Rago Auctions, Lambertville, NJ, held an Early 20th Century Design auction on September 11, 2020 with mostly good results. Following are three of the more notable ones.

The top lot of the sale was #334, a Tiffany Studios 14″ diameter Tulip table lamp with superb color. It sold well above its high estimate of $30,000, realizing $56,250, including buyer’s premium. Unfortunately the seller took a major loss as she had bought it for considerably more in the shop of a NYC dealer. I tried to buy it for resale, but the price was too high for a dealer.

The second highest glass lot of the sale was #336, a rare Tiffany Favrile Aquamarine vase. Tiffany Aquamarine vases are solid glass with internal decoration of aquatic plants or fish. This example had a cup affixed to the top. What were they thinking when they produced this shape? It was so goofy that I wouldn’t have bid on it at any price. And the result showed. It sold below its estimate of $15,000–20,000, realizing only $12,500, including buyer’s premium. If the shape had been more traditional, it certainly would have sold for more.

The top lot of the French cameo glass went to #361, a small, 8″ Gallé Marquetry vase. Marquetry is the technique of inserting pieces of hot glass into molten glass and then marvering them (pressing them into the surface on a metal table), creating an inlaid effect. The technique is more commonly done with wood. The vase sold slightly below its estimate of $10,000–15,000, realizing $10,400, including buyer’s premium.

For the complete results of the sale, click <a href=”https://www.cottoneauctions.com/prices-realized/auction/fine-art-antiques-5?view=grid&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_field%5D=%60t%60.%60lot_number%60&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_direction%5D=ASC&PricesRealizedForm%5Bnum_per_page%5D=200“>here</a>.

Fontaine’s Auctions, Pittsfield, MA, held a Fine & Decorative Arts auction on September 12, 2020. Included in the sale was a nice collection of Tiffany lamps. Following are the results of the top three lots.

John Fontaine likes to sell the star lot of each sale as #100. The amazing Tiffany Studios Oriental Poppy chandelier with six lily shades did not disappoint. It sold for $665,500, including buyer’s premium, against a pre-sale estimate of $400,000 – $600,000. Interestingly the lamp had been sitting in the consignor’s closet for years before John was called in to sell it. Very few people have both the space to hang and the means to buy such an impressive chandelier. Most of the seriously interested bidders were dealers who were going to convert the shade back into a floor lamp. That would have left them with 6 lily shades and lamp parts — a very good position for a dealer. The buyer, however, was not a dealer and would have none of it. He will hang it in his house as Tiffany created it. (My wife absolutely approves!)

She and I drove to Pittsfield to view the sale in person. We hoped to buy a few items but wound up buying nothing. Auctions in general have been quite strong since the pandemic began and John’s sale was no exception. Prices were too high for a dealer to earn a decent profit.

I loved the second highest lot of the sale, #150, a rare Tiffany Studios Elizabethan table lamp on a twisted vine base. The colors were vivid and the condition superb. It sold within its estimated range of $60,000 – $80,000, realizing $90,750, including buyer’s premium.

The third best performing lot of the sale was lot #173, a blah example of a Tiffany Studios Curtain Border floor lamp. I would rate the color a 5-6 on a scale of 1-10. Regardless, it sold above its estimated range of $30,000 – $50,000, realizing $63,525, including buyer’s premium.

Fontaine’s next important sale will be held in January, 2021. However, he will be holding monthly sales in the meantime with less important items.

For the complete results of the sale, click <a href=”https://www.cottoneauctions.com/prices-realized/auction/fine-art-antiques-5?view=grid&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_field%5D=%60t%60.%60lot_number%60&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_direction%5D=ASC&PricesRealizedForm%5Bnum_per_page%5D=200“>here</a>.

In a not unexpected move, the 2020 Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show has been rescheduled to 2021. It was the only thing the promoters could do to insure the safety of both the exhibitors and attendees. Even if they had held the show, it would have been a failure because many exhibitors would have dropped out and very few people would have attended.

Following is the email with the news.

Dear Winnetka Exhibitor:

Many of you have contacted us in recent weeks asking about the status of this year’s Winnetka Antiques & Modernism Show.

It is with much disappointment that we must officially announce today that this year’s show, which was to have been held November 5-8 will not take place.

This decision was by no means an easy one to arrive at and it came about only this past week after several months of much deliberation and discussion by both the Winnetka Woman’s Board as well as the Show Committee.  The overriding considerations throughout that process: ensuring the wellbeing and safety of both our dealers as well as show attendees; along with the ability to mount a successful show.

