Brave New Art World
December 2009
Brave New Art WorldA New Orleans antiques dealer adapts to the latest trends in collecting AMONG THE TREASURES currently available at M.S. Rau Antiques, a fine- and decorative-arts emporium on Royal Street in New Orleans' French Quarter, are an exquisite pair of early-19th-century English celestial and terrestrial globes by cartographers John Newton and Son, as well as what gallery owner Bill Rau calls "a phenomenal and incredibly rare…
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Recent Press
Brave New Art World
Brave New Art WorldA New Orleans antiques dealer adapts to the latest trends in collecting AMONG THE TREASURES currently available at M.S. Rau Antiques, a fine- and decorative-arts emporium on Royal Street in New Orleans' French Quarter, are an exquisite pair of early-19th-century… Read More »M.S. Rau Antiques Named Best Antiques Store...The Best of New Orleans 2009
When it comes to bests, New Orleans wrote the book on superlatives — or, rather, you did when we put out the call for our annual Best of New Orleans issue. The Gambit staff spent days and days (and even some nights) poring over the results, nodding at your sagacity — and, in… Read More »
Antiques Can Make Your Portfolio Young Again
Though things may be looking up for the stock market, the next time the Dow Industrials drop 500 points, you may want to consider pulling funds out of the market and putting them in your bed. It may not be a bad idea if your resting place is part of an exceptional Louis XV-style bedroom… Read More »
The Accoutrements of Class: Collecting Antique Snuff Boxes and Tea Caddies
Collecting Antique Boxes
By Bill Rau From Pandora's Box of mythological fame to chests of treasure buried by swashbuckling pirates, boxes have always held a particular fascination, not only for what they actually held, but for the promise of what they might hold. Whether large or small, unadorned or beautifully… Read More »
Collecting Figural Clocks
The Roosevelt Hotel, one of New Orleans' most exquisite Grand Dames, reopened in June after a $145 million restoration as part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection. While luxurious rooms, an indulgent day spa, and celebrity chefs may define this Crescent City landmark, it may well be the… Read More »
Roosevelt New Orleans clock proves time is valuable
THE PIECE: A 19th century monumental conical timepiece known as "The Paris Exhibition Clock, " crafted by renowned clockmaker E. Farcot and famed sculptor Albert Ernerst Carrier de Belleuse in about 1867.THE OWNER: In keeping with a tradition among Waldorf Astoria properties to… Read More »
Letter Box
Art & Antiques features Enigma Machine
The Enigma machine stars in one of the greatest "What If " scenarios of World War II: What if Allied code-breakers had not figured out how to read the messges the Germans encrypted and decrypted on these typewriter-like electromechanical devices? The consequences are horrible to… Read More »
Madreperla per grandi intarsi
M.S. Rau Antiques featured in Italian Magazine Antiquariato
Dall'antica Siria alla Francia Déco, questo materialeorganico e opalescente ha sedotto gli ebanistidi tutto il mondo grazie alla sua resistenza e versatilitàdi Fabiana Fruscellae nel Rinascimento c’era qualcuno che di collezionismo ne capiva, e parecchio, erano i… Read More »
Antique gallery goes proactive in hard times
NEW ORLEANS - Bill Rau - owner of M.S. Rau - is not one to sit idly by. Despite that M.S. Rau has been a New Orleans landmark for nearly 100 years, Rau is not sitting in an easy chair waiting for customers to saunter into his French Quarter gallery. Not this year, anyway. In 2009, Rau is… Read More »
The Art of Investing
As the global community experiences an economic slowdown resulting from the credit crisis and the volatility of financial markets, many investors have turned to alternative investment opportunities to replace or support their existing holdings. While fine art collecting has often been… Read More »
