A Rich Array at Rago’s PLUS Results From Toomey & Co and Treadway

by Kate Nixon

 

As a reminder, Rago Arts’ Early 20th Century Design auction will start Saturday, September 21st, starting at 11:30 am. The exhibition at Rago’s gallery in Lambertville, NJ will run from September 14th through this week and even the morning before the auction – doors will open at 9am on Saturday. Works in the auction up for bid will run the range from Decorative arts, furnishings, and art glass of the early 20th century. Rago’s notable recent sales include work by Stickley, Tiffany Studios, Majorelle, Zsolnay, Galle, Grueby, Ohr, SEG, Rookwood, Lalique, Newcomb College, Daum, Greene & Greene, Martin Brothers, Marblehead, Baumann, Rohlfs, Van Briggle, Rhead, Ellis, Heinrichs and more.

Interested buyers may bid either in person, live by phone, by absentee bid, or online through Bidsquare.com.

As we introduced readers to our ceramic picks two weeks ago, we’ll add a few more to our list. What is sure to be a highly competitive lot, the pristine Harriet Joor Newcomb College Calla Lilly vase has collectors admiring its high quality condition – we’re keeping our eyes glued to this lot. Additionally, the George Ohr stamped vase listed on Rago’s website as in excellent condition remains on our list of items to keep a watch on. Additionally, many other George Ohr works are offered up for bid, including a raspberry and pale blue ruffled vase, several bisque vessels, and a pinched gunmetal glaze teapot in very good condition. An Exceptional and large Iris Glaze vase with winter landscape from Rookwood’s Carl Schmidt is eye-catching; it’s estimated to sell in the range of $12,500 – $17,500. Lastly, a singular Robert W. Martin tobacco jar caught our eye. Rago will be holding a separate auction on the Martin Brothers on the same day, but this offering from the Robert A. Ellison collection is listed in very good to excellent condition.

Here are our picks for Rago’s Early 20th Century Design Auction:

 

Lot 100:

Harriet Joor (1875 – 1965); Newcomb College Calla Lily vase

Exceptional large early vase with calla lilies, New Orleans, LA, 1904
Signed, dated, and numbered ‘NC/HJ/VV37’
Measures 11″ x 5 1/4″
Provenance: Rago Auctions, a Private collection from New York State

Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000

Rago’s Condition Report: Perhaps the prettiest piece of Newcomb College we have seen. Tight opposing 1 1/2″ hairlines from rim.

 

Lot 116:

George Ohr (1857 – 1918); Stamped Vase with Ear Handles

Exceptional large vase with ear handles and serrated rim, ochre and gunmetal speckled glaze, Biloxi, MS, 1897-1900
Stamped G. E. OHR, Biloxi, Miss.
Measures 9″ x 5 1/4″ x 4″
Provenance: Rago Auctions, Early 20th, June 2011, lot 122, Private collection, New York

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

Rago’s Condition Report: Excellent condition.

 

Lot 210:

Carl Schmidt (1875 – 1959); Rookwood large vase

Estimate: $12,500 – $17,500

 

 

Lot 264:

L & J.G. Stickley Morris Chair

Estimate: $1,500 – $2,000

Rago’s Condition Report: Good original finish, some fading to arms. Very minimal edge wear and nicks. Overall very good condition.

 

Lot 280:

Robert W. Martin (1843 – 1923); Martin Brothers

Grotesque creature tobacco jar, England, 1888
Salt-glazed stoneware
Head and base incised ‘R.W. Martin & Bros. London & Southall 9-1888’
9″ x 6″ x 4 1/2″
Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, The Harriman Judd Collection Part Two, 6 October 2001, lot 140
Collection of Robert A. Ellison, New York

Estimate: $25,000 – $30,000

Rago’s Condition Report: Overall very good to excellent condition. One short, minor 1/4″ hairline or firing line to rim of base, possibly in the making.

 

 

And now to the review of the dual Art & Design auctions from last weekend… A Tiffany Studios Globe Lamp sells for $70K and silver items from a beloved collector sell for way past its highest estimates, let’s cover the highlights of last weekend’s Dual Art and Design Auctions!

