Large Tiffany window, titled “Jesus in a Field of Lilies,” sparkles at Fontaine’s event, selling for $237,500.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fontaine’s Auction Gallery’s important Fine and Decorative Arts auction on January 28 surpassed its high estimate to total $2.5 million. The 550-lot sale saw strong performers in nearly every category with a sell-through rate of 91 percent.
“The auction was very busy and well received with over 7,000 approved bidders. I think in general the market is good for quality items in every category,” said auctioneer and owner John Fontaine.
Courtesy Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
A circa-1898 Tiffany Studios window, titled “Jesus in a Field of Lilies,” sold for $237,500 including fees, nearly double its high estimate. The window (9’11” x 7’5”)is not sized for the average home, so it makes sense that the winning bidder was a church in the western part of the United States. The buyers told Fontaine they plan to restore the window and install it in the church.
Another top lot in the sale was an 18K white and yellow gold ring centered on an intense yellow square radiant cut diamond of 10 carats surrounded by two carats of round brilliant white diamonds that attracted competitive bidding, particularly among retail buyers. In the end, the ring went out at $181,250 to a bidder in Chicago. It was one of several pieces of jewelry centered on yellow diamonds from a Los Angeles estate that all did well.
Courtesy Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Tiffany lamps have a long tradition of being strong performers at Fontaine’s, and floor lamps, in particular, have been standouts in recent auctions.
Leading a select grouping of about two dozen examples in the sale was a circa-1910 Tiffany Curtain Border floor lamp that earned $100,000, and a circa-1910 Peony floor lamp that made $93,750. A circa-1905 Tiffany Moorish and Turtle-Back chandelier also did well, going out at $81,250.
Courtesy Fontaine’s Auction Gallery
Adding up all the Tiffany lots in this auction, from lighting to vases, desk sets and clocks, they accounted for just about a million dollars, not including the buyer’s premium.
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