Over 500 lots of quality antiques and decorative accessories will be sold by Fontaine's, Feb. 7

Jan. 26, 2009 - PRLog -- (Pittsfield, Mass.) – Over 500 lots of antique furniture and decorative accessories will be sold at a multi-estate auction on Saturday, Feb. 7, by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, beginning promptly at 11 a.m. Then, at 5 p.m., a second session dedicated to about 100 vintage firearms will be held. Both sessions will be held at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery’s showroom facility, located at 1485 West Housatonic Street.

   “This is going to be a great, diversified sale, in all the major categories,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “It’s our first cataloged auction of 2009, and it will be a good one.” Preview will be held on Saturday morning, from 8-11 a.m. Online bidding will be facilitated exclusively by Artfact.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

   The main session will be packed with furniture pieces by names like John H. Belter, J & JW. Meeks, RJ.Horner, Herter Bros and Alexander Roux; Arts & Crafts, to include numerous examples by Stickley; fine art, much of it by noted, listed artists; lighting, to include lamps by Tiffany, Handel, Pairpoint, Gorham, Chicago Mosaic and others; pottery and metalwork by Grueby, Rookwood and others; and many fine decorative accessories.

   The 100 lot firearms session should also draw intense interest, from vintage weapons enthusiasts. Just a few anticipated highlights: a French Charleville musket with 39-inch barrel and lock marked “St. Etinne;” a Colt 1860 Army pistol with matching numbers and low Serial # (34,741); a Springfield model 1842 U.S. percussion musket; and a Model 1841 U.S. percussion rifle, Robbins & Lawrence contract.

   Period furniture will dominate the main session. Expected top lots include a pierce-carved rosewood rococo etagere by J.H. Belter; a Waltham oak 9-tube Gothic grandfather clock; a gorgeous walnut pedestal attributed to Herter Brothers; two J.H. Belter side chairs, both laminated rosewood; two oval marble-top tables attributed to Thomas Brooks; and an R.J. Horner winged griffin partner's desk.

   Also offered will be a Thomas Brooks Renaissance Revival walnut partner's desk;  a rosewood dressing table with chair attributed to Alexander Roux; a magnificent 10-piece mahogany figural carved dining suite by R.J. Horner; a nice mahogany Chippendale-style two-door china cabinet; an elaborate Eastlake walnut bed; a French “Japanesque” display cabinet; and a cornucopia carved window bench.

   Stickley pieces will have paddles wagging in the Arts & Crafts portion of the session. Top lots should be an L.&J.G. Stickley #736 strap hinge sideboard; two Gustav Stickley Morris chairs; a Gustav Stickley #547 magazine stand; a 9-piece Gustav Stickley dining room set; an L.&J.G. Stickley #22 splay leg drink stand; a Gustav Stickley #439 Mission oak tea table; and a Gustav Stickley #424 lunch table.

   Additional Stickley pieces slated to cross the block include a Gustav Stickley #820 Mission oak server; an L.&J.G. Stickley #551 oak drop-leaf serving table; an early Gustav Stickley mitered mullion large one-door china cabinet; a Gustav Stickley #814 half-Mission oak sideboard; a Gustav Stickley #369 Mission oak drop-arm Morris chair; a Gustav Stickley nine-piece dining set; and additional pieces.

   Also in Arts & Crafts, Limbert furniture will include a #234 cut-out tabouret table and a #451 1/2 oak mirrored back sideboard. Several Weller Dickensware incised scenic vases will come under the gavel, as will Old Hickory furniture pieces; a Newcomb pottery mug; a Rookwood poppy vase; a Grueby tile trivet in footed bronze frame; and a lovely Wheatley matte green geometric beehive vase.

   Antique lighting is sure to illuminate the crowd. Selected lots include a Tiffany Studios three-light lily lamp; a figural rococo gasolier; a Pairpoint director's lamp; a Handel 10-inch Mosserine harp floor lamp; a Handel scenic table lamp; a Pairpoint puffy floral and hummingbird table lamp; a Pairpoint puffy floral garland table lamp; and a Handel 18-inch obverse panel table lamp with jungle birds scene.

   Other lots from antique lighting include a Gorham 16-inch stylized leaded table lamp; a Pairpoint floral “Pompeii” table lamp; an elaborate leaded glass table lamp; a Moe Bridges “Flying Goose” reverse painted table lamp; a Handel lamp with sunset lakeshore scene on the shade; a Pairpoint puffy Papillon (butterfly) table lamp; a Chicago Mosaic leaded acorn table lamp; and additional consignments.

   Decorative accessories will provide a wonderland of wild and wonderful objects. Featured lots will include a Jacob & Sons inlaid cylinder music box on a table; a Mettlach 5-liter incised stein; a nice selection of Tiffany Favrile artglass; a heavily carved figural Cartel clock; Lladro #344 showing soccer figures (Futbolistas); an 11-piece hand-painted Nippon fish set; and a signed Payral French figural Art Nouveau lamp.

   Other accessories will include several mechanical banks; a gilt bronze Art Nouveau woman-signed baslet; a platinum emerald and diamond ring; a Boehm porcelain day lily; a Victorian alabaster and marble bust; a Kirk Repousse sterling silver set, A Jensen sterling silver set; a pair of floral tapestry porcelain bronze mounted vases; a double-comb Symphonion music box; and a Mettach figural scene cameo plaque.

   Fine art will include a watercolor and pencil on stretch paper by Marion Kavanagh Wachtel (Calif., 1870-1954), titled After the Rain; several works by Louis Icart; a watercolor marine painting with sailboat silhouettes by John Whorf (Mass./Calif., 1903-1959); an oil on canvas work by Harry Shokler (N.Y., 1896-1978), titled Farm on Galway Bay; and a pair of vintage signed Bally posters.  

   Additional works of art will include an oil on canvas coastal scene by Paul Weber (N.Y./Penn., 1823-1916); an oil on canvas scenic work by Francois Ferenc Gall (French, 1912-1987), titled At the Pier; an oil on canvas seascape by Wilhelm Karl Ferdinand Arnesen (Danish, 1865-1948); and an oil on canvas painting by Frank W. W. Topham (United Kingdom, 1838-1929), titled St. John's Day, Venice.

   Also from the fine art group: an oil on canvas seashore scene by Ivan F. Choultse (Russian, 1874-1937); an oil on board work by Salvatore Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673), titled The Torrent; a scenic oil on board by M. Fleicher, titled Tromville; a School of Inness late summer landscape, oil on board; and an oil on board done in 1967 by Frederic Edwin Church (N.Y., 1876-1975), of a scene with a waterfall.  

   Next up for Fontaine's Auction Gallery will be a cataloged  estate auction on Saturday, March 7; a full cataloged auction on Saturday, April 4 (to feature a “Rosalie” marble-top table by J.H. Belter and a selection of R.J. Horner furniture); and a two-session Spring Antique Clock Auction on Saturday, May 9 (about 450 vintage clocks will cross the block, including an E. Howard #61 astronomical regulator).

   Fontaine's Auction Gallery is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them directly, at (413) 448-8922, or you can e-mail them at info@fontaineauction.com. Full-color images of the lots described in this story for the Feb. 7 auction have been posted for view on the Fontaine's website. To see them, click on www.fontainesauction.net.

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Ken Hall writes pre-sale and post-sale press releases for auction houses, for a fee ($250 US$). He writes, submits and tracks stories for clients. Submissions are published in trade magazines, posted on industry websites and appear in local newspapers.