Antique Rosewood Desk Draws $31,625
PITTSFIELD, MASS. - The Nineteenth Century rosewood secretary desk with ivory inlay of flamboyant dragons, snakes and fruit and sold for $31,625 at Fontaine's Auction Gallery Oct 17th auction
An early Nineteenth Century rosewood two-part secretary desk with fanciful ivory inlay of flamboyant dragons, snakes and fruit was the highlight at Fontaine's September 1-2 sale when it sold for $31,625. The 93-inch piece sold for double its estimate. The 1,000-plus lot sale had something for every taste and attracted a significant crowd.
A signed Pairpoint puffy poppy shade that was as vibrantly colorful as an Easter bonnet had no lamp but still brought a handsome $17,825.
Late Nineteenth Century was a great attraction and Fontaine's had some dandy examples on offer. A pair of oak china cabinets by R.J. Horner was carved with maidens, lions and griffins and sold for $14,950. An oak partners' desk by Horner that was carved with elaborate griffin supports drew $10,925. A Horner mahogany bookcase carved with maidens and lions elicited $4,600.
A Victorian mahogany revolving display case with restrained carving on the top realized a healthy $6,900. A ten piece Victorian mahogany dining room set that included a table, six heavily carved chairs, a china cabinet, a server and a sideboard, each with rose marble tops, sold for $7,475. An imposing Victorian walnut bed pierce-carved with a detailed fruit crest, measuring 89 by 66 inches inside the rails, sold for $6,325 while an 88-inch-tall Victorian Renaissance Revival walnut burl bed with a carved crest realized $4,313. A mahogany armoire with an ornately carved griffin and mirrored doors above two lower drawers stood 108 inches high and fetched $4,140.
A Renaissance Revival bedroom set comprising a bed that was 97 inches tall and a marble top dresser that measured 109 inches high sold for $7,475. The bed and the dresser were carved elaborately and decorated with burl inserts. A pair of Renaissance Revival 52-inch piano lamps in polychromed wood with metal cupids, embossed copper Juno lamps and opalescent Hobnail shades sold for $5,175 while a Renaissance Revival walnut corner étagère garnered $3,450.
The signed Pairpoint puffy poppy shade was especially vibrant, had no lamp, and brought $17,825.
The signed Pairpoint puffy poppy shade was especially vibrant, had no lamp, and brought $17,825.
A rococo rosewood credenza with marquetry inlay had bronze mounts and a bronze center plaque of a mother and child with inlaid musical instruments on the side doors realized $8,050. A Victorian rosewood portfolio stand was desirable and sold for $2,243. A Victorian oak china cabinet with a curved front and leaded glass had some problems but still fetched a strong $6,325. An American Gothic walnut two-door bookcase with inlay and extensive gold inlay and a carved gallery brought $6,900.
A mirrored and leaded glass oak sideboard with claw and ball feet was $4,025, a Victorian oak sideboard with a carved figural crest, paw feet and columns with beveled mirrors and glass also reaped $4,025. A very large oak curio buffet carved with half figures, bulbous columns and an elaborate hunt scene on the lower front door panel realized $3,163. An interesting ebonized bookcase with ivory inlay of dragons, urns and swags and a Wedgwood plaque at the top brought $4,313. A centennial Chippendale oak corner cabinet in two parts had a broken arch top, flame finials, shell carving and claw and ball feet. It drew $5,750. A Biedermeier cylinder secretary desk in mahogany burl and original bronze hardware was exceptional and sold for $5,463.
Bidders liked what they saw when the Stickley furniture came up and they bid easily. An early Gustav Stickley dining table with six leaves and 54 inches in diameter fetched a robust $25,300. A set of eight labeled L&JG Stickley No. 800 oak dining chairs was a reasonable $4,025. A Gustav Stickley No. 544 Mission oak bookcase with mitered mullions had been refinished and brought $7,188. A Gustav Stickley No. 920 Mission oak two-door armoire realized $6,900.A signed Gustav Stickley five-drawer chest with two drawers over three that bore a red decal in a drawer and the original label on the back sold for $2,588. A 52-inch flat top oak desk brought $5,750 and a nice armchair went for $2,875.
A Roycroft Mission oak youth bed that was signed was in fine condition and went for $6,900.
Tiffany is of perennial interest and the sale provided several lots of interest. An 18-inch shade in the "Swirling Oak Leaf Border" pattern in hues of orange and yellow with green and orange oak leaves that was signed Tiffany Studios sold for $16,675. An early double student lamp drew $12,650 and a turtleback desk lamp sold for $11,500. A 16-inch turtleback and acorn ceiling lamp with amber and orange acorns against a geometric green and white ground realized $10,350. A very attractive bell lamp with a nice Damascene shade sold for $9,775. A Tiffany & Co chandelier in nickel silver over brass with Steuben glass fleur-de-lis shades sold for $6,375 and a signed library lamp vase was stamped "Tiffany Studios New York" and reached $8,625.
A pair of R.J. Horner oak china cabinets was carved with maidens, lions and griffins and sold for $14,950.
Other Tiffany objects of interest included a striking bronze ten piece desk set in the "Bookmark" pattern that comprised two blotter holders, a pair of bookends, a blotter, two stamp holders, a postage scale with some damage to the celluloid front, a matchbook holder, a notepad holder and a magnifying glass that sold for $5,175. A blue Favrile glass fernery with a glass frog fetched $2,875.
