Quinn’s June 4 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction highlighted by Tiffany lamps, 1928 Rene Lalique vase, Frishmuth bronze

Also featured: Large selection of midcentury modern chairs, jewelry, silver and high-quality Asian antiques, including 17th-century Chinese libation cup

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – On Saturday, June 4, 2022, Northern Virginia’s Quinn’s Auction Galleries will conduct a fully curated Fine & Decorative Arts sale featuring stunning early 20th-century Tiffany Studios lamps, a Rene Lalique (French, 1860-1945) “Borromee” vase, Asian antiques and a large selection of modern chairs, many of them associated with mid-20th-century design luminaries. More than 500 lots will be offered.

The Tiffany Studios lamps are led by a Curtain Border floor lamp, 77½ inches tall, of yellow and green leaded glass with a diamond band and curtain border shade on a bronze base. Tiffany markings appear on both the shade and base. Sourced from a Baltimore-area estate where it had resided since the early 20th century, it comes to action with a pre-sale estimate of $40,000-$60,000.

Also adding color and luminescence to the auction lineup is a Tiffany Studios bronze and leaded-glass Daffodil desk lamp standing 21½ inches tall. The verdant shade is profusely adorned with images of yellow and white daffodils, with additional glass accents in complementary garden tones. The shade is stamped “Tiffany Studios NY 1448,” while the base is stamped “Tiffany Studios NY 538.” Estimate: $12,000-$16,000. 

A 9-inch-tall Rene Lalique “Borromee” blue molded-glass vase exemplifies a model first introduced at the height of the Art Deco era, in 1928. Peacocks decorate the circumference of the vase, and its base is stencil-etched R. Lalique France. This highly desirable vessel is expected to achieve a winning bid in the $10,000-$15,000 range.

The sizable array of modern seating includes several designs by Finn Juhl, including a Chieftain chair and ottoman manufactured by Baker. Of black leather with wood framing, the chair is marked on the bottom and is expected to reach $3,000-$5,000. A pair of teak lounge chairs Juhl designed for France and Sons is upholstered in red fabric and has a wood frame and tapered legs; and a set of two Model 48 armchairs designed jointly by Finn Juhl and Niels Vodder is made of brown leather with a two-tone maple and walnut wood frame.

The rest of the sale is packed with Asian, American, European, and Modern art, including artworks by by Itzchak Tarkay, Francisco Zuniga and others; bronzes, antique pewter pieces, porcelain and fine jewelry; sterling silver from Dominick & Haff, S. Kirk and Son, Lunt, Tiffany & Co., and others. The Asian arts category is replete with Chinese porcelain, jade, bronze censers, Japanese lacquerware, and Chinese paintings and scrolls.

A 17th-century Chinese libation cup is finely carved with the sanduo (three abundances) of the pomegranate, peach and lychee, as well as fingered citron (also called “Buddha’s Hand”) and leafy gnarled branches that rise from the base. An early 17th-century cup of this style is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was gifted to the institution in 1908. Early and important, the libation cup offered by Quinn’s is estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

A bronze statue of Venus Africaine by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (French, 1827-1905), with separately cast base and bust, is marked 1851 Cordier. Standing 16 inches tall, it is expected to fetch $12,000-$16,000. A second bronze, after Cordier, depicts Saïd Abdallah of the Mayac, Kingdom of the Darfur (Sudan). Cast as one but not marked, the 16 7/8-inch-tall artwork has an estimate of $6,000-$9,000.

A large, 18th-century German pewter guild flagon, made around 1750 by Master Pewterer Johann Heinrich Misselwitz of Gera, Germany, stands 19½ inches tall. The flagon’s body is engraved on both sides of the spout with the names of the original founding guild members and the year 1605. According to the City Museum of Gera, the vessel was a replacement for the original guild flagon that was lost or destroyed 150 years earlier. Provenance: Allan Fogel collection. Estimate $6,000-$8,000

A 19th-century Chinese bamboo and brass tea caddy with a jade lid is 8 inches tall and of cylindrical form. The sides are carved in relief with vignettes of officials and servants, and the lid is inset with a jade plaque carved in relief with a sinuous dragon amongst a profusion of trailing vinery. The auction estimate is set at $4,000-$6,000.

A bronze sculpture by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), titled The Star, depicts a graceful nude woman reaching upward. The work is stamped on the base, Harriet Frishmuth 1918 and Gorham Co. Founders 0505 #36 on the side of the base. Standing 20 inches tall, this quintessential Frishmuth sculpture should command $4,000-$6,000.

