Antique Rosewood Desk Draws $31,625 At Fontaine Antique Auction Gallery

: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.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

All prices quoted reflect the 15 percent buyer's premium. For information, 413-443-8892

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