Dec. 31, 2004 – Items to be auctioned in the St. Thomas Synagogue's sixth annual Antiques, Art and Collectibles Auction on Sunday, Feb. 6, are now available for viewing online.
The Web address for the special auction website is www.synagogue.typepad.com. It features photos and descriptions of furniture, art and collectibles up for bidding this year. As more items come in, more photos will be posted.
The 2005 auction will again be held at the UVI Sports Center beginning at noon Feb. 6. A special champagne preview will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. A second preview will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 6.
Sale tables with treasures costing as little as $1 to as much as $1,000 will be open at 10 a.m. the day of the auction. Master wood turner Avelino Samuel of St. John, who has exhibited and sold his work at the last two auctions, will again have pieces for sale. This year's auction will also offer direct sales of antique jewelry selected by Lee Monaco, former owner of Peach Blossom on St. Thomas, and contemporary works in gold and silver by former St. Thomas jeweler Richard Pritts.
The 2005 auction will have more, and more varied, items than in past years, so auctioneer Bruce Wilson of St. Croix promises to move things along quickly. Among the highlights:
– Furniture made in St. Thomas and St. Croix, including several Esannason pieces.
– Furniture collected by Philip Sturm and Sean Krivatch from Barbados, Trinidad, Martinique and Curacao.
– Several fine Oriental antiques, including lamps.
– Some wonderful V.I. collectibles, including an old arsenic bottle labeled "St. Thomas Apothecary, A.H. Riise," a handmade West Indian chess set from C & M Caron, and brass and metal hardware from Gertrude Dudley Melchior's home.
– Old photographs by Fritz Henle, Ray Miles and Marc Blazar, plus a 2001 signed photo by Annie Leibovitz.
– Cases of wine and champagne, stays in New York and Maine, Cartier eyeglasses, a Rolex watch and gorgeous pieces of jewelry from Cardow, Diamonds International, Bernard K. Passman and H. Stern.
Proxy bidding is available; for information and proxy forms call 774-4312.
Food will be provided by Brian Katz of the Old Stone Farmhouse.
Proceeds from the annual auction help maintain the congregation's 172-year-old synagogue building, a National Historic Landmark, and keep it open to the public. About 10,000 tourists visit the synagogue each year. For more information on the synagogue and the auction, visit www.onepaper.com/synagogue.