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Cottone Auctions held a Fine Art & Antiques sale yesterday, March 23, 2019. Included in the sale was a nice selection of Tiffany Studios lamps and glass and one very nice Daum Nancy vase. Following is a review of those items.

A Tiffany Studios 22″ diameter Bamboo table lamp, lot #55, sold a little below its estimate of $75,000 – $125,000, realizing $85,550, including buyer’s premium. The result appeared weak, as bamboo lamps have sold for considerably more at the major NYC auction houses.

A very nice Tiffany Studios 9″ Favrile Cypriote vase, lot #58, sold for a good price, within its estimate of $20,000 – $40,000, realizing $36,580, including buyer’s premium.

Other Tiffany Studios objects did well. A very fine 7″ deep blue Favrile lamp sold for $16,520 (lot #59); an unusual 14″ diameter Arrowroot table lamp sold for $61,950 (lot #60); and a red Art Deco desk set sold for $15,930 (lot #70).

There was only one Daum Nancy vase in the sale, but it was a good one — a nice Fall scenic, 9¾” tall. It sold within its estimated range of $7,000 – $10,000, realizing $10,620, including buyer’s premium. Unfortunately I was unprepared to bid at the auction because we had just returned from vacation, but I probably would not have bought this vase as the price was a bit too high for a dealer.

The complete results can be found by clicking here. You will have to sign into LiveAuctioneers to see the prices.

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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We are just finishing our trip to Argentina and Chile. Everywhere we went, I was reminded of the role of nature in the works of American and French companies from the Art Nouveau period.

Lapageria rosea, known locally as Chilean bellflower or Copihue, is the national flower of Chile. We found this exceptionally beautiful flower on a walk through a nature reserve near Pucón, Chile. My first thought was that it’s the same size and shape as a Tiffany Studios lily shade, even more so than real lily flowers.

The same day we came across a beautiful rocky river, which immediately reminded me of one of Handel’s most beautiful lamps.

Small wonder that I love Art Nouveau.

BTW, if you’re wondering where to go for your next adventure, I suggest the Patagonia region of Argentina and the lake and volcanoes area of Chile. You can drive from one to the other in a few hours. Great food and hotels are dirt cheap on the Argentine side and a little more expensive on the Chilean side, but still quite reasonable. You’ll thank me!

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

No new post this Monday. We’re on vacation.

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It’s not often that Tiffany Studios lamps are sold at auction in Europe. So I was surprised that a French auction house, Tajan, was selling one, a Tiffany Lotus lamp, at their sale in Paris last November 20, 2018. The final sale price of €93,600 ($106,122), including buyer’s premium, easily exceeded the pre-sale estimate of €40,000 – €60,000.

But was it a good price compared to what it might have brought if it had sold at a major American auction house? Not if you look at the result of a fairly recent Sotheby’s New York sale, Tiffany: Dreaming in Glass, December 13, 2017. A green example sold for $375,000, against a pre-sale estimate of $120,000 – $180,000.

So the way I see it, one of two things happened. Either someone got a great deal on an authentic lamp or got ripped off on a reproduction. I wasn’t there to inspect the lamp, so I have no idea. I can only hope it was the former.

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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Rago Auctions held an Early 20th C. Design sale on January 19, 2019. Included in the sale was a nice selection of Martin Brothers stoneware, as well as a diverse selection of ceramics and glass.

The top lot of the sale was a tall (16″) Martin Brothers stoneware bird tobacco jar. Estimated to sell for $40,000 – $60,000, it realized the low estimate of $40,000 + buyer’s premium = $50,000. My opinion is that it would have sold for more if it had had more character.

A George Ohr vase, lot #48, took second place with an attractive double-sectioned vase, 6¼” tall. It sold for many times its high estimate of $9,000, realizing $46,875, including buyer’s premium.

The selection of Tiffany Studios lamps and glass was limited. Lot #391, a Turtleback hall lantern, performed best among this group. It sold slightly above its high estimate of $20,000, realizing $26,250, including buyer’s premium. Personally I thought it was awful and wouldn’t have bought it at any price, but the bidders did not ask me first. How’s that possible?

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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What a difference a year makes. By the end of the first day last year we had big smiles on our faces. This year we had frowns. A lot of the key players were missing this year, for one reason or another, so the first day was a downer. We made a couple of sales, but nothing important.

Saturday was a lot like last year. The attendees were a lot less knowledgeable than on Friday, so many of the questions were naive. We answered them as patiently as we could.

One woman purchased her first ever Daum Nancy vase without even knowing the first thing about French cameo glass or Daum or me. She just liked it. That was brave of her and a lovely surprise for me. I’m happy to say she chose well and will be very happy with her purchase.

Sunday wasn’t any better. We made one small sale in the morning. Two of our very good clients who usually show up on Sunday didn’t come this year. Amazingly every one of our good clients did not show up to the show. The stars were not aligned. We went from our best Grove Park show last year to our worst this year. It’s the first show in a very long time where we didn’t even meet our expenses. Sometimes you’re the dog and sometimes you’re the hydrant. :>(

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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The 32nd National Arts & Crafts Conference, at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC, will open to the public this Friday, February 15th, at 1 PM, and continue until Sunday, February 17th, at 4 PM.

I wish all antique shows had the vibe of this one. It’s warm and inviting, with enthusiastic buyers, most of whom travel from afar. It’s all contained in the Grove Park Inn itself, a wonderful 1913 masterpiece of a hotel. Picture a line of rocking chairs, in front of a gigantic boulder fireplace, with wood crackling in the fire, in a cavernous Arts & Crafts lobby, guests rocking leisurely, chatting, with a glass of wine. Lovely, no?

