I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday.

I made some very nice sales recently of French glass, especially good pâte-de-verre by Argy-Rousseau and Amalric Walter.

The pâte-de-verre Turtle pendant by Amalric Walter, pictured above, is quite rare and equally beautiful. I’d never seen one before. I bought it from a client who bought most of his pâte-de-verre from Minna Rosenblatt in the 1980s. Minna was an important NYC Madison Ave. dealer. I sold it to the first person I offered it to.

The Gallé vase pictured above is desirable because of the rare subject matter of a beetle. It went to a collector in Belgium.

Tiffany Studios lamps, glass and miscellaneous items have been selling well. The candlesticks pictured above are not that rare, but their condition is exemplary. They have amazing original patinas, which unfortunately don’t show well in the photo. Take my word for it. They’re great.

I’m actively buying good pâte-de-verre by Argy-Rousseau and Walter. I’d love it if you would offer me something.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday.

Fairfield Auctions, Monroe, CT, held a general auction on September 29, 2021. Included in the sale was a beautiful, but badly damaged, 17″ diameter Tiffany Studios Poppy table lamp. Interestingly, the lamp was discovered by a cleanout crew whose job was to dispose of the contents of a house. It had been treated very poorly on the mistaken belief that it had no value.

Besides the missing glass in one section and several missing tiles in the border, there were multiple severely damaged tiles that needed replacement. I counted at least 35-40 damaged or missing tiles. That’s quite a lot of damage.

I wanted to buy the lamp because the undamaged parts of the lamp were really beautiful. If properly restored, the lamp would be gorgeous. I guessed the restoration would cost about $15,000 and the lamp would be worth approximately $60,000 after restoration. But besides the cost of the restoration, the lamp needed a better base. The simple stick base it came with was good for a geometric shade like an Acorn, but not for an important Poppy shade. So I figured the upgrade in the base would cost another $7,500 – $10,000. Then the lamp would be worth $70,000 – $80,000 in my estimation.

Prior to the auction, I figured I could pay up to $20,000, including the buyer’s premium. That way my total cost for the lamp after paying for the restoration and upgrading the base would be approximately $45,000, leaving some room for a profit. I don’t know who bought it, but it wasn’t me. It sold for $40,800, including buyer’s premium. Doesn’t make sense to me. Only a collector or dealer with knowledge of how and where to restore this lamp would have any interest in it. And that means the total cost of the restored lamp would be approximately $65,000. Sounds nuts to me.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday.

Fontaine’s Auction, Pittsfield, MA, held a Fine & Decorative Arts sale on September 25, 2021. Following are a few of the results that I found most interesting.

As the glass and lamps expert for several major auction houses, including Fontaine’s, I get called on to authenticate and evaluate many items. Lot #26 was particularly amusing. It was presented to me as possibly Tiffany, since it had a Tiffany signature. It was obvious, without looking at the signature, that it was an important piece of Austrian glass by Loetz, commonly referred to as a black bottom vase. Frequently authentic Loetz vases were unsigned (as opposed to Tiffany who signed almost everything). So what almost surely happened, probably sometime within the last 50 years, is that some unscrupulous dummy thought a Tiffany signature would enhance its value and saleability. So Fontaine’s sold it as they found it; an authentic Loetz vase with a spurious signature. That didn’t stop the buyers. It sold for $11,495, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $3,000 – $5,000.

I don’t buy many Tiffany geometric table lamps, as there are fewer buyers for them than for floral table lamps. But lot #51, a 20″ diameter geometric table lamp, was an exception. It was clean as a whistle, just like the day it was bought. The condition was remarkable; only one hairline crack, a gorgeous patina on the shade and base, original sockets, original cap. The owners took fantastic care of this lamp over the last century or so. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it was boxed for decades. Not only that, but the lamp had great glass; a rich apple green with heavy mottling. It was estimated to sell for $10,000 – $15,000, but realized $21,780, including buyer’s premium. I bid strongly, but couldn’t compete with the retail buyers.

I’ve never personally dealt in Tiffany windows as they’re too difficult to handle, display, transport, ship, etc. But I do follow the market. Rule #1, don’t buy religious windows. They’re very difficult to sell. Rule #2, don’t buy religious windows. You get the point. However, the quality of many of them is amazing, so there is a market for them, including lot #103, Gabriel Blowing His Horn. It measured 51½” x 49″, including the frame, and was signed and dated Tiffany Studios, New York, 1916. The glass was fantastic; drapery glass in Gabriel’s robe, fracture glass in the leaves (especially in the upper left and upper right), mottled glass, striated glass, the works. It was really a great window. It sold near the high end of its estimate of $70,000 – $90,000, realizing $102,850, including buyer’s premium. It might have brought $500,000 if it weren’t religious.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday.

Rago Auctions, Lambertville, NJ, held an Early 20th Century Design sale on September 23, 2021 with mostly art pottery, a few lots by Tiffany Studios, some Arts & Crafts furniture and a few miscellaneous lots. Following are a few of the results that I found most interesting.

Lot #235, a blue 20″ diameter Daffodil, performed best of the Tiffany lamps. Estimated to sell for $60,000 – $75,000, it realized $91,000, including buyer’s premium. I just wonder if the buyer will be happy when the lamp arrives. The difference between the photo and the lamp in person was vast. I visited Rago in person and wasn’t even sure I was looking at the same lamp. Whoever photoshopped the image invented a lamp that didn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong. It was a very nice lamp that didn’t look anything like the photos.