 

Art & Design Auction by Treadway  – September 15th

Items of note and highlights (hammer prices listed only)

– Lot #2: an artist-signed Marblehead Vase coming from an East Coast collection in excellent condition with a lovely glaze (estimates $1,700-$2,200) sold for $2,900.
– Lot #68: an artist-signed Rookwood Pottery ewer by William McDonald in excellent original condition (estimates $1,200-$1,700) sold for $2,000.
– Lot #99: a Gertrude Abercrombie painting titled Self-Reflection (1953) in excellent condition (estimates $8,000- $10,000) sold for $15,000.
– Lot #116: a Tiffany Studios Autumn Leaf Globe Lamp, in very good condition and shown in five different exhibitions (estimates $65,000-$75,000) sold for $70,000.
– Lot #197: a signed Galle ceramic vase from a Los Angeles collection in excellent condition (estimates $1,500-2,500) sold for $3,500.
– Lot #205: a carved and glazed ceramic pedestal from Archibald Knox & Co. out of a London collection in very good original condition (estimates $7,000-9,000) sold for $9,500.

 

How did our picks fare? Most of them sold within their estimates – see below for the hammer price of a few of our picks.

 

Lot #66:

Rookwood Pottery by Anna Marie Bookprinter Valentien handled vessel
Cincinnati, OH, 1886
Standard glazed ceramic
artist signed, dated, numbered
8″h x 9″w

Treadway condition report: “The red clay body creates a massive amount of tiger eye. Beautifully decorated. Excellent original condition.”

Estimate: $700 – $900

Realized Price: $500

 

Lot #116:

Estimate: $65,000 – $75,000

Realized Price: $70,000

 

Lot #208:

Estimate: $3,500 – $4,500

Realized Price: $4,000

 

 

If you’d like to view the realized prices of all lots within the auction, please visit Treadway’s Art & Design Auction website by clicking HERE.

 

 

Art & Design Auction by Toomey & Co Auctioneers – September 15th

 

Items of note and highlights:

– Lot #249: a pair of patinated-copper hanging lanterns styled after an original design by Gustav Stickley for Syracuse, New York’s Yates Hotel (estimates $2,000-$3,000) sold for $4,062
– Lot #262: a blue-green glazed ceramic vase by William Hentschel for Rookwood Pottery (estimates $400-$600) sold for $1,500.
– Lot #290: an early form oak Gustav Stickley bookshelf out of Eastwood, NY (estimates $1,000-$2,000) sold for $3,250.
– Lot 344: a pair of Paul Revere Pottery bookends with landscape decoration with impressed and glazed marks (estimates $600-$800) sold for $1,375.
– Lot #420: a pair of Gorham Mfg. Co sterling silver covered vegetable dishes (estimates $1,000-$2,000) sold for $3,770.
– Lot #458: a sterling silver miniature rocking chair from the Paul & Terry Somerson collection of 20th and 21st Century Metalwork and Jewelry (estimates $100-$200) sold for a whopping $2,625! Several other works also from the same collection of the beloved silver collector sold for well past their high estimates including an Odd Kraft Shop
pendant necklace, a Mary Catherine Knight Handicraft Shop child’s bowl and spoon set, and two Clifford Russell sterling silver pins of a bumble bee and a moth (the estimates of each pin: $400-$600) that sold for $2,500 and $1,875 respectively!

 

How did our picks fare? Most of them sold within their estimates – see below for the hammer price of a few of our picks.

 

Lot #238:

Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) bookcase, #716
Eastwood, New York
oak, iron, glass
marked with red decal and remnant of paper label
44″w x 13″d x 56″h

Condition Report:
Original dark finish.

Estimate: $2,500-3,500

Realized Price: $3,625

 

Lot #340:

Charles P. Limbert Co. china cabinet, #452
Grand Rapids, Michigan
oak, glass, brass
branded mark
44″w x 16 1/2″d x 58″h

Estimate: $3,000-5,000

Realized Price: $4,687

 

 

Lot #383:

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) / Tiffany Furnaces bowl with etched butterfly, #1925 on a gilt basket stand, #516
New York, New York
dore bronze, pink pastel Favrile glass
stamped and etched marks
7 1/4″w x 5 3/4″d x 6 1/2″h

Estimate: $500-700

Realized Price: $687

 

 

If you’d like to view the realized prices of all lots within the auction, please visit Toomey & Co.’s catalog of the Art & Design Auction by clicking HERE