“Art glass collectors had not seen such a large and impressive group of glass offered fresh to the market in some time,” Dawes said, “so the buyers were ready. Almost all of the property came from old collections or estates, and had not been seen on the market for more than 30 years, if at all.”
The evening session, which was devoted entirely to the works of René Lalique, provided the auction’s principal highlight in the form of a circa 1924 “Serpent” vase in deep amber glass with a molded signature. It set a world record auction price for the form when it realized $56,673, inclusive of 19.5% buyer’s premium.
“The Lalique Serpent vase was the best one I’ve ever seen,” said Dawes, “and I’ve seen a lot of them in my 30 years in the business. This piece is well worthy of that record price.”
Bidders at the evening auction included Oscar-winning actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg, who regularly cracked jokes when she was outbid. Regardless, she managed to take home a few art glass treasures of her own.
The auction total had far exceeded Heritage’s predictions, finishing at $1.28 million and with a 94% sell-through rate by lot value.
In summary, Nick Dawes observed: “The key to making this auction so successful was our determination to estimate property reasonably, and offer it without reserve. That made this an authentic, old-fashioned auction, which is becoming rarer and rarer in New York these days.”
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