KIMBALL M STERLING INC ANTIQUES(TFL-1915)

Kimball M. Sterling, Inc. is a bonafide wonder -- founded in 1989 and nestled in a quiet valley in East Tennessee, this auction house, owned by Kimball and Victoria Sterling, has managed, time and again, to lay solid claim to world-wide attention and renown -- and with eight employees, an international client base of over 20,000, including many celebrities, more than 30 auctions per year on their schedule.Kimball M. Sterling works with a network of auction companies throughout the world and through reciprocity can arrange an auction anywhere.Sterling credits diversity as the key to his company's phenomenal growth. "We do it all." he says, and that is exactly what he means. Sterling, Inc. has literally sold everything from kitchen sinks for $1.00 to the only Pulitzer Prize ever sold at auction. Sterling, Inc. has sold many unique items over the years including Malcolm X's manuscript and Jean-Léon Gérôme's oil on canvas Le Fin de la Séannce pour Omphales, a treasure long believed lost to the world, and known only by a photogravure that remained.Placing a valuable, one-of-a-kind, or otherwise unique item at auction is always a matter of faith, and Sterling, Inc. has a rare talent for justifying that faith. The Alex Haley estate was scheduled to be sold for $50,000 -- and then Sterling, Inc. entered the picture -- the estate sold at auction over a three day period for a approximately $880,000. Jean-Leon Gerome's oil on canvas Le Fin de la Seance pour Omphale, had a estimated sale price of $180,000. In less than two minutes, during an auction attended by over 100 in-house bidders and 38 phone bidders from all over the world -- Sterling sold the painting for $363,000. Billed as "A Very Private Collection," the day's total for the 306 pieces came to $932,000 -- nearly a quarter of million dollars over the pre-sale estimates! Folk and Appalachian art are two other fields where Sterling, Inc. is considered a leader. Antique cane auctions are conducted three or four times a year and he offers free appraisals on antique canes.Sterling is considered one of the top three cane auctioneers in the world. Sterling keeps a computerized data base listing client's collecting preferences, and items of special interest to them. We invite you to call next time you wish to sell one item,an entire estate, or a collection.Talk is free and is always a road in the right direction.