I tried to buy lot #229, a Tiffany 12-light lily floor lamp. It wasn’t the best example that I’d ever seen, but it was quite nice. A better example would have had a patina finish, not the statuary bronze doré finish on this example. The shades were nice, but not the best match possible. It sold for $52,500, near the high estimate of $50,000. I think that was a very fair price for a collector, but right at the cusp of too much for a dealer.

I don’t deal much with art pottery anymore, but I thought I should note that lot #167, a rare Adelaide Robineau night lamp, set a world record for the artist. It sold for $137,500, against an estimate of $40,000 – $60,000, including buyer’s premium. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about Robineau to understand the importance of the lamp.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday.

The Art Institute of Chicago purchased a huge, magnificent Tiffany window in 2018 in Providence, Rhode Island. They took three years to transport it to Chicago and restore it. It’s now on permanent display at the institute. Click this link to read the fascinating story.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

Of the thousands of Daum Nancy vases I’ve sold over the years, some are more memorable than others. The vase pictured above is one of them.

Personally, I think it’s gorgeous, with vivid, blue hydrangea flowers and a butterfly on the front and another insect on the reverse. The outline of the decoration was first acid-etched into the glass, then exquisitely hand-painted with enamel.

The cabochons were molten applied with clear glass on top of colored metal foil. When the vase cooled, an artist hand-carved the facets into them. The effect is to make the cabochons appear as if they are colored, but they are clear. The light from the foil is refracted, making the glass appear colored. (You can see there is no color around the top edge of both the red and green cabochons.)

The geometric decoration around the bottom and around the cabochons was acid-etched into the vase, then gilded. Finally the entire vase was fired, making all of the decoration permanent.

Now that you know all of the work involved in creating this vase, you can truly appreciate its sophistication and beauty.

Do you have any good Daum, A. Walter or Argy-Rousseau glass that you want to sell? Please offer it to me.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.



Yesterday I wanted to buy a rare Tiffany Favrile goblet on eBay, but at the time I thought the price was a little too high for me at $1,035. That’s a good price, even for a dealer, but I still didn’t buy it because I thought the color was blah. Now that I’m writing this blog, I realize I made a big mistake.

Only while writing this blog did I look closely at the signature, which includes the words “Special Exhibition”. That’s why it was unique. Ugh! Big mistake! I could have tripled my money.

It had a dark, pulled impurity in the stem, original to the making, but it wouldn’t have had any effect on its saleability.

Oh well. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time I make a mistake. I just need to make fewer of them.

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.

I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

Milestone Auctions, Willoughby, OH, held a diverse auction on August 7, 2021. Included in the sale was a single-owner collection of lamps, including several by Tiffany Studios. I only had interest in the Tiffany lamps, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to buy any of them.

Lot #586 was a Tiffany Studios 16″ diameter Herringbone table lamp on a rare reticulated base that was too good for the shade. Most collectors or dealers would use the base for a better shade, like a floral one, and put the Herringbone shade on a simpler base. To me it was a shade and a base, not a complete lamp. It sold for $19,550, against an estimate of $10,000 – $20,000. Too much for me.

Duffner & Kimberly Peacock table lamps are rare and desirable. This huge, 22″ diameter example, lot #588, was expected to sell for $10,000 – $20,000, but realized $31,050.

The lamp I really wanted most was lot #591, a Tiffany Studios 16″ diameter Tulip table lamp. The flowers had strong, beautiful colors and the background had marvelous blue striated glass. It sold for $42,500, against an estimate of $20,000 – $40,000. Outbid again.

The last Tiffany lamp in the sale was lot #594, a Diver’s lamp with turtleback tiles (named I suppose because it looks like an old-fashioned diver’s helmet). Again I was outbid as it sold for $27,025, against an estimate of $10,000 – $20,000.

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>.

If you follow my blog, it will not surprise you to know the Tiffany lamp market is still strong. Following is a review of some recent sales, including two Tiffany Studios lamps.

The quality of Tiffany Oak Leaf & Acorn lamps varies from unimpressive to outstanding. The difference is the choice of glass. The example above is outstanding with beautiful acorns and a heavily mottled green glass background. The very desirable Cushion base has a fabulous original patina.

Linenfold table lamps are great because they work with almost any decor from 18th century to modern. The example above is special because it has gorgeous green glass, in fabulous original condition, with a super base and a super original patina.

Pâte-de-verre by Walter and especially Argy-Rousseau is selling very well. The Argy-Rousseau Fans & Masks vase above is fairly rare with really good color.

Bonham’s LA held a Modern Design | Art sale on July 13, 2021 with total sales of $1,319,871. It was the first auction with in-room bidding to take place at a Bonham’s US saleroom in over a year. Included in the sale were some examples of works by Tiffany Studios, Argy-Rousseau and Daum. Following are a few of the more interesting results.

I really liked lot #2, a Tiffany Studios Scarab desk lamp, but so did a lot of other people. I wanted to buy it, but it sold for $19,062, including buyer’s premium. It left me no room to make a profit, so I wasn’t the buyer.

Lot #60 presented an interesting dilemma for me. The base was too good for an average 16″ Acorn shade, so as a dealer, I looked at it as two parts, a shade and a base. The shade belongs with a simpler base, like a stick base, but I don’t have any stick bases. Then the ribbed library base could be used for a floral shade, but I already have this exact library base in inventory, so I didn’t need it. I wasn’t the buyer at the final price of $14,025, including buyer’s premium.

The sale included 5 lots by Daum Nancy. Lot #42, a small footed bowl with violets, did the best of the group, even though it appears that the pulled tip on the right has been ground smaller. It sold for $4,845, 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>.