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The promoter of the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show, Scott Diament, told me in an email that the show has been postponed to November 12-15, 2020. Personally we decided that we would not exhibit this year regardless. Most of the exhibitors and most of the attendees are senior citizens and therefore part of the most vulnerable part of the population. I can’t imagine dealers or attendees willing to risk their health to travel to the show. Will the situation will be materially better by November? Doubtful, in fact it may be worse. The Spanish Flu of 1918 came back with a vengeance in the fall.

What makes any show attractive is its size, diversity and quality. Baltimore and Miami Beach are the best examples. They attract serious buyers willing to travel great distances. Serious dealers, serious buyers — the formula for success. Shows that rely only on local clients often struggle as there aren’t enough good clients to go around.

The antiques show business has suffered over the last decade as a result of the graying of the dealers and clients. There are far fewer dealers and far fewer clients than even a decade ago. Many shows have folded permanently. Unfortunately I think the pandemic will accelerate the process. I wonder if there will be any decent shows left when the crisis is finally over. And that won’t happen until not only the creation of a vaccine, but the actual inoculation of the public — a process that could take 12-18 months.

I really miss the good shows, but wishing will not make them appear. In the meantime, tune into my blog and check my website. I really will be working on listing more and more items.

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Sorry, no new post this week. There isn’t much happening, so I can’t think of a new topic. I’ll have a new post next week.

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Treadway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, held a Spring auction on May 3, 2020 with his usual assortment of art pottery, Arts & Crafts, art glass and a few lamps. There wasn’t much special in the sale, so the items sold in the range of $33 – $23,750, with most items selling well below $5,000.

That lot #235, a 9″ tall Gallé Faience pottery vase, was the top lot of the sale, was a surprise to me and I’m sure to everyone except the final two bidders. Historically Gallé pottery never had much of a following, so prices were generally soft. I do love this rare example, in the form of a flower with hand-painted fairies, but the price was an historical aberration. Two bidders were both determined to buy it, so they fought all the way to $23,750, including buyer’s premium, from a pre-sale estimate of $1,000 – $1,500. Kudos to the consignor.

The second best performing lot of the sale was #264, a Tiffany Studios 7-light lily table lamp with an original gold doré base. It sold within its estimate of $10,000 – $15,000, realizing $13,000, including buyer’s premium.

There were some good bargains at the sale. For example lot #193, a 2″ sterling silver and moonstone brooch by Viking Craft sold for only $33, including buyer’s premium. I would have bought it in a heartbeat at that price, had I paid attention.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

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Daum Nancy liked to repeat decorations on different shaped vases and lamps. There are many examples including seasons and flowers. Blackbirds rate as one of the most collectible and desirable decorations. They’re quite rare, so I’m only able to acquire an example every few years. Amazingly I have three examples now for sale.

Following are three examples I’ve previously sold.

The two Daum miniature Blackbird vases pictured below are doubly rare. First the decoration is rare, and second it’s even rarer to find it on miniature vases. The vase on the left measures 3″ tall and the tumbler on the right measures 1¾” tall. The blackbirds continue around the vases. They’re great examples.

The Daum Nancy Blackbird vase pictured below is probably the biggest and best example that exists anywhere in the world. I’ve never seen another that comes close to it in size (28″ tall) or quality. There’s never much detail in the blackbirds on the smaller vases, but on this example, there’s a much bigger canvas, so the birds are highly detailed. It had to have been painted by one of their most talented artists. If you want the best example in the world, it’s for sale here.

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Toomey & Co., Chicago, IL, held an Art & Design sale on March 8, 2020. The diverse sale included furniture, ceramics, glass and lamps. Following are a couple of interesting results.

Lot # 109 was a nice Grueby 9″ vase with 5 handles. Estimated to sell for $4,000 – $6,000, it realized $10,625, including buyer’s premium.

