PRINCE CHARLES VISITS ANGLO-SAXON GOLD HOARD

THE PRINCE OF WALES RECENTLY BECAME THE FIRST ROYAL TO HANDLE THE STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD IN 1,400 YEARS. THE PRINCE WAS GIVEN THE CHANCE TO EXAMINE ITEMS FROM THE COLLECTION INCLUDING A CRUMPLED GOLD CROSS AND A SWORD HANDLE, DURING A VISIT TO THE POTTERIES MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY IN STOKE-ON-KENT. ACCOMPANIED BY THE DUCHESS OF CORNALL, THE PRINCE ALSO CHATTED WITH THE FARMER ON WHOSE LAND THE HOARD WAS FOUND NEAR LICHFIELD LAST SUMMER. MUSEUM OFFICIALS SAID THE PRINCE AND THE DUCHESS HAD BEEN FASCINATED BY THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF THE PROCESSIONAL CROSS, EVEN INQUIRING WHETHER IT COULD BE STRAIGHTENED OUT. MORE THAN 100 PIECES OF THE TREASURE, WHICH HAS BEEN DATED TO THE 7th CENTURY AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BELONGED TO ANCIENT KINGS, ARE CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY AT THE MUSEUM. THE MUSEUM'S PRINCIPAL COLLECTIONS OFFICER, DEB KLEMPERER, SHOWED THE ROYAL COUPLE AROUND THE EXHIBITION DURING THEIR VISIT TO MARK THE CENTENARY OF THE FEDERATION OF STOKE-ON-TRENT'S SIX TOWNS. SPEAKING AFTER THE HOUR-LONG VISIT, KLEMPERER SAID: 'THE PRINCE WAS REALLY INTERESTED, AS WAS THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL.' DURING THE VISIT, KLEMPERER SAID, THE PRINCE ALSO ASKED HOW MUCH HAD BEEN RAISED TO BUY THE HOARD, WHICH HAS BEEN VALUED AT MORE THAN £3 MILLION. PRAISING THE PRINCE FOR HIS SUPPORT FOR THE FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN, WHICH AIMS TO ACQUIRE THE HOARD FOR DISPLAY IN THE WEST MIDLANDS AND STAFFORDSHIRE, KLEMPERER ADDED THAT CHARLES HAD EXPRESSED HOPE THAT THE CROSS COULD BE 'UNFOLDED'. FRED JOHNSON, WHO OWNS THE FIELD WHERE THE HOARD WAS DISCOVERED, ADMITTED TO FEELING A LITTLE BIT DAUNTED BEFORE HIS MEETING WITH THE PRINCE. THE 65 YEAR OLD, WHO ARMS LAND NEAR HAMMERWICH, STAFFORDSHIRE, STRESSED THAT HE FELT PRIVILEGED RATHER THAN PROUD THAT THE HOARD HAD BEEN UNEARTHED ON HIS LAND. 'YOU CAN BE PROUD OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE DONE YOURSELF, THIS WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLE STROKE OF LUCK', HE SAID.

BANKSY ART TO BE SOLD BY TWO LONDON LADS

TWO YOUNG CHANCERS FROM CLAPHAM RECENTLY SPENT £13,000TO REMOVE AN ART BY BANKSY FROM THE STREETS OF SOUTH LONDON AND HIT THE JACKPOT AFTER IT WAS VALUED AT OVER £500,000. BRADLEY RIDGE AND NICK LOIZOU ARE LIFELONG FRIENDS FROM SOUTH LONDON. ON 9.NOVEMBER LAST YEAR BRADLEY HEARD ABOUT A PIECE OF BANKSY STREET ART APPEARING ON BEDDINGTTON FARM ROAD IN CROYDON. BEING A FAN OF THE ILLUSIVE STREET ARTIST, BRADLEY THOUGHT HE WOULD SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY. NINE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS LATER, A FEW THREATS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, £13,000 IN COSTS AND A DEAL WITH A LOCAL LAND OWNER, BRADLEY AND NICK NOW OWN A VERY RARE PIECE OF MODERN ART. THE COLLECTOR'S ITEM IS THE ONLY PIECE OF BANKSY STREET ART CURRENTLY ON THE ART MARKET. IN RECENT YEARS BANKSY WALLS HAVE FETCHED UP TO £300,000 AND CELEBRITIES SUCH AS BRAD PITT HAVE SPENT AROUND £400,000 ON HIS STUDIO ART. BRADLEY AND NICK HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ONE OFFER BUT ARE DETERMINED TO MAXIMIZE THEIR OPPORTUNISM.