Two watercolor-on-paper paintings by Ivan Petrovich (Russian, 1841-1909), one a scene of an ambush of a cavalry unit, signed lower left and housed in a 10-by-17¼-inch frame; the other a scene of a Russian Army field exercise, signed in Cyrillic at lower right and measuring 6 by 10¼ inches (sight). Each is estimated at $1,500-$2,000.

Quinn’s Saturday, June 4 Fine & Decorative Arts auction will begin at 10 am ET. No in-person floor bidding will be available. All bidding will be remote, either by phone, absentee, or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable. Absentee bids may also be place through Quinn’s website via HiBid. An open preview will be held at the auction gallery (360 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046), Tuesday, May 31, through Friday, June 3, from 11-4. For additional information about any item in the auction, you may call Jordan Karlstrand at Quinn’s, 703-532-5632, ext. 571; or, email [email protected]. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinnsauction.com.

CAPTIONS:

All images provided by Quinn’s Auction Galleries

1:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129315949_tiffany-studios-curtain-border-floor-lamp-20th-c

Tiffany Studios Curtain Border floor lamp, 77½ inches tall, yellow and green leaded glass with a diamond band and curtain border shade on a bronze base, the shade and base both having Tiffany marks. Estimate $40,000-$60,000

2:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129315950_tiffany-studios-daffodil-lamp

Tiffany Studios Daffodil desk lamp, bronze and leaded glass, 21½ inches tall, the shade stamped “Tiffany Studios NY 1448” and the base stamped “Tiffany Studios NY 538.” Estimate $12,000-$16,000 

3:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129315944_rene-lalique-borromee-glass-vase

Rene Lalique (French, 1860-1945), 9-inch-tall Lalique “Borromee” blue molded glass vase, a model first introduced in 1928, decorated with peacocks around the body, stencil etched “R. Lalique France” on the base. Estimate $10,000-$15,000

4:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316077_finn-juhl-for-baker-chieftain-chair-and-ottoman

The large selection of modern chairs will feature this Chieftain chair and ottoman by Finn Juhl for Baker Furniture. Made of black leather with wood framing and marked on the bottom. Estimate $3,000-$5,000

5:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316316_chinese-libation-cup-17th-century

17th-century Chinese libation cup, finely carved with the “sanduo” (three abundances) of the pomegranate, peach and lychee, as well as fingered citron (‘Buddha’s Hand’) and leafy gnarled branches that rise from the base. An early 17th-century cup of this style is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Estimate $20,000-$30,000.

6.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316045_charles-cordier-venus-africaine

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316046_after-charles-cordier-saad-abdallah

Bronze statue of Venus Africaine by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (French, 1827-1905), the base cast separate from the bust, marked “1851 Cordier,” 16 inches tall, estimate $12,000-$16,000; and a bronze statue after Cordier of Saïd Abdallah of the Mayac, Kingdom of the Darfur (Sudan), not marked, the base and bust cast together, 16 7/8 inches tall, Estimate $6,000-$9,000

7:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316158_german-pewter-guild-flagon-18th-c

Large, 18th-century German pewter guild flagon, made around 1750 by Master Pewterer Johann Heinrich Misselwitz of Gera, Germany, 19½ inches tall, engraved on both sides of the spout with the names of the original founding guild members with the year 1605. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000

8:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316179_ivan-petrovich-pryanishnikov-field-exercise-wp

Watercolor on paper painting by Ivan Petrovich (Russian, 1841-1909), a scene of a Russian Army field exercise, signed in Cyrillic lower right and 6 inches by 10¼ inches (sight). Estimate $1,500-$2,000

9:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316180_ivan-petrovich-pryanishnikov-watercolor

Watercolor-on-paper by Ivan Petrovich (Russian, 1841-1909), a scene of an ambush of a cavalry unit, signed lower left and housed in a 10 x 17¼-inch frame. Estimate $1,500-$2,000

10:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316047_harriet-frishmuth-the-star-bronze-sculpture

Bronze sculpture of nude woman by Harriet Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), titled The Star, in 1918, 20 inches tall, stamped on the base, “Harriet Frishmuth 1918” and “Gorham Co. Founders 0505 #36” on the side of the base. Estimate $4,000-$6,000

11:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/129316312_chinese-bamboo-and-brass-tea-caddy-with-jade-lid

19th-century Chinese bamboo and brass tea caddy with a jade lid, of cylindrical form, nearly 8 inches tall, the bamboo brush pot covering the brass tea caddy inside, the sides carved in relief with vignettes of officials and servants. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000