antique

16 Stories

Someone Spent $25.3M for This 'Highly Important' Bowl

Chinese antique sold in Sotheby's auction

(Newser) - The bowl is pretty and small, and also represents the "peak of painting on porcelain." The Chinese antique also just went for $25.3 million at an auction over the weekend, with an unknown entity scooping up the "highly important" artifact crafted sometime in the mid-18th century,...

Thieves Swipe Hundreds of Props From The Crown
The Crown Suffers
a $200K Theft
Feb 24, 2022 12:55 PM CST

The Crown Suffers a $200K Theft

Thieves made off with more than 350 props, police say

(Newser) - Three vehicles hit by thieves in South Yorkshire, England, contained some unusual items: more than 350 props used in the Netflix series The Crown. The BBC reports by way of police that the items were stolen on Feb. 16 from vehicles parked near a filming location. The loot included many...

The Antique Seller Thought It Was Inert. It Wasn't

WWII-era MK2 grenade killed a Virginia teen in December

(Newser) - A Virginia teen was killed on Dec. 23 when a decades-old hand grenade exploded. The New York Times reports the World War II-era device was thought to have been purchased in June from the Fancy Flea Antique Mall in Shallotte, NC. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has...

Cats, Dogs Frolicked Near $9M Emperor's Vase
'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase
Found in Old Woman's Cupboard
in case you missed it
Aug 8, 2020 11:31 AM CDT

'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase Found in Old Woman's Cupboard

Rediscovered Chinese porcelain dating back 275 years kept in open cupboard near cats, dogs

(Newser) - A delicate Chinese porcelain vase believed to have been crafted for an emperor 275 years ago has sold for more than $9 million after turning up in a cupboard in a country home in central Europe. The rare find—actually two vases in one, with a pierced outer layer of...

Chess Piece in a Drawer for 55 Years May Sell for $1.3M

Piece has been identified as one of the famous Lewis Chessmen from the Viking era

(Newser) - A chess piece purchased for $7.50 by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964 has been identified as one of the 900-year-old Lewis Chessmen, among the greatest artifacts of the Viking era. Sotheby's auction house said Monday the chess piece is expected to bring between $670,000 and...

How Shaving Brushes Spread Anthrax During World War I

CDC has a warning to people scooping up the antiques today

(Newser) - Anyone picking up a trendy antique shaving brush might want to check the date: Those made before 1930 or so have been linked to the spread of anthrax back in the day. In an interesting CDC study picked up by the Verge , researchers show how cheap, improperly disinfected brushes used...

Item on Antiques Roadshow Leaves Expert 'Trembling'
Item on Antiques Roadshow
Leaves Expert 'Trembling'
in case you missed it
Apr 8, 2017 5:29 PM CDT

Item on Antiques Roadshow Leaves Expert 'Trembling'

It's a minuscule Shakespearean notebook

(Newser) - You never know what you're going to see on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow—the things people find buried in their attics are sometimes complete junk and other times breathtakingly valuable. A tiny notebook apparently falls toward the latter category, and the appraiser's reaction to it is garnering...

Antiques Roadshow Said Jug Is Worth $50K. Uh, Nope

It was actually made by a high school student in 1970s

(Newser) - It's "rare" for Antiques Roadshow to make a mistake when appraising items, Time notes, but it does happen—and it happened in January in a big way. The show took a look at an item it calls " Grotesque Face Jug ," a jug with bizarre faces on...

Antiques Roadshow Makes $1.5M Find
 Antiques Roadshow
 Makes $1.5M Find 
in case you missed it
Jul 30, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

Antiques Roadshow Makes $1.5M Find

Chinese rhino cups break show's record

(Newser) - An Oklahoma man has shattered Antiques Roadshow records with a set of Chinese teacups carved from rhinoceros horn. The show's experts appraised the cups, believed to be from the late 17th or early 18th century, at between $1 million and $1.5 million, making them the most valuable antiques...

Thieves Find $500M Treasure in Derelict Mansion

Aristocrat though home's shabby state would deter thieves

(Newser) - Spanish aristocrat Jaume Grau-Pla's cunning strategy of hiding the family treasure in a derelict mansion he thought thieves would overlook didn't work. Loot worth an estimated $500 million, including jewels and relics dating back to the 12th century, was stolen from the Catalonia mansion by thieves tipped off by a...

Dickens' Dog's Collar Fetches $12K

Victorian pet wear sells double great expectations

(Newser) - A dog collar sported by one of Charles Dickens' dogs fetched $11,590 at auction yesterday, outstripping sellers' greatest expectations. The leather and brass collar is inscribed with the author's name and London address. An ivory-and-gold toothpick that once belonged to Dickens sold for $9,150 at auction last year,...

Why We Love to Hate Anthropologie
 Why We Love 
 to Hate Anthropologie 
OPINION
Oct 8, 2009 11:53 AM CDT

Why We Love to Hate Anthropologie

Man Shops Globe was widely panned—but Keith Johnson is just a 'whipping boy'

(Newser) - Man Shops Globe, the show following Anthropologie buyer Keith Johnson, premiered last night to much scoffing from critics—or, as Erika Kawalek calls it on DoubleX, “Anthropologie Rage.” Heather Havrilesky mocks Johnson’s job of “traveling the globe to buy enormous overpriced pieces of weird, ancient junk...

US to Return $10M Stolen Art Stash to Italy

'Treasure trove' of looted antiques uncovered in Chicago home

(Newser) - A huge stash of stolen artifacts found in a Chicago home will be returned to Italy by US authorities, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The artifacts—including letters written by kings and popes, and Etruscan works thousands of years old—were discovered by the homeowner's heirs after his death, and are...

Torture Tools For Sale to Nicest Bidder

Collection of medieval flesh-rippers to be sold to aid human rights organizations

(Newser) - A huge collection of medieval tongue tearers, thumbscrews, and assorted flesh-rippers is hitting the auction block soon, but ghouls and dictators won't be welcome bidders, the Los Angeles Times reports. The owner—moved to sell the inherited collection by the debate on Bush-era harsh interrogation—is keen to ensure it...

Photo May Be Last Taken of Lincoln

Grant descendant found pic in private album of Ulysses S.

(Newser) - A photograph from a private album of Ulysses S. Grant may show Abraham Lincoln in front of the White House and could be the last image taken of him before he was assassinated, a collector believes. If it is indeed Lincoln, it would be the only known photo of the...

Garage Yields Dusty Surprise: $4.3M Bugatti

(Newser) - A rare Bugatti sports car found in a late British doctor’s garage will be auctioned off next month and is expected to fetch at least $4.3 million for his surprised relatives, the AP reports. The Type 57S Atalante, built in 1937, is one of only 17 ever made....

16 Stories