Gehres to teach at Reppert School of Auctioneering

Peter D. Gehres, CAI, CES, an auctioneer and appraiser at Belhorn Auction Services, has been invited to teach at the Reppert School of Auctioneering in Auburn, Indiana this December. Reppert is among the nation’s oldest auction schools founded in 1921. Gehres will be teaching Ohio Auction Law and an overview of auction technology and the use of social media in the auction profession.

“It is an honor and privilege to be invited to teach at Reppert which has been an institution in the auction world for nearly 90 years,” Gehres stated. “Sharing the benefits of my experience and helping to educate auctioneering students is very exciting and helps me in turn stay on the top of my game.”

Gehres is currently an instructor at The Ohio Auction School and has spoken at various state auctioneer associations. Gehres has also been invited to speak at the National Auctioneers Association’s Certified Auctioneers Institute in Bloomington, Indiana in March of 2009 and the Conference and Show in Greensboro, North Carolina in July of 2009.

Gehres has been in the Auction Industry since 2003 and with Belhorn Auction Services since January of 2007, He has earned his Certified Auctioneers Institute and Certified Estate Specialist designation from the NAA’s Educational Institute. Gehres won the Ohio Junior Bid Calling Contest in 2006 and the Pat Massart Leadership Award in 2009

Brisk bidding & strong prices highlight Belhorn’s Art Pottery Auction

Collections from Michigan, Maryland, Illinois, Iowa and South Carolina benefited from the strong prices realized at Belhorn Auction Services’ November 15, 2009, American Art Pottery Auction. The auction was held in Columbus, Ohio, and saw successful bidders both locally and from across the nation. Nearly 400 pieces of Roseville, Weller and Rookwood crossed the block as well as examples of Cowan, Brush McCoy, Niloak, Van Briggle and more contemporary works from Wisecarver, Hyalyn and Door Pottery.

“We are seeing a leveling off if not increases in pottery prices at auction. There is strong demand for pieces in desirable lines, rare shapes and pieces that are in mint or excellent condition,” stated Greg Belhorn, Auctioneer and President of Belhorn Auction Services.

Two pieces highlighted the results: A rare Cowan vase signed by Arthur E. Baggs from 1927 received bids from the floor, the phone and online and after spirited competition the hammer dropped at $2,200 plus buyer’s premium. “This piece represents a real intersection of potteries, styles and people,” explained Belhorn. “An understated piece at first glance, once we began to research this vase we knew we had something special. Our database of buyers shared in our excitement and the results exceeded both our and the consignor’s expectations.”

Baggs founded and built the highly successful Marblehead Pottery in Massachusetts and then moved to Ohio to work at Cowan Pottery and teach at the Cleveland School of Art. Soon after the production of this vase, Baggs accepted a position at The Ohio State University, which houses one of the oldest ceramics programs in the country. Today OSU is home to the Baggs Memorial Library which has extensive collections of reference materials and ceramic objects.

The second highlight was in the form a stunning piece of Roseville Baneda. The form (#600) was 15 inches of rich greens and blues with a crisp mold. The vase was in mint condition and still sported the original factory foil label. Again bidding was brisk and the vase sold for $2,400.00 plus buyer’s premium.

Belhorn Auction Services is a recognized leader and expert in American Art Pottery Auctions and offers a full calendar of pottery auctions. Belhorn is the official auctioneer for the American Art Pottery Association, The Pottery Lovers Reunion and the Columbus Pottery Show & Auction. Full details available at Belhorn.com. For full results click here.

Philip Sartore Collection of Contemporary Pottery

Belhorn Auction Services, LLC is pleased to present the Philip Sartore Collection of Contemporary and Studio Pottery. The auction will be conducted in May of 2010. Highlights from Philip's collection of hundreds of pieces were recently displayed at the Richmond (Indiana) Art Museum. In preparation for that exhibit, Philip wrote the following:

“I first met potters Walt Schmidt and Barb Bihler in 1980. I purchased a teapot and cups but not much else. In 1985, I asked Barb to make my first set of dishes- a brown rim with white on the bottom and lots of black specks. The reason for the black specks is that I like pepper and should I be out, the black specks would give me the impression. By the late 1990’s, I would see a pot and purchase it. In 1999, I met Larry Spears and he made me a pottery collector.

I purchased art and antiques. It proved an impossible dream to afford those things. Add a bad experience and I decided to look for contemporary art. The most affordable thing was pottery. As I met more and more potters, I saw wonderful things. These pieces may or may not be ‘Art’. I think so. There are so many styles, sizes, glazes, etc. These are functional pieces. Some were used others were not. If you see these pots I hope you will enjoy one or two pieces.”

Artists' works in the collection include: Karl Martz (1912-1997), Richard Peeler (1926-1998), Byron Temple (1932-2002), Kim Anderson, Jan Arbogast, Chris Baskin, Cathra-Anne Barker, Carol Bell, Daniel Bennett, Richard Burkett, Jolee Chartrand, Billy Cooper, Scott Cooper, Rae Marie Crisel, George Debickey, Terry Dukeman, Sandi Finney, Scott Frankenberger, Cheri Glaser, John Glick, Rand Heazlitt, Charles Hightower, Moshe Hodges, Mike Imes, Daniel Johnston, Kathy Koop, Greg Kuharic, Dick Lehman, Satian Leksrisawat, Rebecca Lowry, Tim Mather, Allyson May, John Mills, Brian Moore, Mark Nafzinger, Marcy Neiditz, Jeff Oestreich, Eric Olson, Alan Patrick, Joseph Pelka, John Peterson, Cheri Platter, Bob Reiberg, Dannon Rhudy, Andy Rogers, Laura Ross, Scott Shafer, Greg Schatz, Walt Schmidt, Susan Snyder,
Larry Spears, Eric Strader, Jeff Unzicker, Tom Unzicker, Robin Willey and others. More details will be posted in early 2010 as the collection is cataloged.

Belhorn Auction Services, LLC is a Columbus, Ohio based auction company specializing in the sale of antique, contemporary, and studio art pottery. Recognized as art pottery auction experts, Belhorn offers a full schedule of live and dynamic internet pottery auctions each year. For more details on this and other auctions visit Belhorn.com