Doyle New York's Belle Epoque Auction On Sept. 23 Tops $1.4 Million
Strong Prices Achieved For Objects Deaccessioned From The Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston
With competitive bidding from the salesroom, the telephones and the Internet, the sale totaled $1,485,988 against a pre-sale estimate of $1,077,100 to $1,611,250, with 83 percent sold by lot and 94 percent sold by value.
Property deaccessioned from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston comprised 35 lots of colorful Tiffany lamps, vases, bowls and other objects that were sold to benefit the museums collection. The consignment surpassed its estimate of $168,600-$233,950, achieving a strong $300,219 with all 35 lots sold.
Highlighting the collection was a selection of Tiffany Studios bronze and favrile glass lamps, led by a Dragonfly lamp designed by Clara Driscoll, circa 1906-13, estimated at $50,000-$70,000, which sold for $87,500. A 12-light Pond Lily floor lamp estimated at $35,000-$40,000 and a 12-light Pond Lily table lamp estimated at $20,000-$30,000 each sold for the identical price of $37,500. A lamp in the Pine Needle pattern fetched a surprisingly strong $31,250, many times its estimate of $1,200-$1,800.
Chinese vases performed well in the auction as well. A pair of 20th-century Rose Medallion ceramic palace vases measuring approximately 56 inches in height and estimated at $7,000-$9,000 achieved $31,250. A 20th-century Famille Rose porcelain temple vase, 34.5 inches high, sold for $15,000, far surpassing its estimate of $1,200-$1,800.
The silver section of the auction featured a German silver figure of a stag by Neresheimer of Hanau with an English sponsor's mark for Berthold Muller. Estimated at $3,000-$5,000 and with a height of 19 inches, it fetched $13,750. A pair of circa-1940 Portuguese Art Deco silver five-light candelabra achieved $8,750 against an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. The selection of silver flatware services offered an assembled Tiffany & Co. service in the Audubon pattern, estimated at $5,000-$7,000, that sold for $12,500.
There were 90 lots of fin de siecle paintings and sculpture offered at the sale. A pair of paintings by Hans Zatzka (Austrian 1859-1945) titled Fluttering Butterflies and Return From the Well, estimated at $6,000-$8,000, achieved $22,500. Louis Valtats (French 1869-1952) 1922 Couseuse, depicting a woman sewing, from the estate of Joseph LaFera Jr., achieved $17,500, well over its estimate of $6,000-$8,000. From Herman Herzog (German/American 1831-1932) was a seascape with boats and figures on a beach, estimated at $4,000-$6,000, that sold for $10,625. The sale also saw strong prices for works by Charles Giron, Eugene Galien-Laloue, Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel, George Cole, Francois Gall, and Emil Barbarini. All prices include the buyers premium.
For more information about this sale or the next Belle Epoque auction scheduled for February 2015, call Malcolm MacNeil at 212-427-4141, ext. 218, or email BelleEpoque@DoyleNewYork.com.