Skip to content
Fontaine’s Auction Gallery

Exceptional items to sell at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery March 9

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Crossing the block is a Steinway Model D Centennial Concert Grand piano. Estimate: $100,000-$150,000. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery image

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Fontaine’s Auction Gallery will offer a vast selection of antiques, clocks and fine art on Saturday, March 9, consisting of fine clocks, Tiffany lighting and intricate leaded glass windows along with ornate carved furniture, torchieres and an elegant Steinway Centennial grand piano (above). Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

The auction encompasses traditional antiques and designer pieces, comprising 350 lots.

“This auction is focused on quality and ticks off just about every box a buyer could want from clocks to musical instruments, American furniture and much more,” said John Fontaine, owner of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “The level of craftsmanship on offer here is second to none.”

Fontaine’s is so closely associated with fine clocks that it’s little surprise this auction is awash in quality offerings, starting with an E. Howard & Co. No. 43 astronomical floor regulator (below; est. $150,000-$250,000) with its original and signed 14-inch painted metal dial, 105½ inches tall, and an R.J. Horner mahogany rattail nine-tube grandfather clock ($50,000-$75,000) with a 12-inch silvered dial signed “Joseph Jennens, Skinner Street, Clerkenwell, London,” 118 inches tall.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
E. Howard & Co. No. 43 astronomical floor regulator. Estimate: $150,000-$250,000. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery image

Sure to tickle buyers’ fancies is a Steinway Model D Centennial Concert Grand piano ($100,000-$150,000) that got its name from William E. Steinway in 1876 before it competed that year at the first World’s Fair held in Philadelphia, in honor of United States’ 100th anniversary of its independence. The model won “best concert grand piano” and this 1877 model is one of about 424 made over seven years.

Years ago, elegant homes were bursting with character by incorporating colorful leaded glass windows. The use of leaded glass in homes today continues this tradition of combining beauty and function. Fontaine’s offers choice examples of these throughout the year and this auction is notable for boasting a total of nine lots. An expected top performer is an 8-foot intricate leaded library window ($50,000-$75,000), measuring a sizeable 103 by 76 inches, with a cornice style top, fiery orange and green panels, figural winged griffins and a central crowned knight’s helmet over a shield and filigree.

Other standouts include a pair of vibrantly-colored drapery glass leaded angel windows ($40,000-$60,000) with two tall angels standing, 87 inches tall; a jeweled and leaded window with glass roundel ($15,000-$25,000) designed with layered glass in bold panels of reds, blues, green, yellow and amber; 74 inches tall; and a leaded glass angel window ($15,000-$25,000) having a landscape background with clouds, trees, hills and daffodils surrounding a lake, 104 inches tall.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Pair of drapery glass leaded angel windows, 87in. high x 38in. wide. The custom oak light-box frames measure 96½ high x 48in wide. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery image

Furniture offerings are also strong in this auction, featuring a number of heavily carved and elegant pieces attributed to the prominent firm of Pottier & Stymus, which opened in New York City in 1859, making elegant furniture in a variety of styles ranging from Renaissance Revival to Egyptian Revival. Highlights attributed to the cabinetmakers include a rosewood parlor cabinet ($30,000-$50,000) having a long beveled center mirror with overhanging bonnet top and flanked by two crystal cabinets with beveled glass doors, 101 by 67 by 24½ inches; an inlaid rosewood credenza ($12,000-$15,000) with double arched crests with gilt bronze mounted lion’s head plaques, decorated throughout, 61 by 83 by 24 inches; and a marble-top walnut credenza ($12,000-$15,000) with a tall carved crest and large relief bronze door panels by Pierre E. Guerin (1843-1911), 63½ by 57 by 18 inches.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Ornately carved furniture includes an attributed Pottier & Stymus rosewood parlor cabinet. Estimate: $30,000-50,000. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery image

R.J. Horner furniture pieces were also exuberantly carved and this sale features a 17-piece oak dining room set ($30,000-$50,000) in figural carved quartersawn oak having pierced filigree carved crests with seated winged putti flanking a shield, figural nude maiden bust pilasters, and large relief carved inset door panels with mythical mermaid scenes.

Also represented is a three-piece M.T. bedroom set attributed to Thomas Brooks  ($15,000-$25,000) featuring a figural carved winged putti bust, half fan carved finials, carved capitals and an aesthetic inlaid frieze.

Tiffany is a perennial favorite with Fontaine’s buyers and on offer here are a Tiffany bronze and art glass chandelier ($30,000-$50,000) with six arms having gold iridescent stalactite shades, 53 inches tall; a Tiffany Studios 24-inch inverted hanging lamp ($30,000-$50,000) with a saucer form shade in a geometric brick pattern, 28 inches tall, and a Tiffany Studios 14-inch leaded tulip shade ($18,000-$22,000) with a shade having a clear confetti background glass.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Among the Tiffany Studios standouts is this 24-inch inverted hanging lamp. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery image

The parade of European cellos across the block at Fontaine’s in recent months continues with another select grouping, led by a Carl Friedrich Lippold cello ($20,000-$30,000), a German cello from the first half of the 19th century ($15,000-$25,000) and an Italian cello labeled Lorenzo Ventapane ($15,000-$25,000).

Rounding out the auction will be a St. Francis musical automaton clock ($16,000-$18,000) attributed to Alexandre Theroude, circa 1850, France; a pair of bronze torchieres from a Chicago courthouse ($20,000-$30,000) having large square bronze bases with acanthus leaf trim, 88 inches tall, and a Moore’s patent cabinet desk ($15,000-$20,000) designed to accommodate two workers with multiple open compartments and postal drawers.

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

[av_button label=’Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/1044/fontaine-s-auction-gallery/’ link_target=’_blank’ size=’medium’ position=’center’ label_display=” icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ av_uid=’av-5v6e660′ admin_preview_bg=”]