Decorative arts pack a punch in Morphy Auctions’ $1.2 million Winter sale
Jan. 26, 2005
Strongest LiveAuctioneers sell-through rate in company’s historyDENVER, Pa. – A figural cast-iron shooting gallery target with cross-over appeal in four different collecting genres tied a Tiffany Studios lamp for top-lot honors in Morphy Auctions’ Dec. 8-10 Winter sale, which grossed $1.2 million. “It only goes to show the diversity of collecting categories that thrive in today’s auction marketplace,” said the auction company’s chief operating officer, Dan Morphy.
The hefty 20 by 16in cast-iron shooting gallery target, dated 1911 and made by Dickman, was one of the most visually dramatic entries in the sale. Shaped as the bust of a masked, hatted clown, it spurred a feeding frenzy among collectors of folk art, figural cast iron, clown items and arcade-related pieces. “It came from a private collection in Portland ( Ore.),” Morphy said. “A couple of major folk art people went for it and duked it out. It eventually sold for $17,920 against an estimate of $300-500 (all prices quoted include a 12 percent buyer’s premium).
Matching the target dollar for dollar was a signed 18in Tiffany Studios leaded glass lamp in the Whirling Lemon Leaf pattern. It appealed to art glass fanciers, who forgave two tight fractures to the glass and a replaced metal finial to drive the lot to $17,920.
Excellent prices were achieved on most of the 60 art glass lamps in the sale, with strength noted among Handel examples. A reverse-painted Handel table lamp with an 18in shade in the vibrant Bird of Paradise pattern beat its $7,000-10,000 estimate convincingly, finishing at $13,400. Another lamp by the same maker, its 18in shade reverse painted with a daffodil motif, dashed its $3,000-5,000 estimate to bring $9,520. “The lamps had been off the market and in a private collection for more than 30 years,” Morphy said. “Dealers and collectors, alike, can sense when something is fresh to the market.”
Decorative arts of various media performed beyond all expectations. “There has been a lot of talk that cameo glass is soft because of repros, but that’s not what we saw. We achieved record prices for Daum Nancy and Gallé, which sold as a whole for double the high estimate.” One of the heavy hitters in the category was a 9in signed Daum Nancy vase of foliate design against a warm amber ground. Estimated at $500-700, it opened at $1,900 on the strength of absentee and Internet bids and quickly shot to $8,736.
Pottery was another classification that seemed to have a mind of its own. One of the sale’s surprises was the Amphora 13in jeweled vase incorporating figures of dour-looking birds that reminded some in the audience of Rookwood’s famous rooks. A bidder in the room confidently parried against two phone bidders for the lot, which had been estimated at $3,000-5,000, but dropped out with a look of disappointment on his face as the vase continued its upward ascent to $13,440.
The Austrian-made Amphora vase carries with it an unusual provenance – it narrowly escaped a blaze that, sadly, demolished the home of consignors Donald and Mary Ellen Bernard. Much of the cameo and art glass in the auction also belonged to the couple, whose 1889 Victorian residence in Woodbridge, N.J., was lost to an electrical fire on Sept. 10, only one month after Morphy staffers had picked up their consignment. The Bernards actually attended the auction, and as they left, Reading Eagle antiques columnist Gene Friedman asked Mrs. Bernard if she was satisfied with the results. “Very!” she replied.
Antique toys and banks helped build the Morphy Auctions name before its purchase by Diamond International Galleries, and the specialty continues to be a focal point in each of the company’s sales. An 1879 Always Did ’Spise a Mule cast-iron mechanical bank with rare yellow base was described by Dan Morphy as one of the top three known examples of its type. It trampled its $3,000-5,000 estimate to garner $13,440.
Another rare-color variant was the 8in long by 5in high, German-made Marklin tin baby carriage in forest green with stenciling on its side. “It was in great condition,” said Morphy. “A couple of bidders flew in from Europe just for that piece.” The carriage returned to its continent of origin after hammering $4,760.
An exceptional single-owner collection of early Fisher-Price litho’d paper on wood toys drew collectors out of the woodwork. Several lots approached the $5,000 mark, including a boxed 14in Pushy Piggy and a 14in Donald and Donna Duck xylophone toy, each of which was bid to $4,760. Morphy remarked that Fisher-Price collectors are “some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They’re not cutthroat. They were genuinely happy for each other, no matter who won the lot.”
More than 150 British biscuit (cookie) tins were consigned by American collectors Hal and Rochelle Shapiro. As predicted, the heaviest bidding on the lithographed figural containers came from the United Kingdom, whose time zone was taken into account when the catalog order was assigned. “You could see the noticeable increase in Internet bidding when the tins came up for bid,” said Morphy. Winners within the category included a 1923 W. & R. Jacob Houseboat tin, $560; a pair of Crumpsall Cardiff Art Nouveau covered urn tins, $840; and a Crawford’s Biscuits reverse-painted countertop display case, which sold to an Internet bidder for $1,456.
Among the many other auction highlights were a Rip Van Winkle silver napkin ring, $5,060; a 25 by 18in Black Hawk running horse weather vane, $5,600; a Cardinal Cherry soda fountain syrup dispenser, $8,960; and a 15in Father Christmas riding a reindeer with clockwork-activated nodding head, $11,200.
The eclectic nature of the sale drew thousands of cyberbidders through LiveAuctioneers/eBay Live Auctions, according to Morphy’s observations. “The sell-through on the Internet was the highest we’ve ever had since opening our doors. It gets stronger and stronger with each sale.” Part of the heavy volume noted in the December event may have come as a result of the weather. Ten inches of snow had accumulated late on Thursday, the opening day of the sale, but two bulldozers went to work and had the parking lot cleared long before the Friday session opened. “We prepare for all possibilities. We had ample phone lines available and were able to accommodate all requests for phone bidding.”
Morphy Auctions’ three-day Spring sale, slated for March 30-31 and April 1, features mechanical banks and American toys from the Bob Brady collection, part II of the world-renowned Gary Selmonsky comic character toy collection, robots, Superheroes and Star Wars ä action figures, an extensive selection of cast-iron doorstops and other novelty objects, and vintage toys from the collection of actor Leonardo DiCaprio. All proceeds from the sale of the DiCaprio items will go directly to the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which supports organizations dedicated to protecting the earth’s environment and wildlife. Live Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
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