The sale included several Handel table lamps. Lot #286, a Venice scenic, was the best of the group. It sold near its low estimate, realizing $5,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $4,000 – $6,000. The Handel lamp market has been in a prolonged slump. This particular lamp would have sold for closer to $15,000 at the peak of the market more than a decade ago.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

Freeman’s, Philadelphia, PA, held a Design sale on March 31, 2020, mostly with Meissen porcelain, furniture and four Tiffany lamps. The top result of the lamps was lot #27, a 21″ diameter Nasturtium on a rare root and Favrile ball base. Its final price of $206,250, including buyer’s premium, approximately quadrupled its low estimate of $50,000. Nice!

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

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Funny thing about self-isolation. I haven’t spent a lot of time on business. I’m doing lots of home improvement projects that I’ve procrastinated for years. But I do try to spend some time listing new items. Haven’t made nearly the progress I was hoping. So what I’m doing here is posting a few group shots of items that I have for sale. They should be listed individually, and may be soon, but for now this will have to do.

First up are a gorgeous group of Tiffany Favrile vases. I have more than shown, but I managed to unpack these and take a photo. You can’t see much detail, so if you see something you like, email me and I’ll send you detailed photos and prices.

Lots of folks collect Tiffany desk sets, especially Grapevine and Pine Needle. I’ve been meaning to list each item separately, but hope this group photo will suffice for now. There are some rare items here, so let me know what interests you.

Most of the items in this group photo of Tiffany Studios Pine Needle desk accessories are available. Let me know what interests you.

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Sothebys New York held a Design sale on March 31, 2020 with some spectacular results for Tiffany Studios lamps and objects. Many items sold for many times their high estimates. The only way I can figure it out is that a lot of wealthy people were self-isolating and very bored. What’s more fun than sitting at a computer and bidding at an auction? I was floored by some of the prices. The sale totaled $4,027,500 for the 236 lots that were offered.

Lot #58, a Tiffany Moorish chandelier that was estimated to sell for $10,000 – $15,000, sold for an astonishing $300,000, including buyer’s premium. Wowza! Had to be two wealthy bidders with more cents than sense. Kudos to the consignor, who should go out and buy a lottery ticket with that kind of luck.

Lot #36 was a fairly rare Tiffany Favrile glass lamp with a reddish, 9″ diameter shade and matching red enameled base. It dates from the 1920s as do all of the items with enameling that were signed by Tiffany Furnaces. It did exceptionally well, selling for $35,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $4,000 – $6,000.

The top lot of the Tiffany leaded lamps was #27, an attractive 24″ diameter Peony Border floor lamp. It sold for $137,500, including buyer’s premium — within its estimate of $100,000 – $150,000.

Lot #22 was a Tiffany 10″ diameter Favrile glass counterbalance floor lamp. It sold for $27,500, including buyer’s premium — about three times its high estimate of $8,000. I guess the bidders hadn’t visited my website, because I have a Favrile glass floor lamp for sale that is better and considerably lower priced. If someone prefers a counterbalance base, no problem. I have one that I can easily switch. Click here to view it.

For the complete results of the sale click here.

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Cottone Auctions, Geneseo, NY, held a Fine Art & Antiques auction on March 28, 2020. Included in the sale were a substantial number of lamps by Tiffany Studios and the Handel Lamp Co., as well as some nice art glass. The better lamps had solid results. Following are some of them.

The top three highest prices of the sale were all realized by Tiffany Studios lamps. Lot #156, a 24″ diameter helmet Rose table lamp achieved the highest price, but only slightly above its low estimate of $75,000, realizing $91,450, including buyer’s premium. Personally it wasn’t a favorite of mine as I didn’t much care for the shape of the shade.

The next two lots, #s 157 and 158 achieved the same results, each realizing $70,800, including buyer’s premium. Lot #157 was an attractive 20″ diameter Dragonfly table lamp with an estimate of $40,000 – $60,000, while #158 was an 18-light Lily table lamp with an estimate of $30,000 – $50,000.

A rare and desirable Handel acid-etched and iridized Peacock table lamp on an equally rare Peacock base sold well above its estimate of $10,000 – $15,000, realizing $26,550, including buyer’s premium. While that’s a pretty good result, it probably would have sold for 50% – 100% more at the peak of the market, a decade or more ago.

