By: Mary Helen McCoy

Mary Helen McCoy — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:30:09 +0000

Dear Lewis Baer,
I work very hard like Connie Lee says to sell with integrity. In my eyes, the piece was right but as pointed out, the piece will always be in question just because of the “veil of uncertainty” cast by two extremely prominent English dealers (who deal in English and Continental); a prominent Continental dealer in the US; an expert in Continental from the US and a Continental dealer from The Netherlands. As for the auction houses being experts at all times…. we all know that is not the case….and in this situation the New York arm of Christie’s disagreed with the Paris arm…. There is a remarkable example of a Renaisance piece at The Getty which was in question for many years. They thought the piece to be 19th century when the style was in vogue to be reproduced. Instead, they were proven wrong and now they have a jewel. Furniture of this age can be very difficult to detect but I most certain that the piece was a great piece. The armoire was presented at the fair with a price and a description as well as other documentation which I always provide and/or display. Now, it resides in France where it is loved and no one knows of the events around the International Show of 2008 when it was removed from the floor. Another dealer, or in this case dealers, made money from the sale of a wonderful armoire totally and lovingly restored.
Thank you much Lewis for your comments…they are always interesting!!
Mary Helen
http://www.maryhelenmccoy.com

Comments on: Real or Fake? That is the Question! Mary-Helen McCoy

By: Mary Helen McCoy