Syracuse antiques dealer's collection up for auction

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Hundreds of pieces from a Syracuse antiques dealer's collection amassed over eight decades are being put up for auction.

Nicholas Colella started collecting antiques when he was 12, saving his lunch money and bus fare to make installment payments on items he had researched at the library.

After serving in World War II, Colella operated a car dealership and later opened Colella Galleries, an antiques shop, in Syracuse.

Colella, who died in January 2008, amassed a collection that included paintings dating to the 17th century. Some 600 pieces from the collection are being auctioned Saturday at his Syracuse gallery.

The items include a marble fireplace mantle Colella said was once part of an estate in France where Leonardo da Vinci lived for the last three years of his life.