How to live like a sovereign or celebrity. The art of winning at the great international auctions without breaking your budget.

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

What do you do when you have a) stuff you don’t want anymore and when you need b) some extra cash? Why, you have a garage or lawn sale.

Such is also the fate of kings and celebrities. These folks have an unimaginable abundance of things and often a decided lack of the ready.

Like you, these mortals also die in due course; uninterested heirs take over, and they never liked Grannie the Queen’s china pattern; (though it was given by HRH your cousin the Grand Duke). They can also use the money and have been waiting a lifetime to get their white-gloved hands on it.

For such exalted folks, a table laden with old copies of “Mad Magazine” and the mitt your brother will be furious you sold (he never helped, so there) won’t do. These exalted ones have their own way of dispossessing and reaping. And the most famous auction houses on earth, starting with Sotheby’s (founded 1744) and Christies (founded 1766 ) help them do it… tastefully, efficiently, with pages of catalog provenance and always above all else, the History that doth hedge the royals (and the film stars, too); no less after their prime and power than during. Thus you, should you wish to possess the very goods and chattels of some of the most famous personages on earth must deal with the auction houses, too. This article ensures you will do so with confidence, efficiency and without a trace or suspicion that you are not either to the manner or the manor born.

Rule 1. Get all the catalogs for sale in your chosen field(s).

One mistake that way too many people make is to start their familiarization program with the grand sales. Error! These sales are too crowded; too much is going on; the staffs are pressed with too much to do and only a short window to do it. Thus to commence your education here is to prove how unready you are to attend such sales at all.

Instead start your crucial education with the auction houses’ standard sales in your field. Learn auction art and craft first from the unhyped auctions. Starting here will stand you in good stead.

Note: it should go without saying (but cannot) that you should retain these catalogs for your records; they will take a lot of space, but the information they provide is invaluable.

Rule 2. Make it a point to meet the auction house experts in your field.

These people are all knowledgeable, and constitute a vast treasure of useful information, not least for guidelines on what to pay for a lot and candid (though not always complete) condition reports. Such people, their knowledge, their familiarity with the various lot items is crucial to your success.

Rule 3. Create your own stable of advisors, including conservators and restorers.

While the auction house personnel are usually (but not invariably) excellent and most helpful, you will also need your own experts. Remember, at the end of the day, auction house personnel serve two masters, the auction house itself — and you. And you know what the Good Book says about that…

… which is why you need to have your own advisors. This will happen by referral… with the auction houses making the referral, if and only if you request it. Such recommendations are not given spontaneously. Thus you see how incestuous this industry is, with personnel jumping from one camp to the other. That’s why in the final analysis the expert you consult most often is Caveat Emptor.

Still other experts will come by referral from the various conservators and experts you consult — and pay for their work. These people, your crucial specialists will, in my estimation, give you appreciably better advice about the condition of any item and problem(s) you may acquire along with the lot itself. Like the auction houses, these folks should never give you advice and the benefit of their expertise sotto voce. Request and always get it in writing; e-mail, of course, has expedited this process.

Rule 4. Always be acquiring.

Having a collection means, among other things, never stopping the collection of the rare, the fantastical, the previously unobtainable. It means finding these scarcities, scrutinizing them well — before you purchase — and playing the poker of auctions better than the inveterate cognoscenti. What fun!

To collect a piece now and the next 5 or even 10 years later instantly drops you from connoisseur to duffer. People who create collections of note are indefatigable, always having something new to show and something “about to happen,” about which mum’s the word before the auction… becoming a tale of triumph immediately thereafter.

Rule 5. Set your limit and stick to it, yes, up to and bidding the highly desirable object au revoir.

The grand auctions, the auctions of house-hold names and illustrious dynasties, always cause ingenues and the out-of-control to overbid… and lament. You, however, are a collector, not a bank; this means you must always maintain a sense of good value… and fatal overpayment. This is not always easy to do.

Thus, with the assistance of your team of experts, set the top bid you will make. Then make sure you are either present to bid in person… or on the telephone. Keep your highest bid in front of you and bite your tongue if necessary to stay faithful to your (never sufficient) fund for purchases. Develop a philosophical attitude if you lose… because even this loss is not necessarily forever. The more familiar with your field; the more you see many objects auctioned… are re-auctioned later.

