Tiffany Studios table lamp in the Peony pattern may bring $150,000 at Toomey auction

Nov. 9, 2008 - PRLog -- (Oak Park, Ill.) - An important Tiffany Studios table lamp in the Peony pattern is expected to bring $100,000-$150,000 at an Arts & Crafts, Modern and Fine Art Sale slated for Sunday, Dec. 7, at the John Toomey Gallery. The lamp boasts a bronze base with sculpted and applied designs under a fine original patina supporting a leaded glass shade. The shade and base are both signed Tiffany Studios.

   “This is an exceptional example of an iconic lamp, and it will probably be the top lot in a sale that's stacked from top to bottom with quality merchandise,” said Don Treadway of Cincinnati. The firm holds sales at John Toomey Gallery in Illinois and Treadway Gallery in Cincinnati. “We expect the better items to do very well and the midrange items will hold their own.”

   The auction will begin promptly at 10 a.m., with a preview scheduled Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, November 30, 2008 (Closed); Monday, December 1, 2008   10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday, December 2, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Wednesday, December 3, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Thursday, December 4, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Friday, December 5, 2008   10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. By the time the last gavel comes down, about 1,100 lots will have crossed the block. The approximate breakdown is as follows: Arts & Crafts 550 lots; Modern Furniture & Accessories 300 lots; and Fine Art and Paintings 250 lots.

   Arts & Crafts items will dominate the day's proceedings, and Tiffany items will be served up in abundance. Expected top earners include a rare and important chandelier with three hanging stalactite shades and nice gold dore patina ($90,000-$120,000); a table lamp with a bronze base and leaded glass shade in the daffodil pattern ($35,000-$40,000); and many other Tiffany floor, table and desk lamps.

   Other Tiffany pieces will include a lamp shade of green favrile glass in the Damascene pattern with brilliant iridescence, signed L.C.T. ($12,000-$17,000); a rare bronze sconce with three large inset turtle-back tiles of favrile glass with overall iridescence and original patina ($15,000-$20,000); and a lamp shade of gold favrile glass in the Demascene pattern, signed L.C.T. Favrile ($10,000-$15,000).    

   Lamps not carrying the Tiffany name will also be offered, to include an early Dirk Van Erp lamp with hammered copper base and shade ($20,000-$30,000); a Handel floor lamp with bronze metal base supporting an octagonal shade ($20,000-$25,000); a Handel lamp with three open buttresses and reverse painted shade ($12,000-$17,000); and a unique Pairpoint Puffy table lamp ($10,000-$15,000).

   Tops among vases will be a nice Walrath vase decorated and covered in a green matte glaze ($20,000-$30,000); a fine Quezal vase in the jack-in-the-pulpit form in gold, with pulled feather design in green and white ($12,000-$17,000); and a Teco vase designed by Fritz Albert with a tapering four-sided shape and excellent green matte glaze ($10,000-$15,000).

   Stickley pieces will make an appearance, too. Leading the charge will be a rare Gustav Stickley bookcase, early three-door form with mitered mullions and twelve panes of glass per door ($15,000-$25,000); an L. & J.G. Stickley settee #234, prairie form with vertical spindles at back and under arms ($15,000-$20,000); and a Gustav Stickley hall bench, important large form ($10,000-$15,000).

   Rounding out the best of the Arts & Crafts category: an important iconic form chair by Charles Rohlfs (N.Y., 1853-1936), with an intricate carved and pierced design at back ($30,000-$40,000); a large Georg Jensen compote in hammered sterling silver with grapevine motif ($12,000-$17,000); and a Frank Lloyd Wright chair with painted black cast aluminum base (circa 1952-56, $12,000-$15,000).

