Every major and not so major auction house holds a 20th Century decorative arts sale in November or December. I’ll cover many of them this month. Today’s post will be about the results at Julia’s. My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

James D. Julia, Inc. held its semi-annual Important Lamp & Glass Auction on December 1 and 2, 2011, in Fairfield, Maine. The sale totaled $1.5 million, at the high range of expectations for the head of the department, Dudley Browne. As has been the case of recent, some categories performed better than expected and others faltered. There’s no clear pattern, so it’s difficult to extrapolate forward. Victorian glass, which had not done well recently, did well at this auction. Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre did poorly after doing well in the last sale.

Cut glass decanters, Julia lot #2136

A pair of cut glass decanters, one of which was pale amber, sold for $22,425, against a pre-sale estimate of $200 – $400, over 100 times the low estimate. Apparently the amber one was quite rare. Nice home run for the consignor.

Eugene Michel French cameo glass vase, Julia's lot #3204

The cover lot, a spectacular wheel-carved Eugene Michel French cameo glass vase, took off. Estimated properly at $10,000 – $15,000, it quadrupled its low estimate to sell for $47,150, including buyer’s premium. Michel vases can command high prices when the workmanship is super, and this one was super.

Daum Nancy vase with roses, insects and cabochons, Julia lot #3215

At this sale, Daum did marginally better than Galle. The top lot of the Daum glass was a 25″ tube vase, decorated with roses, insects and applied cabochons. It sold for $13,800, including buyer’s premium, slightly below its low estimate. Much of the French glass in the sale was fresh, from a private Long Island consignor.

Tiffany Studios watercolor sketch, Julia's lot #3300

Tiffany Studios watercolor sketches of stained glass windows did extremely sell, selling for 6 to 15 times their estimates. The highest price was paid for lot #3300, a watercolor sketch of a Tiffany window. It brought $18,400, against a pre-sale estimate of $2,000 – $3,000.

Tiffany lamps that were in the sale with aggressive estimates and reserves failed to sell, whereas most of the lamps with conservative estimates sold.

For the complete results of the sale, click on the following link. You will have to sign in (free) to see the prices. Julia’s Important Lamp & Glass Auction results.

A killer 6½" Daum Nancy vase, just acquired

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. I regularly add Tiffany vases, lamps and desk accessories, as well as French cameo glass by Galle and Daum Nancy and Louis Icart etchings. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com