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First… watch the video.
Then, please place yourselves on the sacred mats, thank you so very much… I was thumbing for a ride through the space-time continuum, past the Boulevard of Broken Dreams and down the Rabbit Hole, to research the truth-bearing Internet, for this blog post for the current LH Selman auction, and I came across a timely article. It is about the meaning and symbolism of the number 84. According to the heavenly extraterrestrials, “84” presents a combination of the energies and vibrations of the numbers 8 and 4.
“8” connotes personal power, abundance, and success. “8” is a dynamite number, other than on a pool table. “4” on the other hand, is indicative of hard work and determination. (It’s the best number of legs to have on your horse.) When we combine the vibrational energies of these two numbers, we get the message that 84 is a sign of manifestation and abundance in our lives. The angels are telling us to stay focused and never surrender, because good things are coming our way. By that, of course they mean fine glass paperweights.
Simply put, please feel confident to engage in tireless digital combat—bidding for those weights that you know Heaven intended for only your shelves! Do ya hear? It is no accident that this is Auction #84, but then, as you know it to be the truth in the spiritual realm…. “There are no accidents!” (Actually, that quote was by Marthe Keller in the 1977 action thriller, “BLACK SUNDAY,” but I digress.) Hell of a film, sorry to cuss…
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING NEVER APPLIES TO GLASS CELEBRATIONS!
That is why this time, for Auction 84, we’re simply going to peek in at a swinging party already in progress. I mean this batch of fine glass paperweights—the same ones you just swooned to in the introductory cinematic film clip, the one that opens our website. What a group, filled with “A Listers.” Royal antiques rubbing shoulders with brash and talented pretenders to the throne. Every paperweight shape and all styles of guest are welcome here at the fiesta.
From sculptures with multiple facets hovering over a lovingly lush strawberry patch offered by the legendary James Kontes (in a rare public appearance)—to the smooth as glass perfect dome housing an 1847 French Baccarat picture puzzle with the cleanest and clearest date cane you have ever seen. This is the example you’ve been holding out for! Nestled in with these stars is a sparkling optical illusion by Saint Louis, that they call a Honeycomb, and which they have populated with dozens of smiling cherries… or is it actually just 2 cherries and dozens of perfectly scalloped glass illusions?
Checking out other well-dressed guests at this gala and one can’t help but applaud the glistening shimmer of this rare antique Saint Louis upright bouquet with encased green aventurine. I won’t even begin to get into the complex details of what was required to finish off this illustrious gown of glass, but if you care at all for the finest workmanship, you will read Penelope’s eye-opening explanation. (And if at this point, you’re beginning to suspect that we are only selling all these as a museum-worthy set, and well, we pondered it, but even we wouldn’t do that to you.) And WOW, there’s the new Hunter vase. I think Walt Disney had a hand here; the Sorcerer’s Apprentice waved his master’s wand from the top of the studio steps and the studio drawers opened. With that, brilliantly colored canes began popping out and began twirling around the vase to complete the bottom like the feral creatures that finished Cinderella’s dress!
About now you’re starting to worry about me and you’re thinking they had better give me a vacation… yeah, I get it.
Speaking of A listers, the antique Baccarat cross-patterned millefiori garlands pedestal paperweight has a commanding almost “dress uniform” presence. The footed base feels powerful, and the fortress design completes this confident cornerstone of high-end craft. But besides the stately and imposing older guests, there is a group of lively younger attendees such as Mike Hunter, Cathy Richardson and Debbie Tarsitano. Cathy is represented by a delightful trio of vibrantly colored fish, safely ensconced above a bed of colorful corals and protected by an outer ring of carved ferns. One of One, folks! And I think Debbie just may have used something artists are familiar with called “Dr. PH. Martin’s Radiant Concentrated Watercolors” to color the large pansy in her festive offering. These dyes are borderline nuclear in their intensity and that is how Debbie’s center of interest appears to me; it is so radiant! And over there, tucked almost out of sight, is the Audrey Hepburn of guests, Charles Kaziun Junior’s jaw-droppingly delicate white lilies miniature perfume bottle, with a cobalt blue goldstone ground. I’ve seen photos of the artist, and how his strong hands were capable of such delicate rendering is beyond comprehension.
The real takeaway from this party (and I missed greeting a couple of them!) is that we all need to be going to more parties like this one, that celebrate art, liveliness and beauty. And nothing says that better than fine glass. I wish you could all get down, over, or up to the gallery at some point, especially during auction, to simply wonder at this cornucopia of the finest paperweights available anywhere (I was paid extra to say that) and enrich your existence. We also don’t mind when you buy something….
Good luck in Auction 84, and please call us with any que