Start today

The catalogs are now available online and in paper for the next grand sale, items from the estate of the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. (Died 30 April, 1980). March 14-17, 2011 are the sale dates.

Her royal daughters are auctioning over 1,700 items, the proceeds to go to the Red Cross. While this is not as grand a sale as those recently held by other princes (Queen Juliana, as is well known, had simple tastes); still a royal sale is a royal sale, and there are some things which every royal collector will crave. I know. I’m one… and perhaps I shall see you there, implementing the very recommendations I have just given… you! Bonne chance!

The angel in my house, the alluring Catherine Stephens, countess of Essex, painted by Sir Martin Archer Shee, PRA.

by  Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author’s program note. Do you believe in fate? Do you believe that there are people on this planet we are meant to meet? That we will meet… no matter how unlikely that seems at this moment? When I contemplate the matter objectively as my training as a social scientist demands, I come to the obvious, the expected, the empirical conclusion that the idea of fate is superstitious hokus-pokus… then a chance encounter with Catherine Stephens occurs and challenges my logic, for surely this is kismet indeed.

Some background.

I am that most uncomfortable and difficult of beings, a connoisseur; that is a person who is engaged in the strenuous, never-ending search for rapture; a state which occurs whenever I see a thing and know that thing must be mine, cannot go anywhere but to me… for my well-being, the very completion of myself depends on my acquiring it.

Every connoisseur knows this unsettled state for each of us goes through it, especially (it seems) when money is in short supply, possibly due to having only recently been so touched and agitated… by something else.

But there’s the rub. Whenever one enters this condition, it is as if for the very first time, so intense, so unsettling are the pangs. And this can happen anywhere at anytime. Be warned.

In the matter of Catherine Stephens they occurred as I perused the pages of the Dorotheum auction catalog for The Prince Kinski Sale, February 28, 2012. Lot 96. Given my interest in the nobility and royal families of Europe, it was inevitable I should consult this catalog… and perhaps find something; but by no means inevitable that thing would be a portrait of a lovely actress and singer elevated into the highest echelon of the English aristocracy. Yet just as Catherine Stephens captivated and in 1838 married the octogenarian fifth earl of the ninth creation of Essex, the Right Honorable George Capell-Coningsby (1757-1839) … so she captivated me… and so (I warn you) she will captivate you, too.

Some facts about Miss Stephens.

Catherine Stephens (1794-1882) was the daughter of Edward Stephens, a carver and gilder in Park Street, Grosvenor Square, London. Theirs was a musical family… and her musical talent was encouraged. Thus, on 23 September 1813 she appeared at Covent Garden as Mandane in the opera “Artaxerxes” by Thomas Arne (1710-1778) . He was the celebrated composer who wrote “Rule, Britannia!” and even a version of “God Save The King”, which became the British national anthem. She was in very good company indeed…

… and (I warned you) she enchanted them all. The aria that launched her career was  “The soldier tir’d of war’s alarms”, and it was theater magic.

You’ll want to hear it. And you can. Go to any search engine where you can hear Joan Sutherland’s 1960 performance. Now imagine the lovely very young Catherine’s candlelit debut and the dulcet tones which made each member of the restive audience believe — no, not just believe but know — she was singing just for them. That was always to be her secret…

That quality was instantly apparent in this circa 1838 portrait by Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850). This was the most sympathetic face I had ever seen. And it was instantly clear that he, too, for all that he was consummate master of his craft, knight of the realm and President of the Royal Academy (PRA) had felt the power of her serene radiance.  Thus perforce did I stop to regard.

Most pictures of grand ladies, particularly titled ladies, say, “Look at me and be honored to do so. For I am worth the viewing.” Such pictures may awe and dazzle… but they do not warm or beckon us. They are about the subject, not the viewer. But Shee’s inviting portrait makes you feel certain about your reception, certain she wants to meet you and will be good to you. Above all that she will be good to you…. for that is what we all need.  And if that quality is immediately apparent in the sitter it is not just because Shee is a master, supremely confident in his skill, but because it was there for all the world to see in the lady herself.

Hard times for the Kinskis. Hard times for the painting.

