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Tiffany lamps

Tiffany lamps lead Fontaine’s $2M doubleheader

Tiffany lamps
A top lot was a circa 1905-10 Tiffany Studios Dragonfly table lamp that fetched $87,725. Fontaine’s image

PITTSFIELD, MASS. – Boasting a curated selection of fine leaded glass lamps, vases, silver and sculpture, Fontaine’s Auction Gallery started off the new year on a high note. The two-part auction that ran on Jan. 23 and 30 grossed over $2 million. It saw two Tiffany Studios lamps tie for top-lot status at $87,725 with a total of nearly 40 items performing above the $10,000 mark. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

“There was a diversified selection of Tiffany items, from fine lamps to sterling silver, but we also saw strong performances across the board, including paintings, musical items and carved Black Forest pieces,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Unsurprisingly, the Tiffany name accounted for the top lots in both sessions of the auction, starting with two Tiffany Studios lamps that each fetched $87,725 on Jan. 23. First up in the auction’s prime real estate was a Tiffany Studios Dragonfly table lamp with a “Pepper” base, circa 1905-1910. It was followed by a Peony floor lamp, circa 1910. In the second session, a 15-piece grouping of Tiffany & Co. Chrysanthemum sterling silver pieces sold well over the high estimate at $29,645.

Dominating the auction’s Top 10 list is a fine selection of even more Tiffany Studios table lamps, including a Dogwood table lamp that sold for $56,550, a Tulip table lamp at $48,400 and a Spider table lamp at $45,980.

Tiffany lamps
A coin-op Mills Novelty Co. Double Violano-Virtuoso, circa 1913-1915, brought $56,870. Fontaine’s image

Making sweet music in the auction was a trio of lots that crossed the block: a Mills Novelty Co. Double Violano-Virtuoso (above), which can play violin and piano music for an hour on one nickel and has an electronic MIDI system, attaining $56,870, and a  Mermod Freres marquetry cylinder music box (below) in rosewood and bronze at $32,250.

Tiffany lamps
A Mermod Freres marquetry cylinder music box in rosewood and bronze earned $30,250. Fontaine’s image

An Ideal Soprano cylinder music box in quartersawn oak, embellished with filigree, mythological faces and acanthus ornaments, fetched $26,620.

Tiffany lamps
This Adler-Fortuna Disc Orchestrion sold over its high estimate at $21,175. Fontaine’s image

Furniture is often hit or miss at auctions these days but seems to consistently do well at Fontaine’s, and this auction saw several standouts. A pair of Grohé Frères Louis XVI-style satinwood and fruitwood cabinets with gilt bronze moldings and marquetry, surmounted by a rouge marble top, realized $24,800. An R.J. Horner & Co. figural hall bench in quartersawn oak with a beveled mirror, featuring carved female caryatids, griffins, filigree and mythical faces, sold over its high estimate at $21,780. An Allen & Brother walnut bench outperformed its estimate to fetch $19,965. A pair of Daniel Pabst walnut bookcases tripled the estimate to sell at $18,150.

Tiffany lamps
A highlight of the furniture category was this pair of Grohé Frères Louis XVI-style cabinets with gilt bronze moldings, satinwood and fruitwood parquetry and marquetry that took $24,805. Fontaine’s image

The second session started off on a robust note and saw several lots outperform their high estimates, including a Black Forest carved dog umbrella stand that nearly doubled its high estimate at $28,435.

Tiffany lamps
A 20th century Black Forest carved dog umbrella stand nearly doubled its high estimate to attain $28,435. Fontaine’s image

Fine art saw several paintings by listed artists do well, including a Guy Carleton Wiggins oil on canvas, Fifth Avenue in Winter, that brought $13,310, an unsigned 18th century oil on panel, Christ Carrying the Cross, at $12,705, and a Benjamin Champney oil on board,  The Homestead, for $8,470.

Rounding out the auction was a group of rare and diverse items, including an American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. mutoscope at $17,545, a Gustav & William Dentzel carousel giraffe at $12,100, a Murad Cigarettes double-sided porcelain flange advertising sign that nearly doubled high estimate to bring $7,260, and an Art Deco platinum, diamond and sapphire bracelet having a 1-carat European cut diamond, which performed well at $6,655.

For details contact Fontaine’s Auction Gallery at 413-448-8922 or info@fontainesauction.com.

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