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>.