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My wife was looking through some old photos and came across one my mother-in-law had taken of Chasen-Stamati Gallery, my gallery in New York City with partner Paul Stamati. It dates to 1989 and brings back bittersweet memories.

The late 1980s were boom times in the antiques world. The Japanese were buying like crazy, borrowing from banks against the value of their real estate in Tokyo, which was astonishing. Three-quarters of our sales went to Japanese buyers, directly or indirectly. Business was so good that I formed a partnership with Paul. We opened a very fancy gallery in the Carlysle Hotel on Madison Ave. in New York City. Yes, the Carlyle where President Kennedy stayed when in NYC.

We had an unbelievable inventory of lamps, glass, and furniture — everything from Tiffany to Handel to Pairpoint to Icart to Majorelle to Daum and Gallé. Everything was selling well, especially French glass and Louis Icart etchings and oil paintings. We would show our inventory of Icart etchings numerous times per week to Japanese clients, who would buy several at a time. Prices were going through the roof, locking out many American clients who couldn’t keep up.

Those were the sweet times until the beginning of 1990, when the sky came falling down. The Japanese buyers all stopped buying at the same time. The abrupt halt in business was breathtaking in its suddenness. We couldn’t pay our rent, so we were forced to suddenly close and take a big loss. I was forced to sell my home at a loss, which we had just bought. The early 1990s were the bitter times. Amazing that I survived them. Big sigh!

Fast forward, I’m doing fine and have been for some time. Thank you for asking. And a big thanks to all my loyal clients who helped me keep my head above water during the tough times.

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Cottone Auctions, Geneseo, NY, held an Art & Antiques sale November 13-14, 2020. Included in the Saturday portion of the sale was a nice selection of Tiffany Studios and other lamps. Personally I didn’t participate because I spent a lot of time participating in their previous sale and bought nothing. I assumed they would get good results and I would waste my time again. But this time their results were softer and I might have been able to buy something. Oh well. It’s water under the bridge now.

The top lot of the Tiffany lamps was #348, a beautiful 22″ diameter Maple Leaf floor lamp. This is a model that I’ve always loved. Estimated to sell for $50,000 – $80,000, it realized $63,000, or $75,600 including the buyer’s premium. In my opinion, this was a fair price on which a dealer could make a profit.

Lot #349 was another beauty — a Tiffany Studios 17″ tuck under Poppy with red flowers and a pale blue background, on a very rare reticulated base. It sold for its low estimate of $40,000, or $48,000 with the buyer’s premium. I could easily have made money on this exceptional lamp.

A rare two-tone example of the Jewel Feather model, lot #351, sold weakly, in my opinion. It brought $9,250, or $11,100 including the buyer’s premium. That was about half of what Cottone sold a similar example for in their previous sale. Again, I could have easily sold it for a profit.

Cottone also sold several Handel lamps at depressed prices, including a beautiful Jungle Bird boudoir lamp, lot #343, for $2,280, including buyer’s premium. That’s less than half of its value at the peak of the market a decade or more ago.

For the complete results of the sale click here. You will have to sign in (free) for the prices.

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Hill Auction Gallery, Sunrise, FL, held a Cream of the Crop auction on October 28, 2020. The first 36 lots of the sale were items by Tiffany Studios, most of them by direct family descent from Loretta Roessle to the current owner. Mrs. Roessle (nee Reinmuth) was, with her sister, Mae Higgins (Reinmuth), a long time employee of Tiffany Studios. Some of the items generated serious interest.

The top result of the grouping went to #1, a Tiffany Furnaces box from the 1920s with blue iridescent pressed glass sides and top. Estimated to sell for $1,000 – $3,000, it realized an amazing $12,500, including buyer’s premium. I’ve sold boxes like this in the past for a maximum of $3,000, so needless to say, I was impressed.

Tiffany Tel el Amarna vases are characterized by an applied band with a zig zag decoration. Lot #17 was different than most in that the band was applied as a foot, whereas typical examples have the band applied as a collar at the top. This one also had two little applied handles and a strong blue-purple color to add to its appeal. It sold for $10,625, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $3,000 – $5,000.

Glazed Tiffany Favrile pottery vases are moderately rare, including this model of a trillium flower. Estimated to sell for $2,000 – $4,000, it realized $10,000, 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>.

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I recently wrote a blog about the hot Tiffany lamp market. I wouldn’t say they’re selling like hot cakes, but close to it. Following are a few of my recent sales.

The wonderful Tiffany Studios 12″ diameter Acorn floor lamp pictured above didn’t last long. It had great dichroic glass with mixed green and orange colors. What made it extra special was the amazing floor base with coiled spirals. The rare base was solid bronze and very heavy. The double-knuckle configuration of the harp allowed the shade to tilt. It looked beautiful in my home while it lasted.

The Tiffany Studios 16″ Pansy above didn’t last long either. It was dash-numbered 25, which indicated that it was #25 of a special production run of 25 lamps. Most dash-numbered Tiffany lamps are special and collectors pay extra attention to them. This example had an amazing assortment of mottled, rippled, and textured flowers. It also had a rare Inverted Mushroom base to add to its appeal.

Roman table lamps are some of the largest of the geometric table lamps that Tiffany Studios produced. This 25″ diameter lamp was the first lamp to sell of the recent group I bought. The belt and border all had beautiful yellow and orange ripple glass elements. The six-socket Roman base was impressive, especially with a gorgeous patina.

French glass has also been selling well, including the extraordinary Gallé Grasshopper vase pictured above. It was marked Cristallerie underneath, indicating it was early production from the 1890s. I could have sold it three times and probably upset a couple of good clients in the process. I apologize to them.

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Just recently I wrote a blog about the hot Tiffany lamp market and how difficult it was for me to buy. Well, guess what? I got lucky and bought several superb Tiffany lamps, most of which I’ve listed on my website.

I’m only selling the gorgeous Tulip lamp above because we needed a larger lamp (which we purchased). The pink flowers and the blue in the background make this a very special example.

I’ve owned several Tiffany Studios Tyler Scroll lamps over the years. The example above is the best of the bunch. It has rich, gorgeous maize and amber colors in the scroll with matching colors in the geometric border at the bottom of the shade. The green striated and swirled background is equally rich.

I always have several Tiffany Studios Favrile lamps for sale at any one time. The killer example above is one of the best. The Favrile shade has opulent green color with ribbing, but the base is what makes it extra special. It’s an Aladdin adjustable height lamp with a swivel socket and fabulous original patina. It’s solid bronze and very heavy.

These are just a few examples of the wonderful Tiffany lamps I have for sale. Check my website for most of the rest. I still haven’t listed everything. There are also some great new French cameo items, like the important vase below.

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