal balls are collectibles that hold much mystery. Crystal gazing was developed by various cultures as early as 3000 BC, and intuitives have used these intriguing divination tools to foresee the future. They also symbolize good luck and positive energy. This crystal ball has a few minor flaws, which indicates that it’s authentic, as genuine crystals usually have imperfections like cracks, dents, or scratches that make them unique. Even if you don’t use it to try and unlock hidden wisdom, this enchanting orb is a great conversation piece.
The fascination with science and space spawned many nifty toys that collectors eagerly seek today. Bodnar’s Auction, which specializes in toys from all decades, is offering what’s considered one of the rarest mid-century space toys at its live broadcast Estate Toys From All Generations sale on January 24 in New Brunswick, New Jersey: Lot 182, an Area Radiation Tester.
Unlike some past children’s toys that contained actual radiation, like the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, this sizable space toy—made in 1961 by the Japanese company Bandai and only offered at Sears—“tests” for radiation. The battery-operated vehicle features bump ‘n’ go action (a mechanism that activates when a wheeled toy bumps into something), opening rear bay doors, flashing red and green light pods in the back, and smoke that emits when the radiation tester antenna comes out. When testing is complete, the antenna retracts, the smoke stops, and the vehicle moves on and tests another area.
Bandai is one of the most collected Japanese manufacturers for its brightly colored and lithographed items, and this early tin toy is highly sought after. Maybe it can even detect any radiation the Atomic Energy Lab left behind.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, what sweeter way to show someone you love them than with a heart-shaped scoop of ice cream?
Unique ice cream scoops are hot commodities with collectors, and Freeman Yoder Auctions is offering a holy grail in its online and in-person 2024 Collector’s Sale in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania: Lot 391, a near-antique heart-shaped scoop.
Manos Novelty Co. of Toronto, Ohio, made this nickel-plated brass scoop in 1925. The company produced only five hundred of these, so they’re rare and prized by collectors. Manos Novelty also made heart-shaped ice cream dishes that are perfect companions.
During its two-day Fine Art, Antiques & Jewelry sale on January 27 and 28 in Knoxville, Tennessee, Case Auctions will offer lot 133 on Day 1, a painting of one of the most famous canines in the art world.
A Louisiana Sunday Morning by American artist George Rodrigue (1944–2013) features Blue Dog, the star of Rodrigue’s long-running and world-famous series of paintings. These works are based on stories about the Cajun werewolf loup-garou Rodrigue heard as a child and his beloved dog Tiffany, his constant companion when he painted in his studio.
This painting depicts Blue Dog with lit candles and a basket of flowers and has a poignant backstory. In the summer of 2012, Rodrigue was diagnosed with cancer, but by the fall, he received encouraging news that it was in remission. When he returned to his easel, his paintings reflected his new outlook on life. According to George Rodrigue Studios, the two candles in A Louisiana Sunday Morning represent his second chance at life, while the flowers symbolize rebirth. The painting depicts everything Rodrigue said he cherished: hope, love, happiness, and sunshine.
Case has sold several Blue Dog paintings, including this one for $90,000 in 2021.
Adina K. Francis has been a writer and editor in the antiques and collectibles field for more than 20 years. She has a bit of an obsession with the Victorians and thinks that dogs are one of life’s greatest gifts.
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