[av_heading heading=’Vintage occupational shaving mugs cleaned up at Morphy ‘ tag=’h1′ style=” subheading_active=” show_icon=” icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ size=” av-desktop-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” subheading_size=” av-desktop-font-size=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” icon_size=” av-desktop-font-size-1=” av-medium-font-size-1=” av-small-font-size-1=” av-mini-font-size-1=” color=” custom_font=” subheading_color=” seperator_color=” icon_color=” margin=’,,35px,’ av-desktop-margin=” av-desktop-margin_sync=’true’ av-medium-margin=” av-medium-margin_sync=’true’ av-small-margin=’,,20px,’ av-mini-margin=” av-mini-margin_sync=’true’ headline_padding=” headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-desktop-headline_padding=” av-desktop-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-medium-headline_padding=” av-medium-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-small-headline_padding=” av-small-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-mini-headline_padding=” av-mini-headline_padding_sync=’true’ padding=’10’ av-desktop-padding=” av-medium-padding=” av-small-padding=” av-mini-padding=” icon_padding=’10’ av-desktop-icon_padding=” av-medium-icon_padding=” av-small-icon_padding=” av-mini-icon_padding=” link=” link_target=” title_attr=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-lqzi7d5h’ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]

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DENVER, Pa. – Select pieces from a collection of occupational shaving mugs brought remarkable sums as the gallery at Morphy’s Auction glowed with holiday spirit on December 18-19. One particularly rare mug depicting a horse-drawn ambulance and driver sold for $19,000 ($23,370 with buyer’s premium).

A staple at American barber shops of the 19th and early 20th centuries, shaving mugs made from French or German porcelain blanks were embellished with polychrome scenes to reflect each customer’s profession or hobby. Typically spelling out the owner’s name in gilt, they were sold at the time for between 50 cents and $2.50 each and stored on a wall-rack at the barber shop awaiting the patron’s next 10-cent shave.

The December 18 session included more than 200 mugs apportioned into 180 lots. Although most portraying mainstream occupations and pastimes sell for $100-$500, others depicting more unusual professions and sports command a premium. Particularly sought-after was a mug decorated with an image of an early racecar circa 1910 together with the gilt-lettered name Seeley J. Benedict, which sold at $6,000 ($7,380 with buyer’s premium), and another of a similar date with a detailed image of a man operating a single-propeller airplane, emblazoned with the name William Diehl Jr., which hammered for $5,000 ($6,150 with buyer’s premium). Other rarities — typically made-to-order pieces rather than those that could be bought off-the-shelf — included a mug with a deep-sea diver alongside the name John Dodd, and an image of a horse tied prostrate on a bench awaiting the care of veterinarian R. G. Holland. These sold at $4,400 ($5,412 with buyer’s premium) and $7,000 ($8,610 with buyer’s premium), respectively.

At the very height of the collecting hobby was the $19,000 ($23,370 with buyer’s premium) mug depicting a horse-drawn ambulance and driver with the name C. McNulty in fancy gilt lettering. It was estimated at $300-$600, but this is a well-known design, of which only two or three are recorded. Another version of this mug labeled for Louis Gardner sold for $29,000 at Yoder Auctions in Wisconsin in February 2008, a sale where a one-of-a-kind mug of a parachutist flew to $45,000 – an auction record for any occupational shaving mug.

From a selection of 28 pieces of Amphora earthenware offered at Morphy’s, a circa-1902 Crocodile vase took a bite out of its estimate. A piece known from Byron Vreeland’s collecting guide Monsters and Maidens: Amphora Pottery of the Art Nouveau Era, the 16.5in vase in green and gold earth tones depicts a detailed croc with its mouth agape and its tail wrapped around the vessel’s wide base. In mint condition, the vase sold for a hefty $26,000 ($31,980 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. Another prized Amphora vase, with two sculpted, red-glazed starfish applied to its body, also ignored pre-sale expectations, realizing $14,000 ($17,220 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $2,500-$3,500.

As anticipated, the 2023 edition of this pre-Christmas Fine & Decorative Arts Auction was led by a series of Tiffany Studios leaded-glass lamps. They included a well-preserved example of the firm’s famed Peacock design, with its shade replicating the vivid tail feathers of the male peafowl. Offered in excellent condition complete with a matching Peacock pattern base, it sold at the mid estimate for $250,000 ($307,500 with buyer’s premium).

Other examples of the fabulous favrile included a Nasturtium leaded-glass table lamp with a colorway that incorporates some of Tiffany’s most complex types of glass, including streamer, confetti, ripple and drapery, estimated at $100,000-$150,000; and a Daffodil pattern lamp with an onion-bulb pattern base, estimated at $60,000-$80,000. These both sold towards the low end of their estimates at $90,000 ($110,700 with buyer’s premium) and $60,000 ($73,800 with buyer’s premium) respectively.

A historic Midwestern Prairie-style design that did not go unnoticed was a stained-glass window by Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-1961), the trailblazing woman architect who collaborated with and influenced fellow architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1907, Griffin installed the 3ft 3in by 2ft window at the Indiana farmhouse of her brother and sister-in-law. The window was one of several salvaged prior to the house’s destruction in 1967, with others now in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the permanent collection of the Bank of America. It hammered at the low end of its estimate for $20,000 ($26,460 with buyer’s premium).

The final tally for the two-day sale was $2.1 million, inclusive of buyer’s premium.
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Shaving mug depicting a horse-drawn ambulance and driver, which sold for $19,000 ($23,370 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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Horse doctor shaving mug, which sold for $7,000 ($8,610 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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Amphora 1902 Crocodile vase, which sold for $26,000 ($31,980 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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Amphora vase with two sculpted, red-glazed starfish, which sold for $14,000 ($17,220 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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Tiffany Studios Peacock table lamp, which sold for $250,000 ($307,500 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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Marion Mahony Griffin stained glass window, which sold for $20,000 ($26,460 with buyer’s premium) at Morphy.
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