Ceramics, Early 20th Century Design & Decorative Arts Auctions Close Out Summer Season
by Kate Nixon
If you’ve missed your chances at online auction glory this summer, take note: this weekend will be filled with plenty of opportunities to bid and claim works for collectors of all levels.
Three auctionhouses will hold their auctions this weekend, providing collectors with a flurry of opportunities to bid on American Arts and Crafts offerings online, over the phone or through absentee bids, starting this Friday, September 11th. This Friday, September 11th, two auctions will come from Rago’s Arts and Auction Center: Rago’s American & European Ceramics and Rago’s Early 20th Century Design, which we have previewed for the last two weeks.
Leading into the weekend, the summer season of auctions will close and make way for a busy fall with a couple of Decorative Arts auctions out of Massachusetts and Illinois, but readily available online for bidders all over the country. Works by Charles Limbert, Gustav Stickley, Tiffany & Co lighting, Fulper Vasekraft, the Roycrofters, Flambe vases from Fulper Pottery, Weller Pottery Co, Rookwood Pottery and more will be sold this weekend by Fontaine’s Fine & Decorative Arts Auction this Saturday, September 12th and Toomey & Co’s Fine Art and Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction this Sunday, September 13th.
Highlighting works from the Estate of Anthony Nappi out of Bedminster, New Jersey, The Paul & Terry Somerson Collection of 20th and 21st Century Metalwork and Jewelry, and other important collections, Toomey & Co’s auction features woodcuts by Gustave Baumann, artwork by Albert R. Valentien and others, silver from the Kalo Shop, furniture from Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright, Vases from Newcomb College, Weller Pottery Co, Rookwood Pottery and more. Many of the ceramic lots have estimates in the lower hundred level, providing affordable choices for those starting their collections on the beginner’s level.
Given the COVID-19 restrictions, the auction will be closed to the public and in-person preview will take place only by appointment. A virtual preview can be given for those interested with condition reports and/or photos by request. As usual, Toomey & Co will accept online bids, over the phone bids, and absentee bids.
Contact Toomey & Co directly at [email protected] for the latest information and to schedule an appointment.
Toomey and Co’s Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction
Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 10:00 AM CDT
818 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
(708) 383-5234
www.toomeyco.com
Here are the items we are watching out for during Toomey and Co’s Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction:
Lot 597: Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) Morris chair, #369
Eastwood, New York
oak, leather
marked with red decal
33″w x 37″d x 39″h
Estimate $4,000-6,000
Condition Report:
Original finish. Possibly the original leather cushions with some wear. Minor stain and small chip to arm. Structurally sound.
Lot 600: Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) early leather-top hexagonal table, #410-L
Eastwood, New York
oak, leather, brass
unmarked
desirable form featuring trumpeted stacked stretcher base
49″w x 55″d x 30 1/2″h
Literature:
Gray, Stephen, The Early Works of Gustav Stickley, Turn of the Century Editions, 1987, p. 90 (1902 retail plates)
Estimate: $3,000-5,000
Condition Report:
Nicely replaced leather top. Original finish to base. Replaced finial.
Lot 632: Sadie Irvine (1887-1970) for Newcomb College Spanish Moss and Moon vase, #147
New Orleans, Louisiana, 1927 (QH)
matte glazed ceramic
impressed marks and incised maker’s mark
base also incised by the potter, Joseph Fortune Meyer (1848-1931)
4 1/2″dia x 6 3/4″h
Provenance:
Craftsman Auctions, Lambertville, New Jersey, 10 March 2007, Lot 382
Jean Bragg Gallery of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, 28 February 2009
The Collection of Robert F. Francek, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Estimate: $2,000-3,000
Condition Report:
No chips, cracks or repairs. Some minor crazing. A couple of minute burst air bubbles to glaze. The original receipt from Jean Bragg Gallery is retained.
Lot 674: Charles P. Limbert Co. early bookcase, #345
Grand Rapids, Michigan
oak, copper, glass
marked with paper label
24″w x 11 1/2″d x 43 1/2″h
Provenance:
The Estate of Anthony Nappi, Bedminster, New Jersey
Estimate: $2,000-3,000
Condition Report: Original finish. Minor staining to top. The top is lifting from the dowel a little bit, but it could be glued back down. Structurally sound.
Lot 708: Aurora Studios / Michael Adams table lamp: vented shade on riveted base
Putnam, Connecticut, 1993
copper, mica
incised signature “Aurora Studios 5/93 – 30 A.M.H”
17″dia x 17″h
Estimate: $2,000-3,000
Condition Report: Four-socket base. Excellent patina and mica.
Lot 768: Jacques Sicard (1865-1923) for Weller Pottery Co. Sicard vase
Zanesville, Ohio
metallic glazed ceramic
signed
together with a Weller LaSa landscape vase
taller: 5″dia x 13″h
Provenance: The Estate of Anthony Nappi, Bedminster, New Jersey
Estimate: $700-900
Condition Report: Sicard: Some minor bubble bursts. LaSa: Unsigned. Some surface scratches.
To see the rest of the lots for the Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction, please visit Toomey & Co’s website at https://toomeyco.com/
Fontaine’s Fine & Decorative Arts Auction
September 12, 2020 11:00 AM EST
On Saturday, September 12th, Fontaine’s Auctionhouse will feature over 450 lots of fine and decorative arts, including 19th and 20th century lighting, art glass, furniture, glass windows, and more in their Fine & Decorative Arts Auction. Saturday’s upcoming auction is one of three decorative auctions the Massachusetts auctionhouse will hold in the space of 4 months.