It should also be noted that a couple of alternatives to having the live show were also discussed. The first of these being to present a “virtual” on-line show similar to others some of you may have already recently seen taking place or have perhaps even participated in.   However, after reviewing the widely mixed bag of results for these other virtual shows as well as contacting potential corporate sponsors for underwriting, the committee and Board felt that this would not be the way to go this year.

A second alternative was to possibly reschedule forward the actual date of the show to take place sometime in the spring of 2021. Once again however, it was felt that the uncertainty of where we will be in terms of adequately addressing the Covid situation even at that future time would make the planning and holding of this event simply too impractical.

So the bottom line is that the show will take a hiatus for one year.  However, we are happy to tell you that the present plan is to hold it next year in the fall at its usual date on the calendar.

For those of you who have already sent in your $500 deposits for this year’s show, that money will be refunded to all of you in full within the next 14 days.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly either by email or phone.

Please stay safe everyone.

Kaye Gregg & Marty Shapiro

Antiques Council Liaisons

Look for more cancellations and rescheduled shows. I predict the big events of the winter season in Florida will suffer the same fate. A vaccine is our only hope and that will be months and months away and possibly ineffective. An article in the New York Times on August 17, 2020, talked about a new, more contagious strain of the virus that the vaccine may not be able to stop. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Burgun, Schverer & Cie (B&S) started business in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, along the German border, in 1711. Germany annexed the area after defeating the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, but it was returned to France in 1919 after Germany’s defeat in WWI. So technically B&S glass made in the 1890s is German, but that’s only a technicality. Everyone regards it as some of the best French Art Nouveau cameo glass ever made.

There is no rarer or more beautiful example of B&S than the example pictured above with an internal caterpillar. Until I saw this example, I had no idea such a thing existed. It just takes my breath away. The subject, the workmanship, the color, the extensive detail is fabulous. It’s amazing!

The best examples were internally decorated, accomplished through a complicated, difficult process. The process started with hand-blowing the glass to form the vase. After cooling, the floral decoration was hand-painted on the outside surface with glass enamel paint. Swirls were sometimes added. The vase was then reheated and covered with a layer of clear glass. This important step left the decoration inside the layers, hence the term internally decorated. After cooling, the vase was acid-etched to form the icicle border rim and the outlines of the flowers. Then it was time for hand-engraving, a technique called wheel or intaglio-carving, which increased the realism of the flowers. Splashes of martelé texture were also wheel-carved into the background. Finally, the gilded details were hand-painted. These included the veining in the leaves and stems and the gilded rim. The final step was to fire the vase to convert the painted gilding into shiny gold.

Many laborious steps were necessary to finish an internally decorated vase. My best guess is that it took two weeks to produce a single vase from start to finish.

B&S isn’t as well known as Gallé or Daum, except among the cognoscenti. I assume the scarcity of their work is largely responsible for that. Most good vases are priced in the $5,000 – $25,000 price range, when available, which isn’t often. The caterpillar vase sold well above that range, as you can imagine.

As I predicted, the Palm Beach Show Group had to cancel the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show this year. It had already been rescheduled to November from its usual time in August because of the pandemic. Until there is a safe and effective vaccine, the pandemic will continue to be a major problem. After that we can talk about going back to shows. I also have little hope for the Miami shows this winter. I think most exhibitors and attendees will not risk traveling, which will cause the show promoters to postpone or cancel their shows this year. Personally we will not exhibit until we’ve been vaccinated.

Following is the email I received from the Palm Beach Group addressing the rescheduling of the show.

“The 2020 Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show, postponed from August to November, is officially rescheduled to 2021. Recent updates from Government officials regarding the use of the Baltimore Convention Center will prevent the show from taking place throughout the remainder of 2020.  

In April, the Baltimore Convention Center was transitioned into a field hospital to help elevate the abundance of COVID-19 cases. Although they have seen light use of the medical facilities, the hospital will remain open at the convention center through December 2020 as a precaution.

Over the past few months, the Palm Beach Show Group team has been planning for a safe, socially distanced show working diligently on procedures and protocols to ensure the safety of clients, collectors, partners and staff. Despite these efforts, it is not possible to host The Baltimore Show this year.”

This post may sound like a post from August 15, 2020, but it’s not. This time I really thought I had a chance to sneak up on a very nice Tiffany lamp at a reasonable price.

Donny Malone Auctions held a TIFFANY LAMP – ART – UNIQUE TREASURES sale on August 3, 2020, with one good Tiffany Studios lamp, a 17″ diameter Poppy. So I spent a day with my wife driving up to the auction house in Saugerties, NY, a 3-hour drive, to view it in person. The estimate was $10 – $1,000, meaning there was no reserve. It was going to sell for whatever it brought. That’s always a plus.

