Rare Chair Sells For More Than $400K, A Rare Stickley Table and More

by Kate Nixon

Sotheby’s Important Design

December 8th

Held December 8th at Sotheby’s in New York, the Important Design auction included works from Gustav Stickley, The Roycrofters, Marblehead Pottery, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rohlfs, Karl Kipp, and Grueby Faience Company. While the auction sold works with both American and European design styles from Francois and Claude Lalanne to Frank Lloyd Wright, the rare and important American furniture works were the highsellers of the Arts and Crafts offerings with Gustav Stickley and Charles Rohlfs chair leading the way.

Highlights from the Important Design auction at Sotheby’s:

Gustav Stickley Log Holder from the W.T. Johnson Residence ($15,000 – $20,000) in Lyons, New York sold for $56,700.

  • A Grueby Faience vase, seven-handled and numbered with the firm’s impressed mark ($40,000 – $60,000), featured in several publications and in many exhibitions, sold for $44,100.

    A Rare Pair of Candlesticks by Karl Kipp ($6,000 – $8,000) sold for $9,500. This rare pair made circa 1912 out of hand-wrought copper were each impressed with the creator’s initials, KK. This is the only known example of this specific design.

  • A Log Holder from the W.T. Johnson Residence, Lyons, New York from Gustav Stickley ($15,000 – $20,000) sailed past the high estimate to sell at a whopping $56,700! An iron log holder executed from the Craftsman Workshops of Gustav Stickley, this example was referenced in Laura Rinkle Johnson’s article “The Little House in the Orchard,” in Stickley’s April 1913 issue of The Craftsman  (pp. 331-333).
  • One of the best Arts and Crafts highlights of the week: an important and rare chair ($70,000 – $100,000) made by Charles Rohlfs, property from the Descendants of Annie I. Crawford, Buffalo, New York, sold for $441,000! A special inscription was also found on the chair: “Chair made 1902 by/C. Rohlfs, later the Sunday School/teacher of Jas A. Crawford at/St. John’s Church, Buffalo,/husband of Anna Catherine [sic]/Green Rohlfs, the novelist/sold Annie I. Crawford/for $25 as new + given/by her to him.”
  • A rare Gustav Stickley library table ($100,000 – $150,000), found in multiple publications including Stephen Gray’s The Early Work of Gustav Stickley and David M. Cathers’s Furniture of the American Arts and Crafts Movement among others, sold for $252,000!
  • A Grueby Faience vase, seven-handled and numbered with the firm’s impressed mark ($40,000 – $60,000), featured in several publications and in many exhibitions, sold for $44,100.
  • A rare floor lamp from Frank Lloyd Wright, coming from the John Storer house in Hollywood, CA, sold for $126,000! This example was built to complement the organice nature of the Storer house,

An important and rare chair ($70,000 – $100,000) made by Charles Rohlfs, property from the Descendants of Annie I. Crawford, Buffalo, NY, sold for $441,000!

A rare library table from Gustav Stickley ($100,000 – $150,000) featured in many publications sold for $252,000.

 

To see the whole catalog of Sotheby’s Important Design auction and the realized prices, please visit Sotheby’s Important Design auction page.

 

Featured Item – Roycroft Mahogany Dining Table & 8 Chairs

AcStickley’s Arts & Crafts Auction

December 11th

 

The highselling Roycroft Mahogany Dining Table & 8 Chairs circa 1905. Sold for $24,000.

 

In an auction that included Arts & Crafts Furniture by Gustav Stickley, L&JG Stickley, Stickley Brothers, Charles Stickley, Limbert, and Roycroft and ceramic works from Walrath, Rookwood, Roseville and more, a Roycroft dining set fetched a selling price of $24,000. Made of mahogany, the Roycroft mahogany dining table circa 1905 with original finish came with five 10.5″ wide original leaves. Color has been added to the original finish on top. The eight chairs were also included in the lot. All in the lot came from a Maine estate.

Measurements: Table 54″d x 29.75″h. Armchairs 43.5″h x 20.75″w x 22.25″d. Side chairs 38.25″h x 18″w x 17″d.

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