ASIAN CIVILIZATION MUSEUM, SINGAPORE, PRESENTS EXHIBITION OF MUGUL ARTIFACTS

A DAZZLING EXHIBITION OF JEWELED ART WORKS IN SINGAPORE WILL TRANSPORT YOU TO THE GRANDEUR OF THE LEGENDARY, LUXURY-LOVING INDIAN DYNASTY THROUGH OVER 400 AMAZING ARTIFACTS RANGING FROM GEM STONES WITH ISLAMIC INSCRIPTIONS TO JEWEL-ENCRUSTED DAGGERS. THE 'TREASURY OF THE WORLD' AT THE ASIAN CIVILIZATION MUSEUM IS A STUNNING SHOWCASE OF THE SPLENDOR OF THE MOGULS, WHO WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR LAVISH LIFESTYLE DURING THEIR RULE FROM THE LATE 16th TO 19th CENTURIES. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION ARE A NEARLY 250 CARAT BALAS RUBY INSCRIBED WITH THE NAMES OF SIX ROYAL RULERS, AN ELABORATELY DECORATED DAGGER AND SCABBARD WITH PATTERNS OF BIRDS AND FLOWERS MADE FROM 2,000 GEM STONES INCLUDING RUBIES, EMERALDS AND DIAMONDS, AND A RUBY PENDANT WITH A CAMEO PORTRAIT OF SHAH JAHAN. SHAH JAHAN IS THE MOGUL EMPEROR WHO BUILT THE TAJ MAHAL IN MEMORY OF HIS BELOVED WIFE, MUMTAZ MAHAL. THE MOGULS, WHO SAT ON THE LEGENDARY PEACOCK THRONE STUDDED WITH THE KOHINOOR DIAMOND, WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR LOVE FOR EVERYTHING LAVISH. APART FROM THE BEJEWELED DAGGERS, TURBAN ORNAMENTS AND ARCHERY RINGS, THEIR APPRECIATION FOR TH FABULOUS ALSO EXTENDED TO EVERYDAY ITEMS SUCH AS SERVING DISHES AND BACK SCRATCHERS STUDDED WITH JEWELS. 'THE MOGUL EMPIRE WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL DYNASTIES THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN. MOST MOGUL RULERS REVELED IN THE LUXURY THAT THEIR PRIVILEGED POSITION AFFORDED THEM', SAID A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ASIAN CIVILIZATION MUSEUM. SINCE ITS FIRST SHOWING IN NEW YORK, THE EXHIBITION HAS TRAVELED TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM, THE LOUVRE AND THE HERMITAGE IN ST PETERSBURG BEFORE ITS CURRENT STOP AT THE ASIAN CIVILIZATION MUSEUM. BUT THE MOGUL PIECES, PART OF THE FAMOUS AL-SABAH COLLECTION, WERE ONCE ALMOST LOST TO WAR EVEN BEFORE THEY BEGAN THEIR HISTORIC JOURNEY. THE AL-SABAH COLLECTION IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST ISLAMIC ART COLLECTIONS CONSISTING OF MORE THAN 25,000 WORKS FROM THE 7th TO THE 19th CENTURY. DURING IRAQ'S INVASION OF KUWAIT IN 1990, THE AL-SABAH COLLECTION WAS LOOTED AND TRANSPORTED TO BAGHDAD WHERE IT REMAINED UNTIL RETRIEVED WITH THE HELP OF THE UNITED NATIONS. SINGAPORE IS THE EXHIBITION'S FIRST STOP IN ASIA. IT RUNS UNTIL 27.JUNE AND THEN HEADS TO KUALA LUMPUR.

BONHAMS TO SELL GIACOMETTI LAMPS ONCE OWNED BY JAMES MASON

TWO STUNNING LAMPS PRODUCED AND DESIGNED COLLABORATIVELY BY SWISS SCULPTOR ALBERTO GIACOMETTI AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER DIEGO, AND A TABLE DESIGNED BY DIEGO GIACOMETTI, WHICH WERE OWNED BY THE LATE BRITISH ACTOR JAMES MASON (1909-1984) SINCE THE LATE 1960s, ARE BEING OFFERED AT BONHAMS, NEW BOND STREET AS PART OF ITS POST WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART AND DESIGN SALE ON 10.MARCH.2010. THE LAMPS (LOT 11 AND 12, BOTH ENTITLED LAMPDAIRE NOUED) ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DESIGNED BY ALBERTO BETWEEN 1935 AND 1937, AND TRANSLATED INTO BRONZE BY DIEGO. THE BROTHERS WERE COMMISSIONED BY THE FRENCH INTERIOR DESIGNER JEAN-MICHEL FRANK TO PRODUCE A RANGE OF DECORATIVE OBJECTS FOR HIS GALLERY IN 1932, HAVING BEEN INTRODUCED TO FRANK BY AMERICAN ARTIST MAN RAY THREE YEARS EARLIER. THEY DESIGNED AROUND 20 LIGHTS IN TOTAL, AND CONTINUED TO WORK WITH FRANK UNTIL THE OUTBREAK OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THE LAMPS HAVE A PRE-SALE ESTIMATE OF £25,000 - 35,000 EACH. AFTER THE WAR ALBERTO LARGELY ABANDONED HIS FURNITURE WORK, LEAVING IT TO DIEGO. AN EXAMPLE OF DIEGO'S CONTINUED EXCELLENCE IN FURNITURE DESIGN IS INCLUDED IN THE SALE: TABLE TORSADE, CAST CIRCA 1965, AND ESTIMATED AT £50,000 – 70,000. ACTOR JAMES MASON WHO STARRED IN SUCH FILMS AS NORTH BY NORTHEAST, LOLITA AND THE TRIAL OF OSCAR WILDE, IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE FINEST ACTORS OF THE 20th CENTURY. HE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE WORKS BY A FRIEND.

