Kusama Affandi (1907-1990), the father of Indonesian modern painting, was the first Southeast Asian artist to gain worldwide recognition. From his sponsorship of organizations for young artists to the inspiration of his self-taught expressionism, he helped raise future generations of…
Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk (1567-1607) was an explorer. Before he captured the treasure ship Santa Caterina in the Straits of Malacca, and died defeating the Spanish fleet off Gibraltar, he was already a hero of an epic book, Nova Zembla.…
Why do we all love blue and white china? Perhaps because it is hard-wired into our system. Across history and continents, the love of blue and white Chinese porcelain has launched ships and industries. For a thousand years, China…
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Delftware was the most common type of ceramic export to the American colonies, the wide range of products doing everything from adorning elegant tables and displaying flowers to serving utilitarian purposes in apothecary shops…
Pewter is undoubtedly the crown jewel in the Herr collection. Auctioneer and appraiser James Pook discusses a highly important Lancaster, Pennsylvania pewter flagon, ca. 1770, bearing the touch of Johann Christoph Heyne (Germany, Lancaster 1715-1781), 11 1/4″ h. James explains,…
Among his favorite items in the sale, owner Ron Pook selects an important John Palm Boyer (1833-1901), Brickerville, Lancaster County, painted pine seed chest, ca. 1860, retaining its original faux grain decoration, the case with a fall front lid over…
Owner Debra Pook explains what distinguishes an important Chester County, Pennsylvania needlework grouping of sewing articles. Made by Hannah Darlington, ca. 1785, each piece bearing the maker’s name or initials, included are a rollup sampler pinball dated 1785, initialed HD,…
Auctioneer and appraiser Jamie Shearer highlights a Philadelphia silk on silk pictorial embroidery by Ann Marsh, ca. 1730, with a vibrant urn of flowers with insect and bird, all resting on a rolling lawn with sheep and a running dog,…
Pook & Pook is honored to present the Pennsylvania German Folk Art Collection of Drs. Donald and Patricia Herr on Thursday and Friday, June 9th & 10th. Descended from Hans Herr (1639-1725), the first Mennonite bishop to immigrate to America,…
This little painting is quite special. The mother, in a black dress with fancy lace collar and cap, is seated. One arm and the curve of her body envelop a small, intelligent-looking child at the bottom of the frame. The…
When the Spartan army took home the horses of Xerxes as spoils of war in 479 BCE, after the battle of Plataea, it began a movement of eastern horses to Europe that was to last throughout the period of classical…
Press Release – Americana & International Auction at Pook & Pook, April 21st & 22nd, 2022 By: Cynthia Beech Lawrence The Americana & International sale on April 21st and 22nd at Pook & Pook will feature the estates of three…
Charles Peale Polk, Portrait of David Brickell Kerr, 1791 THREE MEN AND A BOOK David Kerr (1749-1814) was a patriot in the Revolutionary War, commissioned as 1st Lieutenant in Captain George Watts’ company of Militia in Anne Arundel County. Kerr…
On March 23rd, Pook & Pook will auction over 600 lots of coins and fine jewelry. Luxury designer watches, antique and fine jewelry, collectible coins and bullion hail from a variety of sources, including hundreds of items from the Pennsylvania…
Pook & Pook would like to congratulate auctioneer and appraiser Jamie Shearer on his appointment as President of the Pennsylvania Auctioneer’s Association for 2022. Made up of nearly 500 auctioneers, the PAA supports a political action committee, professional development, and…
In 1840 an English folk hero was born. Little Wonder, a rank outsider of diminutive, nearly pony-like proportions, was entered in Britain’s most prestigious flat race, The Epsom Derby. Ridden by a little-known jockey named Macdonald, Little Wonder worked his…