We sold many lamps in Miami Beach, so we restocked for Grove Park. Mainly we added several Tiffany Studios geometric table lamps. Arts & Crafts collectors prefer geometric designs over floral designs to complement their interiors. We’ll have two Acorns, one Lemon Leaf and one Tyler Scroll, in addition to several florals.

If you’ve never visited the Grove Park Inn, you’ll want to come during this show. I promise you’ll thank me!

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

We are on vacation next week, so no new post for the week of February 4, 2019.

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The Original Miami Beach Antiques Show ended yesterday after a 4-day run that started this past Saturday. I, for one, am extremely pleased.

After selling six Tiffany lamps on Sunday, I sold another Tiffany lamp and a Handel lamp on Monday, for a total of eight lamps. I’m pretty sure that’s a personal record. And we didn’t just sell lamps. We sold glass, bronze, porcelain and etchings. Amazingly, most of the sales were to new buyers, including some who weren’t senior citizens. That was quite refreshing.

The return to the Miami Beach Convention Center was well received. Attendance was excellent every day (except Tuesday, the last day), after very slow starts each morning (except opening day). We made no sales on Tuesday, but still finished with a superb show.

We’re looking forward to next year’s show, but are concerned about the effects of the very early dates in January. Right now, the show is scheduled to open on Sunday, January 5, 2020, with a possible opening on Saturday, January 4, at 3 PM. It would be a huge mistake not to open for a full day on Saturday, so I hope management will come to their senses and realize the importance.

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Now we’re off for a couple of weeks of R&R before we head to Asheville, NC for our favorite show of the year, The 32nd National Arts & Crafts Conference at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC, February 15-17, 2019. If you’ve never been to this show, make plans NOW. You’ll thank me.

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The Original Miami Beach Antiques Show opened to the public this past Saturday at the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Opening day, Saturday, was a good day with excellent attendance and interest and with commensurate sales. What a difference a week makes.

Sunday started very slowly. There’s never a good reason to open at 11 AM on a Sunday, but most promoters think they know better. As the day went by, attendance picked up considerably, as well as interest and sales, including French glass and especially Tiffany lamps. We sold six Tiffany lamps in one day. Wowza!

The show is already a success with only two days of business. Hopefully we can do some business on Monday and Tuesday, as well. Ordinarily I post once a week on Monday, but I will post again this Wednesday with the final results of the show. So tune in on Wednesday.

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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When a show is slow, it gives me time to write a contemporaneous account of the activity. Unfortunately, the show is very slow, allowing me the time to write this blog.

Friday, 1 PM. There were about 75 people on line at the opening, but they quickly dissolved into the show space. I had a few serious questions about a bronze and a Tiffany & Co. clock, but no sales as of the moment.

Friday, 7 PM. The show was dreadfully slow today, but we did manage to make one sale of a lovely Gallé box. I spent most of the day sending photographs of items in the show to my best clients. At least I was successful making sales there.

Saturday, 1 PM. The show has been just as slow today as yesterday. No serious inquiries and no sales as of this moment.

Saturday, 7 PM. The day has been fairly tortuous. Very few people and no sales. What a difference from last year, when attendance, interest and sales were significantly better. Just hope that Sunday will be better or this show will end up a disaster.

Sunday, 1 PM. Why the show opened at 11 AM is beyond me. No one comes to a show on Sunday morning. You could have bowled in the aisles it was so empty.

I did have one serious inquiry recently. Got my fingers crossed it will lead to a sale.

Sunday, 6 PM. The show is closed. Our serious inquiry led to a sale, so we had only two sales for the entire show. Since one was an important Tiffany Studios Aquamarine vase, the show was a financial success, but it certainly felt like a failure. It’s no fun sitting at a show for three days, open 23 hours to the public, and twiddling my thumbs most of the time because so few people attended.

Next year the Miami show schedule will be turned on its head. The Original Miami Beach Antique Show will be held January 5-9, 2020, Sunday-Thursday, with a possible opening at 3 PM on Saturday. Personally I think that’s terrible. We would need a full day open to the public on Saturday, the same as this year. The show is also going back to five days, from four presently.

The Miami Airport Show is scheduled for three weeks later. That means that we have to set up the Miami Beach show just after New Year’s and then wait around for three weeks until the Airport show. That will be very difficult. I’ll keep you posted if anything changes.

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.

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By the time you read this blog, we’ll be traveling to warm, sunny Miami for the opening of the Miami Antiques + Art + Design Show this Friday, January 18, 2019. It opens at 11 AM and closes on Sunday at 5 PM. The weather is predicted to be in the 70s for the next 10 days (except January 21 in the 60s). The show will feature over 200 premier exhibitors from the U.S., Canada, Europe and South America, offering the finest antiques and decorative arts. It’s a very high quality show that is worth a trip from anywhere in the world (and clients do fly in from as far as Japan).

We’ve had a few months to add some really great items to our already extensive inventory. You’ll be able to get first crack at them before the big, important Original Miami Beach Antiques Show the following week.

The show isn’t very big, but it is very high quality. The dealers who choose to exhibit at this show are dealers of distinction, with inventories to prove it. Try to make it to this show and also enjoy the great weather and the great food in some of the best restaurants in the country. You’ll be able to visit two shows for the price of one airline ticket.

Please stop by my booth and say hi!

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No shows until October 20, 2022, when we’ll exhibit at the Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show. Two weeks later we’ll exhibit at the Antiques + Modernism Show in Winnetka, IL, starting on November 4, 2022.