Other art glass lighting included an 18-inch Handel Teroma reverse painted table lamp that sold for $6,900. It had a bulbous tree base and the shade was painted with mountains, a lake and trees. Another Handel table lamp with a reverse painting on an autumn landscape on the shade and an Oriental-style base sold for $6,113. An 18-inch reverse painted Handel table lamp was a reasonable $5,463. A Fulper art pottery table lamp with a 10-inch leaded shade made $5,175.
A circa 1890 floor lamp from the Bent Glass Novelty Co. in New York had a leaded glass shade with lilies on a bronze paw foot base and realized $4,140. An Arts and Crafts jeweled table lamp was $3,738. while an Arts and Crafts geometric leaded glass table lamp by Duffner and Kimberly went to $4,888. Three Duffner and Kimberly leaded glass lampshades that measured 6 by 5 inches each attracted interest and $3,105.
An automated circa 1885 Gothic style Black Forest clock with a flutist by Jan Wehrle & Co., in the Furtwangen-Schonenback area of Germany drew $11,500. The clock had a lot going on: a walnut case, a silver dial, eight wooden pipes and bellows and it could play two tunes. A French gilt bronze silk thread mantel clock with fruit decorated with the figure of a woman in Asian dress applying perfume sold at $7,475. The clock had fancy dolphin-style feet. An elegant French Empire marble and gilt bronze clock by Thomire was also $7,475.
A Gilbert No. 9 weight driven wall clock realized $11,500. An E. Howard No. 1 weight driven banjo clock was of interest and realized $5,463 while an oak Waterbury "Augusta" weight driven clock with a winged dragon crest and an urn finial sold for $3,163. A mahogany hourglass pinwheel regulator floor clock with a lyre pendulum fetched $4,428. A Tiffany & Co. tall case clock carved along the front and base with wheat sold for $4,888.
The massive rococo rosewood credenza had marquetry inlay, bronze mounts, a bronze center plaque with an image of a mother and child, and with inlaid musical instruments on the side doors. It fetched $8,050.
The massive rococo rosewood credenza had marquetry inlay, bronze mounts, a bronze center plaque with an image of a mother and child, and with inlaid musical instruments on the side doors. It fetched $8,050.
A Hudson River landscape with a detailed view of a river town by John Bunyon Bristol sold for $8,625. William Ongley's autumnal Hudson River painting realized $4,370. "Summer Moonlight" by Harold Brett went for $4,600 and the unusual picture, "Two Witches as a Star," by Spanish artist Luis Ricardo Falero sold for an impressive $7,475. "Danse Moderne," a wall plaque designed in 1931 by Victor Schreckengost for Cowan Pottery brought $4,888. Schreckengost's design recalls his work on the jazz bowl that he made for Eleanor Roosevelt.
Black Forest bears were highly desirable: an impressive dancing bear umbrella stand sold for $6,325 while another example in the form of a circus bear sold for $4,313. A bench supported by two large bears with a third carved bear forming the back was a great draw and brought $5,175.
A KPM plaque depicting "Hagar and Ishmael Banished" realized $4,313. The image was based on a larger painting by Adriaen Van der Werff. A Royal Vienne plaque with an image of Leda and the Swan was signed by R. Ullmann and sold for $3,738. A large pair of highly detailed Turkish spelter busts garnered $3,450.
A fairly large selection of music boxes included a fancy Regina oak music box with 52 records that sold for $4,888. An Edison cylinder phonograph oak cygnet trumpet horn drew $3,450 and a Victor No. IV Victrola with a decorated nickel horn realized $2,760, while a Victor No. 5 oak horn Victrola went to $3,163.
Renaissance Revival Bedroom Set Went High At Fontaine's October 2nd auction :
PITTSFIELD MASS. - A heavily carved three-piece Renaissance Revival bedroom set thatJohn Fontaine with the massive, three-piece walnut, set that almost doubled its presale estimate, going to $80,500 on September 29. had only been moved twice in its 100-year-plus history, with second move coming recently as it was relocated to Fontaine's Auction gallery, brought a premium price at auction this past Saturday, September 29.
Auctioneer John Fontaine was excited to be offering the set that he cataloged as being in pristine, untouched condition. "All they did was dust it from time to time," stated the auctioneer.
Thought to be by Thomas Brooks, the walnut and burled walnut, marble top set carried a $30/50,000 estimate. "I thought we might come in around the high end," stated Fontaine, but a battle between ten phone bidders and several bidders on the floor, pushed the final price to $80,500, with a bidder in the gallery winning out.
Bidder Reels in Tiffany Fish Lamp for $128,800 at Fontaine's Auction Gallery's August 20th auction grossing $2.4 million
PITTSFIELD, MASS. - A strong selection of important lighting led the way - including several rare Tiffany lamps - at Fontaine's summer auction August 16-17. Furnishings from the Romano estate, a banking family from Oak Park, Ill., were also among the more than 1,200 items offered. More than 400 lots were served up for the catalogued session on Saturday, while Friday's "Discovery Sale" featured more than 800 lots, including some from the Romano estate. Highlights from that estate included a dozen examples of RJ Horner furniture, including a partners' desk and grandfather clock and a large painting by the Russian artist Adolph Schreyer. The top lot of the auction was a rare Tiffany Favrile and bronze fish lamp on a blown metal pumpkin base which realized $128,800, slightly above its high estimate. Also underlining the strong prices across the board was a Handel Poppy lamp, featuring an 18-inch diameter shade reverse painted with vibrant red, pink and orange poppies, which sold for $56,000. Highlighting furnishings from the Romano estate was an RJ Horner grandfather clock, which also sold for $84,000.