Fontaine’s are known for their lighting selections, but over the next few months, the auctionhouse will have plenty of Arts and Crafts furniture and various works to offer. For Arts and Crafts offerings, the furniture category shows a L.& J.G Stickley Arts and Crafts oak dining room set, a Gustav Stickley leather top hexagonal table (Toomey & Co is also offering one of the same style with replaced leather in this weekend’s auction), and a Gustav Stickley dinner gong with gong, striker, and frame in original finish. For American lighting, the Fulper Vasekraft art pottery lamp is a standout with a domed shade, leaded glass panels with a uniformed green leaded glass pattern. Lastly, the signed Tiffany Studios Oriental Poppy Chandelier, notable for its visual beauty and excellent condition, has the largest estimate of $400,000-$600,000, but will no doubt attract fans of Tiffany lighting.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there is no in-person bidding at this auction. The available bidding methods are online, over the phone and through an absentee bid form. If you’d like to bid online, you may use Fontaine’s Live, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, or eBay. If you’d like to bid over the phone, a representative from Fontaine’s will call you on the day of the sale three to five lots before your indicated lot and will bid with you over the phone live. Much like phone bid forms, Absentee bids forms can be sent by emailing to [email protected] or faxed to 413-442-1550 by 5pm the day before the scheduled auction.
According to owner John Fontaine, his auction house spent the summer building their inventory and preparing for the fall season. “We’ve been exceptionally busy this summer, picking up many fine estates. Our fall auction always has a strong offering of material but this year that is even more the case,” said John Fontaine, owner of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in an interview with the website ArtFixDaily.com.
Here are the items we are watching out for during Fontaine’s Fine & Decorative Arts Auction:
Lot 4: Early Gustav Stickley Dinner Gong, Circa 1902
Gustav Stickley dinner gong has an oak frame with two squared side posts tapering at the top and inside corbels, being supported by five legs. Has the original gong and striker and is in original finish. The label reads, “Geo. C. Flint Co., West 23rd St., N.Y., FFF Trade Mark.”
37 in. high x 22 1/2 in. wide x 11 in. deep.
Estimate: $8,000 – $12,000
Lot 45 : L. & J.G. Stickley Dining Room Set
L. & J.G. Stickley Arts & Crafts oak dining room set has 10 matching pieces that include a 60-inch diameter pedestal base dining room table with three leaves (no. 717), two door china cabinet (no. 729), sideboard with strap hinges, paneled plate rail and an overhanging top (No. 736), server with two open shelves and a plate rail (No. 740) and six chairs with arched rails and six vertical back slats (No. 323).
Signed with the “Work of” branded signature. This is an original 10 piece set in near mint condition.
38 in. high x 18.5 in. wide x 18 in. deep (chairs), 70 in. high x 50 in. wide x 17 in. deep (china cabinet), 49 in. high x 48 in. wide x 22 in. deep (server), 30 in. high x 60 in. diameter (table), 48 in. high x 66 in. wide x 22 in. deep (sideboard).
Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000
Lot 62: Tiffany Studios & Grueby Table Lamp
Lamp has a 16-inch diameter shade with three rows of geometric glass below a band of acorns alternating upwards and downwards and 6 rows of geometric glass above, unsigned. Shade has 11 single line scattered heat cracks.
Grueby earthenware base is decorated with white blossoms that extend from sculpted leaves and houses the bronze font with three-arm spherical light cluster. The base is marked with a circular Pottery stamp on the underside; font is signed on the underside. The base is free of chips and cracks.
19 1/2 in. high.
Estimate: $12,000 – $15,000
Lot 100: Tiffany Studios Oriental Poppy Chandelier
Tiffany Studios chandelier has a leaded glass shade decorated with red-orange Oriental poppy flowers rising out of green stems, set against a blue background. Completing the shade is a patinated bronze cap having a pierced decoration and a spherical six-socket light cluster. The shade suspends from a long chain that attaches to the canopy with six serpentine arms and leafy shade fitters that hold Favrile glass lily shades having ribbed and trumpeted forms with deep gold iridescence. Shade is signed on the inside rim “Tiffany Studios New York 1902”
Four lily shades are signed “L.C.T. Favrile” and two are signed “L.C.T.” Condition: Shade is very good to excellent with fewer than 10 tight hairlines. Lily shades are in excellent condition with no damage or repair.
Fixture has a desirable, rich green-brown patina. 50 in. high x 26 in. diameter (overall dimensions), 12 in. high x 26 in. diameter (shade), 4 in. high x 3 in. diameter (lily shades).
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000
Lot 172: Gustav Stickley No. 410-L Hexagonal Table
Gustav Stickley No. 410-L table has a hexagonal top over an arched apron, rectangular legs with through-tenon construction and a stacked stretcher with central faceted peg, circa 1900.
Base is original finish, leather top is replaced, tacks are original. 30 1/2 in. high x 49 in. diameter.
Estimate: $12,000 – $15,000
Fontaine’s will also hold a Fine and Decorative Arts auction on October 17th, 2020 and January 23rd, 2020 ; if interested in consigning, you can find information at fontainesauction.com.
Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
1485 West Housatonic Street
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
[email protected]
413-448-8922.
https://fontainesauction.com