Fine and decorative arts sale to conclude summer at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery

PITTSFIELD, MASS.-Fontaine’s Auction Gallery will shine a spotlight on Tiffany Studios and other fine lighting at its auction on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 11 am, as well as fine antiques from such coveted makers as Stickley, R.J. Horner and Majorelle and renowned artists like Diego Rivera.

This auction will feature over 450 lots of fine and decorative arts, including art glass by Tiffany Studios, Quezal, Durand, Daum Nancy, Gallé, Trevaise, Steuben and Kew Blas, 19th and 20th Century lighting by Tiffany Studios, Duffner & Kimberly, Handel, Pairpoint, Wilkinson, Suess, Daum Nancy and Gorham, American Victorian, Arts and Crafts, figural carved and mid-century furniture, leaded glass windows, bronze hanging fixtures, fine clocks, paintings, Royal Vienna and KPM porcelains, fine silver, cameo glass, bronze and marble statuary.

“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. “We have a fantastic collection of desirable art glass and lamps, a fine selection of leaded glass windows and so many statement pieces of high caliber.”

There is so much to talk about with this auction but the obvious place to start is with the collection of Tiffany Studios lighting. Pride of place, lot 100, in the sale is held by an Oriental Poppy chandelier ($400/600,000) having a leaded glass shade decorated with red-orange poppies rising out of green stems and set against a blue background, signed “Tiffany Studios New York 1902.” The fixture supports six favrile glass lily shades hanging below the ceiling canopy and has a desirable, rich green-brown patina, acquired from a private estate.

The parade of Tiffany Studios lighting across the block continues with an Elizabethan table lamp ($60/80,000) having a 22-inch diameter shade in an octagonal form decorated with red, green, amber and blue glass jewels, 27 inches tall, and a curtain border floor lamp ($30/50,000) having a 24-inch diameter curtain border shade with the top section having an amber-yellow glass geometric tapering brick pattern and a mottled green and amber diamond pattern below, 78 inches tall.

Another standout among American lamps is a Fulper Vasekraft art pottery lamp ($8/12,000) with a domed shade having caramel leaded glass panels alternating upwards and downwards and surrounded by a uniformed green leaded glass pattern, 17 inches tall.

French lighting is well represented with two Daum Nancy wheel-carved cameo glass lamps ($20/30,000 each) decorated on the shade with applied red and burgundy wheel-carved flowers, cameo leaves and stems against an opalescent background, and a set of four Daum Nancy bronze wall sconces ($20/30,000) with three arms extending up and curving at the top with leafy fitters, 37 inches tall.

From lamps to windows, leaded glass is a crowd pleaser at Fontaine’s and this sale features a pair of drapery glass leaded angel windows ($25/35,000) with tall angels standing in a scenic background with colorful flowers and a sunset sky, 87 by 38 inches.

The furniture category is led by a L.& J.G Stickley Arts and Crafts oak dining room set ($20/30,000) with 10 matching pieces; a Gustav Stickley no. 410-L leather top hexagonal table, and an early Gustav Stickley dinner gong ($8/12,000), circa 1902, having an oak frame with two squared side posts and the original gong and striker and in original finish, 37 by 22½ by 11 inches, and three large Morris chairs.

It would not be a Fontaine’s auction without fine clocks and highlighted here is a nine-tube grandfather clock, attributed to R.J. Horner ($15/25,000), carved with figural maidens, a cherub crest and an angel in the bottom panel and filigree. The clock stands 101 inches tall and enclosed in the case is a silvered dial with gilt brass applied hour numbers.

Rounding out the auction will be a signed Diego Rivera watercolor and gouache on paper, “Mineros” (Miners), circa 1925, 12 by 16 inches ($15/25,000), depicting miners and the town of Ayala in the background in desirable yellow and red hues; an Art Deco wrought iron and bronze console table, attributed to Edgar Brandt ($12/15,000), having a scroll decorated apron, curving legs and black inset marble top, 34½ by 47 by 16 inches; a mahogany sideboard, attributed to Louis Majorelle ($12/15,000) with fruit and foliate carved panels, four glass doors above, 82 by 63 by 21 inches.