Live Online Bidding Expands the Market for Antique Decoys

St. Michaels, MD, November 06, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Highly sought-after and prized by savvy collectors and waterfowl enthusiasts, antique and collectible decoys have seen a price surge on the auction market over the past several years. As record prices are approaching $1 million, bidders around the world can now bid live online in real time through Artfact.com, the world's leading online auction portal, adding new fuel to an already hot market. Auction houses and decoy consignors, eager to achieve better and better results, understand the growing importance of the live online bidding audience in creating new collectors and increasing bidding competition.

On November 10-11, 2010 Artfact Live! hosts the world's largest antique decoy auction company, Guyette & Schmidt, as they present their 24th annual fall decoy auction. More than 800 decoys and related items will be sold, with prices ranging from $500-$200,000. Guyette & Schmidt holds eight of the top ten records for decoys sold at auction.

Adding to the excitement, this auction is being conducted in conjunction with the country’s premier decoy show, the Easton Waterfowl Festival. Auction registration on Artfact.com is free of charge, and online bidders will have the opportunity to experience the auction in real time via live webcast. For more information, or to register for the auction, visit www.Artfact.com.

Highlights of this exciting sale include a rare yellowlegs decoy, carved by Massachusetts native Lothrop Holmes (1824-1899). This piece boasts all original paint and has very slight wear with a desirable patina. Holmes is noted by experts as a superlative carver, and one of his classic merganser pieces holds the current world auction record for a decoy, $856,000. The yellowlegs decoy is estimated at $18,000-$22,000.

Also offered is a ruddy turnstone by Elmer Crowell (1862-1952). Crowell, also a Massachusetts carver, is renowned for his work on decoys. The artist's work currently holds five of the top ten price records for decoys sold at auction. This piece, which features near mint original paint, is signed in Crowell’s cursive handwriting, and is estimated at $70,000-$90,000. Additional works by Crowell are included in the sale, and can be viewed online in davance of the sale in a comprehensive online auction catalog at Artfact.com.

Another notable lot in the auction is a circa-1930’s redhead hen by Charles “Shang” Wheeler (1872-1949). Wheeler is a member of the Stratford, Connecticut school of carvers. This valuable model features original paint with very minor wear, is a fine example of Wheeler’s work, and carries an estimate of $40,000-$55,000.

Artfact.com is the largest global marketplace of fine and decorative arts, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions. In 2009, Artfact launched two live online bidding platforms, Artfact Live! and Invaluable Live! In the UK, allowing users to bid in real-time on auctions held around the world reaching a community of more than 10 million knowledgeable collectors and dealers worldwide. In 2010, Artfact merged with AuctionZip.com, increasing the reach of their platforms to include thousands of auction houses around the country.

Artfact's industry leading database includes more than 57 million complete auction results totaling more than $204 billion in value, including information on more than 500,000 international artists.

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