Fontaine's Auction Gallery will hold an aptly named Exceptional Antique Auction on Saturday, Feb. 11

Jan. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- (PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Fontaine’s Auction Gallery’s second event of the new year will be an aptly named Exceptional Antique Auction, with 400 quality cataloged lots slated to cross the block on Saturday, Feb. 11, in the firm’s gallery located at 1485 West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield. Previews will be held Friday, Feb. 10, from 10-5, and on auction day from 8-11 a.m.

   “We had a good, solid year in 2011, but signs point to an even better year in 2012,” said John Fontaine, CEO of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “For this sale we were fortunate to have secured quality, fresh-to-the-market consignments not just from Massachusetts, but from across the country -- Illinois, Michigan, Texas, California and Washington. I’m expecting a great sale.”

   The first gavel will come down at 11 a.m. (EST). Offered will be period furniture pieces by such renowned makers as John H. Belter, J.& J.W. Meeks, Alexander Roux, R.J. Horner, Thomas Brooks, Herter Brothers, Wooten Desk Company and others. Also sold will be a clock collection, fine lighting, artwork, art glass, cameo glass, Lalique, porcelain plaques and cut glass.

   In addition, there will be music boxes, pottery, bronzes, firearms, a collection of fine sterling, antique slot machines, jewelry and hundreds of related and decorative accessories. Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, and phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Details and a full catalog may be viewed online at www.FontainesAuction.net.

   The day’s top-selling lot could very well be a folk-carved stone sculpture of two people seated side-by-side, by Tennessee artist William Edmonson. The 26-inch tall garden sculpture is expected to bring $40,000-$60,000. Also sold will be a relief molded Art Nouveau bronze urn with female figures in the forest, signed by French artist Alexander Vibert (est. $8,000-$12,000).

   The lamps and lighting category will feature an 18-inch Handel reverse painted floral poppy table lamp boasting a conical shade and reverse painted with vibrant clusters of red and orange poppy flowers (est. $30,000-$50,000); and a 26-inch Duffner & Kimberly Renaissance hanging dome with bell-shaped shade decorated with lovely striated glass (est. $7,000-$9,000).

   Fine art will include an original oil on ledger paper Impressionist landscape painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (Fr., 1796-1875), rendered from a hilltop near Lannion, France and showing two women enjoying the view (est. $20,000-$40,000); and a splendid autumn landscape with cows by Massachusetts artist William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), (est. $5,000-$7,000).

   Furniture lots by R.J. Horner are certain to get bidders buzzing. They include a 9-piece figural oak dining room set featuring a large sideboard with deep figural carved panels (est. $15,000-$25,000); a mahogany winged griffin desk with rectangular top (est. $5,000-$7,000); and a massive oak griffin sideboard with beveled mirrors on the back (est. $5,000-$7,000).

   Other furniture pieces of note will include a walnut extra-grade carved Renaissance Wooton desk having a fancy carved gallery with ebony trim and stylish corner pieces, 76 inches tall (est. $15,000-$25,000); and a pair of left and right rosewood meridiennes (sofas in which one arm is higher than the other), by John H. Belter in the “Henry Clay” pattern (est. $5,000-$7,000).

   From the slot machines and firearms categories come a Caile Eclipse upright 25-cent oak slot machine made by Caile Brothers of Detroit, refinished and in very good working condition (est. $15,000-$25,000); and a cased Colt Model 1849 revolver (circa 1853) presented to John L. Miller, a Confederate colonel who died from battle wounds May 6, 1864 (est. $10,000-$15,000).

   Music, anyone? Set to cross the block are a Regina Style 35 mahogany 12-tune disc changer that plays 15 ½ inch discs on a double comb (circa 1900) in fine working order and with 25 extra play discs (est. $15,000-$17,000); and a mahogany Steinway music room grand piano, Model B, 6 feet 10 inches long, featuring classic style and heavy graining (est. $8,000-$12,000).

   Rounding out just some of the day’s expected top lots are an impressive mahogany figural carved grandfather clock, 103 inches tall, with gilt dial and a silvered chapter ring with applied Arabic numerals (est. $8,000-$12,000); and a museum-quality model American steam yacht, titled Corsair (based on the original, owned by J.P. Morgan), in a mahogany display case.

   With over 40 years in the auction business, Fontaine’s Auction Gallery has earned the trust of collectors, investors and gallery owners worldwide. Cataloged lots receive nationwide exposure to the firm’s expansive database of several thousand qualified buyers. Seven times Fontaine’s Auction Gallery has been voted “Best Antique Auction Gallery” by the public.

   Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is actively seeking quality consignments for all future sales. The firm also buys antiques and entire estates outright. To consign an item, estate or collection, call (413) 448-8922 and ask for John Fontaine. Or, e-mail him at info@fontaineauction.com. For more information about the February 11 auction, please log on to www.FontainesAuction.net.

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