To understand the fate of this picture you must understand something of the noble families of Mitteleuropa, families which were the foundation of the Austro- Hungarian empire. When it fell in 1918 families like the Kinskis lost the fruits of their hundreds of years of advancement. Their lives ceased to be glamorous but rather one lawsuit after another, largely futile attempts to regain property — and self-esteem. Throughout the declension of their lives and fortunes, the princes Kinski kept this picture. And it was in the old prince’s drawing room when he died. It was, remember, always comforting…. even when its condition was dire… as it was when I saw it and asked Simon Gillespie to give me his opinion.

Miss Stephens charms Mr. Gillespie of Cleveland Street.

London England-based Simon is my chosen conservator, the man who has restored over 30 of my pictures and upon whose informed opinion I rely, picture after superbly restored picture. As much a master of his craft as Arne and Shee in theirs, he, like them, felt the enduring charm of Catherine Stephens and wanted to restore the picture as much for her sake as for mine.

Thus he and his talented staff set to their important work, removing the dirt of time and poor maintenance, old varnishes and over paint applied by less careful and discerning hands. When this was finished, the now pristine canvass yielded a considerable secret using radiology, namely that Shee had originally positioned the sitter quite differently, for a full frontal pose with both shoulders visible. But as Shee painted he came to see his subject better and divine the source of her undeniable allure. And so he started again, his flamboyant technique very apparent in the repositioned result that captivates … and makes such an entrancing vision and desirable painting.

This is the image not just of one particular woman but of what the Victorians wanted from Woman in general, kindness, courtesy, sweetness of face and of manner, a willing ear, sympathetic at all times, generous of spirit — in short the celestial ideal advanced by Coventry Patmore (1823-1896) in his important poem “The Angel in the House” written in stages from 1854-1862.  It was an image that swept the world..

“Now she was there! Within her face/Humility and dignity/ Were met in a most sweet embrace/She seem’d expressly sent below/ To teach our erring minds to see/ The rhythmic change of life’s swift flow/ As part of still eternity.”

This is why this portrait of a lady and exalted countess is so important. You see, it makes clear what Woman may choose to be and of her profound significance in our often sore afflicted and troubled lives. I know, for when in my own life such troubles emerge, as troubles can do, I look up at this soothing, welcoming image now here before me in Cambridge and find comfort, peace and the kindness we all need.

Night and day’. Of collecting, collectors, the thrill of victory… and the ones that got away you never forget.

