Among the paddle wagging attendees at many textile auctions are often buyers for textile museums who scout out valuable collectables for their respective museum collections. But in a strange turn of events, this November you will have the opportunity to bid on some of the worlds more notable past fashion from well known museums now being auctioned off by Augusta Auctions.
Of particular interest are pieces from the world-renowned Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, including couture from Claire McCardell, Galanos, Norman Norell, Thea Porter, Valentina, Carolyn Schnurer, Halston, and Bonnie Cashin. These items are exceptionally exciting for museum curators who have seen few pieces of this caliber for sale in recent decades. “The names that will be in this auction are the great icons of American fashion,” noted Clair Sauro, curator of the Drexel Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University.
This sale includes nearly fifteen hundred garments, textiles, and accessories. From New Jersey’s Montclair Art Museum comes Victorian clothing, Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg provides rare 17th-18th Century women’s shoes and men’s 18th Century garments. There are unique woven and embroidered Chinese garments and textiles spanning three centuries beginning in 1600 from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, and from the Brooklyn Museum there is definitive 20th Century couture not seen for more than twenty years.
So why this sudden role reversal of museums selling off pieces from their prized collections? Karen Augusta says, “It’s an interesting time for collections and collectors as knowledge of textile conservation has grown, so has its cost and the cost of museum quality storage. As a result, the museum back rooms have opened and there is more sharing of items important to the history of western culture. We’re very excited to be in the middle of this moment.”
Augusta Auctions will be holding this sale on November 4th in New York City at St. Paul Auditorium, 15 Columbus Avenue. For more information please visit www.augusta-auction.com.