   Anticipated top achievers from the Fine Art category are as follows:

•   An oil on canvas painting by Edouard Frederic Wilhelm Richter (French, 1844-1913), titled Oriental Splendor (1876), 32 inches by 40 inches, framed, signed and dated ($70,000-$90,000).
•   An exhibition poster of Elizabeth Taylor by Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), titled Liz (1964), 22 inches by 22 inches, signed in ink, edition c. 300, framed ($4,000-$6,000).
•   An oil on canvas by Narcisse-Virgil Diaz de la Pena (French, 1807-1876), titled Woodland Interior With Figure (1847), 14 inches by 25-1/2 inches, framed, signed and dated ($15,000-$25,000).
•   An original oil on canvas painting by Aaron Douglas (American, 1899-1979), titled Paris Street Scene (circa 1931), 25-1/2 inches by 32 inches, framed, signed lower left ($15,000-$25,000).
•   An oil on panel work by Charles Louis Baugniet (Belgian, 1814-1886), titled Art Studies (circa 1875), 32 inches by 25 inches, framed, signed lower left, label on verso ($15,000-$25,000).
•   An oil on canvas by Eda Elisabeth Sterchi (American, 1885-1969), titled Women in an Interior (circa 1918, done in Paris), 22 inches by 28 inches, signed lower left, framed ($17,000-$22,000).
•   An oil on canvas by Frank Virgil Dudley (American, 1868-1957), titled Afterglow (circa 1920), 27 inches by 30 inches, signed lower right, framed, titled on label on verso ($8,000-$12,000).
•   An oil on canvas by William Stephen Coleman (British, 1829-1904), titled Children at Marble Pond with Goldfish (1890), 26-1/2 inches by 17 inches, signed and dated, framed ($8,000-$12,000).

   The Modern Session will feature wonderful examples of floor lamps, tables, cabinets, desks, chairs and more. Tops among the desks are a Jacques Adnet black metal frame desk made in France and with cane-wrapped stretcher, black leather top and brass hardware ($9,000-$12,000); and an Edward Wormley executive desk by Dunbar, rosewood and mahogany, with two roll-tops ($5,000-$7,000).

   The following floor lamps should illuminate the room: a Philip Johnson & Richard Kelly floor lamp, circa 1954, by Edison Price of New York, bronze base with a round conical white aluminum shade ($6,500-$7,500); and a pair of Tommi Parzinger floor lamps by Parzinger Originals, tall forms in wrought iron with original white enameled finish and flared supports to the top ($5,000-$7,000).

   Tops among tables: a Paul Evans Cityscape dining table with a large platform base of burled wood and chrome squares supporting a glass top ($6,000-$8,000); a Studio Tetrarch “Tovaglia” (Handkerchief) table, by Alberto Bazzani (circa 1970), of fiberglass-reinforced plastic ($6,000-$8,000); and a Wendy Stayman Art Deco style table (circa 1987), round top over a round base ($5,000-$7,000).

   Modern cabinets should do well, led by a George Nakashima example by Widdicomb, No. 247L (1961), laurel wood top with curved elm doors ($7,000-$9,000); a large Tommi Parzinger cabinet, USA, tall form with four tapered gray wood supports, in original finish ($6,000-$8,000); and a Gio Ponti cabinet by Singer & Son, with walnut case on tapered legs with three doors ($5,000-$7,000).

   Rounding out the day's expected top lots: a Paul Evans sideboard (1972), two bi-fold doors with welded design, interior with two shelves and original slate panels ($30,000-$40,000); a fine set of eight Hans Wegner chairs (1960s), by Johannes Hansen of Denmark ($10,000-$15,000); and a Jean Prouve coffee table, oak, made in France, with removable round top over three angled legs ($6,000-$7,000).

   The sale will be held at John Toomey Gallery's spacious showroom facility, located at 818 North Boulevard in Oak Park, Ill. An in-house crowd of around 100-150 people is expected. More than 1,000 online bidders are also anticipated, via eBayLiveAuctions and LiveAuctioneers.com. Also, about 250 bidders are expected to participate by phone, and another 1,250 or so absentee bids are anticipated.

   To learn more about Treadway-Toomey Galleries and its calendar of upcoming auctions, you may log on to www.treadwaygallery.com.

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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.