Since it was the only good lamp in a country auction, there was a possibility I could buy it at a reasonable price. But I couldn’t risk buying the lamp without seeing it in person. The lamp could have been a fake, or repaired, or with extensive damage. The only way to know for sure was to hold the lamp in my hands. Sure enough it turned out to be authentic, with minimal damage of 2-3 hairline cracks. It was a very hot day, but I didn’t go inside to a dark corner to see the true color because of the pandemic, so I had to do my best in bright sunlight. I rated the color a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10. Certainly not the best example I’d ever seen, but nice enough. There was money to be made if I could buy it at the right price.

The auction was being held the following week on a Monday night. Lot #398 was three lots from the end, so it wasn’t going to sell until after 10 PM. So while watching TV, I also kept a constant eye watching the sale on my mobile phone. My goal was to buy the lamp for $35,000 or under, hammer price, or $43,750, including buyer’s premium. I thought I had a pretty good chance, but come auction night, another buyer had the same idea. It was just the two of us, back and forth. I bid beyond my maximum, to $37,000 ($46,250 with buyer’s premium), but had to stop at $38,000 ($47,500 with buyer’s premium). I thought I could sell the lamp in the $55,000 – $65,000 price range, but it was too close for comfort. Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’ve had my share of good deals over the years, but not that night.

Every single item in the sale was estimated at $10 – $1,000, so it was all there to be sold, with commensurate results. The last lot of the sale, #400, a 19th century painting of American Indians by Alfred Jacob Miller, was also the top lot. It sold for $102,500, including buyer’s premium.

For the complete results of the sale, click <a href=”https://www.cottoneauctions.com/prices-realized/auction/fine-art-antiques-5?view=grid&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_field%5D=%60t%60.%60lot_number%60&PricesRealizedForm%5Border_direction%5D=ASC&PricesRealizedForm%5Bnum_per_page%5D=200“>here</a>.

Andrew Jones Auctions, Los Angeles, CA, held a very diverse sale on July 26, 2020 entitled Design For The Home and Garden. There were a few lots that I tried to buy and others that I would have liked to bid on, but didn’t because of condition problems.

The sale went amazingly well, with many items selling for well above their high estimates. The quality was good throughout and the response was commensurate.

Lot #111 was first on my hit list. It was a high quality, Tiffany Favrile, fully wheel-carved 7″ diameter desk lamp. For whatever reason, the auction house listed it incorrectly as follows. Condition: Shade unmarked. Associated and of a later date. Not Tiffany. Good condition overall. Base with a nice verdigris patina. General marks, scratches, some spotting and wear commensurate with age and use. Re-wired. Wiring should be checked by a qualified electrician prior to use.

I have no idea what led them to that conclusion, but it was quite obvious to me that it was authentic and very fine quality. I hoped to steal it, but unfortunately other bidders knew better than the auctioneer. It sold for $8,750, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $1,500 – $2,000. It was a good price for a collector, but not a dealer. I was the underbidder.

I wanted to buy lot #107, a very fine Daum Nancy wheel-carved trumpet vase, but never bid because of the condition problems explained below. Regardless, it sold for $2,750, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $400 – $600. That’s really good, considering its condition.

Condition: Appears to have been restored where the base of the vase joins the socle. This area, as well as a section of the spreading foot fluoresces under UV light. The area has a high sheen polish. Roughness to the edge of the foot rim. A few scattered pinpricks overall. Some patches of sticker residue. Some staining to the interior.

Lastly I tried to buy lot #212, a beautiful, large, 15½” x 13½”, KPM plaque of a young maiden with flowers accompanied by Cupid, signed C. Mlt. The estimate was low at $2,000 – $3,000, so I thought I had a chance of buying it, but that wasn’t to be the case. It sold for $7,500, including buyer’s premium.

I guess I have to admit that I didn’t think business would be good during a pandemic, but I was wrong. Surprisingly my online business has been quite good and auctions have been through the roof. People have not lost faith in the economy, so they’ve redirected their energies online.

Following are a few of my recent sales, including Tiffany lamps, French cameo glass and bronze.

I’ve only had the pleasure of owning a Tiffany 10″ red Favrile lamp two or three times over almost 50 years of business. Recently I bought and sold one of the best I’ve ever had. The heavily ribbed shade had truly fabulous color. The base was a special example with accessories for a magazine and a drink. You won’t see anything of this quality or rarity for another 20 years. I never advertised it, but sold it immediately to one of my best clients.