LATTER DAYS (2003) - TUESDAY, 3:00 am/ NITA WHITAKER

$50,000 DUNHILL SHARGREEN GAMES COMPENDIUM

LONDON LUXURY GOODS FIRM DUNHILL HAS RECENTLY COME OUT WITH A EXQUISITE GENTLEMAN'S GAMES SET FINISHED IN EXOTIC SHAGREEN FOR $50,000. THE SHARGREEN GAMES COMPENDIUM IS HANDMADE BY EXPERT LEATHER ARTISANS EXCLUSIVELY FOR ALFRED DUNHILL AND IS INSPIRED BY SOME OF THE FINEST PIECES IN THE DUNHILL ARCHIVES COLLECTION. THE GAMES CHEST IS FORMED USING CEDAR WOOD AND THEN COVERED IN THE FINEST GRAY SHAGREEN LEATHER (DERIVED FROM THE SKIN OF MALE STING-RAYS) AND ELEGANTLY TRIMMED WITH EBONY WITH STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE. THE SHAGREEN PROVIDES A PROTECTIVE ELEMENT AS IT IS REMARKABLY DURABLE. THE COMPENDIUM CONTAINS SHAGREEN-EMBELLISHED CHESS, BACKGAMMON AND NOUGHTS & CROSSES BOARDS WITH AL THE COUNTERS AND PIECES FINISHED IN STERLING SILVER. A BOTTOM TRAY HOUSES TWO PACKS OF DUNHILL PLAYING CARDS, POKER DICE, BRIDGE SCORE CARDS AND DUNHILL PENCILS. DUNHILL IS ALSO OFFERING A MATCHING WATCH OR CUFF LINK BOX IN THE SAME CEDAR, SHAGREEN AND EBONY STYLE AND A LIMITED EDITION FOUNTAIN PEN WITH AN 18 CARAT GOLD NIB AND SHAGREEN COVERED BARREL.

SKELETON OF ST ANTHONY GOES ON DISPLAY

THE SKELETON OF ST ANTHONY HAS RECENTLY GONE ON DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC MORE THAN 750 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH. PILGRIMS ARE BEING GIVEN THE CHANCE TO SEE THE 13th CENTURY REMAINS OF ST ANTHONY WHICH WENT ON DISPLAY IN A GLASS CASE IN ITALY. THE DISPLAY, WHICH WILL LAST UNTIL SATURDAY WILL BE IN THE CHAPEL OF HIS TOMB IN PADUA AND MARKS THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFER OF ST ANTHONY, ALSO KNOWN AS THE 'FEAST OF THE TONGUE'. THIS COMMEMORATES THE FIRST TIME HIS REMAINS WERE MOVED IN 1263, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ST BONAVENTURE, AND THE FINAL TRANSFER TO RELICS CHAPEL OF PADUA'S BASILICA ON 15.FEBRUARY.1350. ST ANTHONY, PATRON SAINT OF PADUA, IS ALSO KNOWN AS ANTHONY OF LISBON. WHEN HIS COFFIN WAS MOVED 30 YEARS AFTER HIS BURIAL IT WAS OPENED AND IT IS CLAIMED MOST OF HIS BODY WAS FOUND TO HAVE RETURNED TO DUST. HOWEVER HIS TONGUE REMAINED FRESH, WHICH WAS SEEN AS A SIGN OF HIS GIFT OF PREACHING, AND WAS KEPT IN A SEPARATE RELIC BOX. ANTHONY'S RELICS WERE LAST DISPLAYED IN 1981. MARKING THE 750th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH. HE IS ONE OF THE 'QUICKEST' SAINTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS HE WAS CANONIZED BY POPE GREGORY IX LESS THAN ONE YEAR AFTER HE DIED. TODAY HE IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SAINTS AND IS OFTEN CALLED UPON BY CATHOLICS TO HELP FIND LOST POSSESSIONS. HE IS ALSO REMEMBERED AS THE NAMESAKE FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS; SPANISH EXPLORERS IN THE AREA STOPPED THERE ON HIS FEAST DAY (13.JUNE) AND NAMED THE RIVER AND SETTLEMENT AFTER HIM.