For the complete results of the sale, click here. You will have to sign in (free) to see the prices realized.

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Treadway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, sold the June and Larry Greenwald Collection at auction, March 22, 2020. Included in the sale were several fine Tiffany lamps and vases, the first significant test of strength after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve been friends with the Greenwald parents (June and Larry) and children (Robin and Ron) for many years as we exhibited at the same shows many times. After the parents both passed away, the children decided to sell their parents’ entire collection at auction. Don Treadway was the lucky auctioneer to get the collection. The results were quite good, especially considering the sale was held in the middle of a pandemic.

As expected, the top lot of the sale was #121, a magnificent Tiffany Studios 22″ diameter Peony table lamp, with exceptional color and a rare bamboo base. It sold for $276,000, including buyer’s premium, slightly below the high estimate of $250,000, not including buyer’s premium.

The second highest lot of the sale was #49, a Tiffany Studios miniature (pony) Wisteria lamp. It sold within its estimate of $100,000 – $150,000, realizing $144,000, including buyer’s premium.

The top Tiffany Favrile glass lot of the sale was #1, a fine Nasturtium paperweight vase. Tiffany produced some of these vases intentionally with holes in the bottom. I assume this was to prevent people from filling them with water and damaging the interiors of the vases. Tiffany solved this problem by including a glass liner for water. Most of them were lost over the years, but this example retained its original liner. The vase sold just below its high estimate of $15,000, realizing $16,800, including buyer’s premium.

For the complete results of the sale, click here. You will have to sign in (free) to get the prices.

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There have been many developments this week regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), so here are a few from my prospective.

The Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show has been postponed until the fall. I was in contact with Rosemary Krieger, the promoter of the show, advising her that we will not be exhibiting this year. I also advised her not to run the show until the following year. She decided to go ahead with the show, but was forced to cancel because the venue, the Chicago Merchandise Mart, canceled all spring shows. Only time will tell if the spread of the virus will have abated enough to have a fall show, but I’m not optimistic. The only real solution will be a vaccine.

In other news, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has revealed that 68 percent of Democrats are worried that someone in their family could catch the virus, while just 40 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of independents share that concern. That’s an astonishing fact to me. How can something as scientific and factual as a virus become politicized? Facts used to be facts. Doesn’t seem that way anymore. I love my new tee shirt that says Science doesn’t care what you believe!

On the light side, click on this link to see how some Italians are dealing with the quarantine. (Scroll down to the videos and turn up the volume!)

I imagine that people will be at their computers a lot more than usual especially as older folks heed the advice to socially distance themselves. That sounds like an opportunity for me to list more items on my website and do some business. I will soon be unpacking lots of new items and listing them for sale on my site. Please take a look and let me know what interests you!

In the meantime, stay well!!

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It’s amazing how fast the world has changed in a few months. There was no way I could have predicted a pandemic. It was totally off my radar screen. I made lots of plans, but now it seems I have to change them all.

The coronavirus is bad and getting worse. There are a few hundred confirmed cases in the United States, but that means there are thousands more because many people have not been tested. Young people may have the virus with slight or no symptoms and unknowingly spread it to others. Older people are the most vulnerable.

The situation is bad in many parts of the world. All of northern Italy is on lockdown. In Iran, some top leaders have already died of the virus, including a close aide to Khamenei, the Supreme Leader. I think there is no way to stop the spread of the virus in the United States. The Surgeon General said we’ve gone beyond containment to the next phase, mitigation. We have to hope that scientists will find effective treatments for now and hope that a vaccine comes sooner than later.

So what will happen to organized events, like antique shows? Many important events have already been canceled, like SXSW in Austin, TX. There’s talk of no spectators at the Summer Olympics in Japan. It’s up to the show promoters to decide, but I suggest they err on the side of caution. Even if the events are held, it’s likely there will be far fewer exhibitors and attendees.

Got my fingers crossed that the problem can be resolved quickly. I wish you all well.