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Christie’s New York held an Important Tiffany from the Collection of Mary M. and Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. sale on December 11, 2020, with spectacular results. Sales totaled $3,966,250 for the 34 lots, with 100% selling, for an average of $116,654.

The second best result of the sale went to lot #307, a rare Pebble lamp. (The top lot of the sale was a Moorish chandelier, lot #322, which sold for $550,000, including buyer’s premium.) Instead of glass, the lamp is composed of pebbles supposedly gathered from the beach by Tiffany’s Laurelton Hall estate between Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor. The lamp sold for approximately three times its high estimate of $150,000, realizing $537,500, including buyer’s premium. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of this model, and I wouldn’t have bid even within its estimate. But alas, no one bothered to ask me.

In one of the more bizarre results of the sale, a Tiffany 10-light Lily table lamp, lot #327, with an estimate of $15,000 – $20,000, sold for an astounding $112,500, including buyer’s premium. It’s not like the lamp was especially rare. I sell 4-6 lily lamps per year of different sizes, so if there’s anyone familiar with the pricing, it’s me. I sell this lamp in the range of $25,000 – $40,000, depending on the quality. And two other smaller lily lamps in the sale also sold for outrageously high prices. Wowza!

A few stunning lamps sold within or below their estimates. I could not even begin to explain why. However, I will compliment the astute buyers. For example lot #328, a beautiful Laburnum table lamp, sold below its low estimate of $200,000, realizing $212,500, 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>.

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Sotheby’s New York held a Dreaming in Glass: Masterworks by Tiffany Studios sale, December 10, 2020, with total sales of $4,108,254 for the 40 lots offered, for an average of $111,034 per sold lot. 3 lots did not sell, mostly because their estimates were too high. Many lots sold above their high estimates, indicating the continuing strength of the Tiffany Studios market.

The top lot of the lamps was #513, a fine Wisteria example. It sold at the lower end of its estimate of $400,000 – $600,000, realizing $485,100, including buyer’s premium. I think the problem was that there were only a limited number of Wisteria buyers because of the price range and most of them already own at least one example.

A miniature Wisteria table lamp, lot #530, called a Pony Wisteria, did much better. It sold for $302,400, against an estimate of $200,000 – $300,000.

Lot #514 was a rare and beautiful 16″ diameter Butterfly table lamp. It sold well above its high estimate of $120,000, realizing $226,800, including buyer’s premium.

There were six Tiffany Favrile glass lots offered for sale, all of which sold, except for one. Of the five that sold, lot #515, a vivid Morning Glory paperweight vase, fared best. It sold for $56,700, against an estimate of $40,000 – $60,000.

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>.

Make sure you tune in next week for my post on Christie’s Tiffany sale. You won’t believe some of the results!

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Morphy Auctions, Denver, PA, held a Fine & Decorative Arts sale, December 8-10, 2020. The first day was devoted to American and European ceramics, glass and lamps. Many items performed very well, especially Tiffany lamps, which are on a tear.

The first hundred or so lots were Amphora pottery from a prestigious New York City collection. The top lot of the collection, #1032, was a rare, 21½” tall, Spitting Coin Dragon vase. It sold for $54,120, including buyer’s premium — approximately double its high estimate of $24,000.

The top lot of the Tiffany lamps went to #1352, a not-very-attractive 22″ diameter Drop Head Dragonfly table lamp on a tree trunk base. Personally I wouldn’t have bid on this lot for half the realized price of $116,850, including buyer’s premium. The brown mottled background just didn’t do it for me.

A rare Tiffany 16″ diameter Bamboo table lamp sold near its high estimate of $75,000, realizing $89,175, including buyer’s premium. Most of the Tiffany lamps in the sale sold at or above their high estimates.

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>.

You’ll want to read my blog for the next couple of weeks, where I’ll report on the results of the December Sotheby’s and Christie’s Tiffany Studios sales. Tiffany lamp prices were nuts!

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This week’s post is a link to artfixdaily.com. Click here to read the interesting article about some newly acquired items that will be added to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art’s extensive collection. I’ve written about the museum before. It’s located in Winter Park, FL, and is a great place to visit when you’re in the Orlando area.

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