Daum Nancy sometimes did on-demand custom work, such as Marriage cups. Sometimes they were individual with the intertwined initials of the bride and groom. Sometimes they were pairs, with each cup having an individual initial. The example pictured above has intertwined initials. The color, detail and workmanship are just fantastic and the condition is amazing, with virtually no wear to the extensive gilding.

Leo Laporte-Blairsy, (1865-1923), is one of my favorite French sculptors. Sometimes he worked together with Daum Nancy to produce bronze lamps with a Daum shade. They’re all spectacular, including the large, 29″, Peacock lamp pictured above. The eyes of the feathers are glass and light up when the lamp is turned on. It’s a sight to behold.

It’s debatable who was the best maker of French cameo glass, but Burgun & Schverer certainly was one of them. Their internally decorated vases are ultra-sophisticated because so many techniques were used to make them. And they’re SO… beautiful. We recently sold this gorgeous example with yellow irises.

Let me know what interests you, even if you don’t see it on my website. I’ve got lots of items that I haven’t listed yet and I know how to locate what you desire.

Sotheby’s New York held an Important Design sale on July 30, 2020, beginning with 20 Tiffany Studios lots, mostly lamps. The timing of the sale was quite unusual, at the end of July, but nothing should be surprising in this time of pandemic. Regardless, the results were solid, with 17 of the 20 lots selling. Sales totaled $20,153,000 for the entire sale with 114 of the total of 146 lots offered selling. Four lots by François-Xavier Lalanne sold for multiples of their high estimates realizing from $1,700,000 to $3,980,000, including buyer’s premium.

It was no surprise that lot #13, a vividly colored Wisteria table lamp, was the top lot of the Tiffany group. Estimated to sell for $450,000 – $600,000, it realized $716,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $450,000 – $600,000.

I loved lot #19, a 22″ diameter, fiery red Tulip table lamp. It sold for $162,500, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $100,000 – $150,000. I thought it would sell for considerably more. I had just the right table in my living room, but it wasn’t meant to be.

I wanted to buy lot #14, an attractive Tiffany Favrile 8″ diameter blue Damascene counterbalance desk lamp. It was a nice example, but not great, because the blue faded considerably when the light was turned on. Additionally, the base was nothing exceptional. I hoped to buy it for $10,000 or so, all in. Guess what? It sold for $35,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $8,000 – $12,000. I love it when that happens, because it’s great for my considerable Tiffany Favrile lamp business.

In possibly the single biggest shocker of my career, lot #28, a 6¾” tall Grueby oat-colored vase, from the private collection of Robert Kaplan of Maplewood, NJ, sold for an astonishing $431,250, against a realistic estimate of $7,000 – $9,000. The bidding was fierce between two determined phone bidders who would not quit for 45 minutes of bidding. The usual increments of $10,000 or more were thrown out the window by the auctioneer who allowed the two bidders to bid in increments of $2,000 up to $200,000. After that the increments increased to $5,000. I have never, ever, ever seen anything like it among the thousands of auctions I’ve participated in over the years. I’m at a loss for words!!

For the complete results of the sale click here.

Morphy Auctions, Denver, PA, held a Fine & Decorative Arts sale on July 14-15, 2020. Day 1 was a general auction with watches, silver, paintings and orientalia. Day 2 was more interesting for me with art glass and lamps, among other items. Following are a few of the more interesting results from Day 2. Sales totaled over $3.3 million for the entire sale.

An attractive, but not killer, Tiffany Studios 17″ diameter Dragonfly table sold for $44,100, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $20,000 – $30,000, a nice result. I tried to buy it, but it was just out of range for a dealer, but not for a collector.

Morphy offered a very nice selection of Handel reverse-painted table lamps. The top lot of the group, #2165, a Poppy, multi-floral lamp sold for $30,750, at the low end of the $25,000 – $40,000 estimate. Unfortunately the Handel market peaked decades ago, with values today at about 35-50% of the peak. They’re just as beautiful today as they were then, just not as valuable.

There was a dearth of good French cameo glass at the sale, so not much to report there. In the American glass category, a very nice Tiffany Favrile paperweight vase sold just below its low estimate of $10,000, realizing $10,455, including buyer’s premium.

Morphy sold quite a few English cameo glass perfume bottles. The star of this section of the sale was lot #2012, a Webb laydown bottle in the form of a falcon. It sold well above its high estimate of $4,000, realizing $7,380, including buyer’s premium.

Included in the sale was a large, high-quality collection of Amphora pottery. The top lot of this section of the sale went to #2392, an important Dragon vase. It sold for almost 5 times its high estimate of $8,000, realizing $40,590, including buyer’s premium. That had to put a smile on the consignor’s face.