By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author’s program note. March 25, 2012 the Boston Globe ran a story about the auction of treasures from the estate of the late Reverend Peter Gomes,  the well known Harvard minister who died young (just 68), February 28, 2011. Gomes was a certified pack rat who searched the ordinarily unpromising antiques shops of Boston and New England in search of the elusive “finds” that make a collector’s life so satisfying  — or so frustrating.
Gomes was out early and late in hot  pursuit of — what? — he couldn’t say in advance, no collector can, but he’d know it when he saw it. I am an obsessive collector myself, and I am writing this article in the hope not merely of understanding collectors in general, but myself in particular… for I’ll be darned if I can figure out why I who have so much spends so much time and treasure collecting — more! Perhaps this article will help you; I certainly hope it helps me!
“You can’t take it with you.” (1936).
We all know this well-known saying, but I long ago reached the conclusion that it most assuredly doesn’t pertain to bona fide collectors. Just how we make the transport and presentation arrangements in heaven (much less in that other place), I cannot say. But I do know this: every single collector I know (serious or otherwise) believes they most assuredly get an exemption. For if it all (every last baseball card, match box or movie star autograph) cannot go… why then we have some serious explaining to do, what with all the trouble (to say nothing of the expense) we’ve gone through to acquire everything that is now mine, mine, all mine. For you see, the more we collect the more others believe us to be (and certainly say right to our faces) that we are mad as a hatter. (That reference, by the way, is from  “Alice in Wonderland”, and if you had an autographed first edition (1865) in your collection it would be worth a packet… but I digress.)
Equally if you had the autographed sheet music to Cole Porter’s most famous tune “Night and Day” (1932) that, too, would be a great find and a worthy acquisition. However, for right now, I recommend you go to any search engine and listen up. I selected this incidental music because collectors never stop looking, participants day and night in the great hunt and always know “you are the one” when they find their next “must have” acquisition. Porter would have understood; after all, he was a strenuous collector himself, of the silver cigarette case variety.
Important things you should know about collectors.
There are things you really need to know about us collectors. First, things that alarm and distress more pedestrian people positively make us giddy and thrilled. I mean things like death, economic turmoil, wars, revolutions, even garden-variety mayhem… we positively thrive in circumstances which depress others. When, for instance, a great empire falls with massive misfortune for millions, you can be sure its bibelots, artifacts, and what-nots will, in short order, pop up in the royal and imperial “yard sales” held at the world’s greatest auction houses, names like Sothebys, Christie’s, Dorotheum, et al. We collectors positively thrive on other people’s miseries; it’s what we do.
We have to say, of course, (and we must deliver these sentiments with as much sincerity as we are able) that we regret such catastrophes… but, in truth, that’s generally a little white lie. This lie was very much apparent at Gomes’ estate auction. Gomes had spent a lifetime acquiring items from the overrated antiques stores of Beacon Hill, Essex and Groton… items his many friends, former students, congregants in Harvard’s Memorial Church… even readers of his books and sermons … picked through with avidity, enthusiasm, and a jaundiced eye. For such people, collectors all, a demise, however untimely, means pure, unadulterated bliss… unless they fail at the auction to secure the things they “had” to have.
Scrutinizing you and your possessions.
Collectors love meeting others who collect the same kinds of things… but not for the reasons you suppose. Collectors want to meet you and visit chez vous not to swap tips, bond, or brainstorm. By no means. They wish to see and minutely scrutinize and peruse what you’ve got that they, hopefully sooner rather than later,would like; indeed must have. Thus, when husband calls wife to “see Dr. Lant’s marvelous portrait by Lawrence of Lord Shaftesbury” and lauds it over much whilst taking out his pocket diary the better to take notes, you must understand that he is thinking there is only one thing between where this highly desirable object now resides and its potential new home… and that thing is you. Make a hasty excuse about why such creatures must be shown the door and at once, for they cannot possibly wish you well. Absolutely no collector is or ever will be that magnanimous. After all, you’re not. And neither am I!
Close mouthed before… unendingly voluble forever after.
I aver that collectors would all be suitable for the CIA and all other “spook” organizations. Why? Because we can most assuredly be discrete with information. Consider this: When I was a young man working on my first book (“Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria’s Court”) I was the first American ever admitted to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. Thus, I was able to walk across to Eton, its famous school, and a High Street well stocked in those days with antiques stores. And there I applied my specialized knowledge to the flotsam and jetsam on display in these stores… scoring, I am pleased as punch to tell you, bulls-eye after bulls-eye; to name but one satisfying “steal”, the acquisition — and for just about 50 cents each –of a pleasant quantity of rare hand-colored royal prints in mint condition; now worth thousands. I have them to this day and whenever I have the need to gloat review them with the greatest possible glee. I tell you this now, decades after the fact, because it cannot help my erstwhile colleagues and fellow sleuths. When this event was taking place, however, nothing, absolutely nothing would have caused me to be so indiscrete. And so it is with all collectors…. secret as the grave whilst in the process of acquiring; the exact reverse, a positive Niagara of self-praise and egotism, once acquisition was secured… self-praise and egotism available anywhere, anytime lavishly applied — whether asked for or not.
Provenance, or Marie Antoinette emptied this stone from her plum-colored slippers as she went to the guillotine.
Collectors collect for many reasons but to one-up friends, family and the ill-educated and credulous is clearly the most important of these. Here provenance is absolutely crucial, that is to say who possessed and may actually have used the object in question. Be clear on this: collectors always want the most detailed and exalted provenance possible. Thus to have a cracked plate from the Siberia service of the Empress Catherine of all the Russias is more desirable and socially elevating that a complete place setting from the 3rd Prince Regnant of Moldava… or an entire and immediately useful service for 12 owned by your next door neighbor. And be clear on this as well: not only do you want such absolutely essential historical reference… but you must learn to say it with hauteur, panache and such exquisite intonation that you must surely be noble yourself. Parbleu!
But enough of these insider secrets. I’ve got important work today… yes, for the benefit of my burgeoning collection. And if you think I’ll share a single syllable about the work at hand, think again. Mum’s the word… that is until I get the this or that I’m after now. And when I get it, prepare to be impressed… and say so… over and over again. I deserve it.