MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates’ auction of 19th and 20th century glass and lighting on Jan. 31 presented strong evidence that prices in the decorative arts markets for glass and lighting are strengthening. The 899-lot sale presented great material fresh to the market, from collections amassed over decades including that of Pat and the late Bret Morey of Griswold, Conn.
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Highest price of the day went to a monumental 39-inch-tall cut overlay kerosene banquet lamp, green cut to colorless, on a stepped marble base, with a period E.F. Jones setup and appropriate shade. Estimated to bring $10,000-$15,000, it sold for $18,400. (prices include the 15 percent buyer’s premium).
Many of the most sought-after items in the auction were made at the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. of Sandwich, Mass. This category included a rare frosted Madonna figural night-clock lamp that realized $9,775, far higher than the $4,000- $6,000 estimate. Another Sandwich example was an openwork fruit basket on stand, of deep, fiery opalescence, 8 inches high, dating to 1840-1855, which sold for $8,050. Previously in the collections of Larry and Sandy Mackle and Gladys and Paul Richards, this item was called “an iconic and important example of American pressed glass” by auctioneer and noted glass specialist Jeffrey S. Evans.
Evans had never before offered a set of four matching Sandwich pressed dolphin double-step candlesticks, of brilliant, electric/copper blue. The four were estimated at $2,000-$3,000, and sold for $4,600.
Another hotly contested lighting device was a patriotic patterned kerosene stand lamp fitted with a rare Dithridge mold-blown eagle-patterned chimney. Evans’ lighting specialist Barbara Morris could not locate another example of this lamp or its most unusual chimney, and speculated that this was the first time that either had been documented. The font design included a depiction of the Civil War ironclad warship, the USS Monitor, dating the lamp to around 1862. The combination sold for $3,737.50, about eight times the estimate.
The Tiffany Studios and related early 20th century art glass items offered in the auction also were met with enthusiasm by bidders. A green and golden iridescent Tiffany Favrile glass vase of squat, bulbous form, sold for $2,875 (estimate: $1,000-$1,500). A signed Quezal double-handle coil vase of golden iridescent hue with blue coil decoration, sold for $2,760, and a signed Loetz Phänomen Genre 299 tricolor 6-inch-square vase reached $2,415. These both exceeded their estimates, as did many other lots in the auction.
The next glass auction at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates takes place on March 28 and features a wide variety of Victorian wares including more than 1,200 toothpick holders.
For more information on both past and upcoming auctions email info@jeffreysevans.com or call 540-434-3939.
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