A Tiffany & Co. sterling silver loving cup sold for $41,250, more than twice the high estimate. Property from the estate of Marian Galewitz, the cup, weighing 3,274 grams, depicted Pan playing a flute on one side and Themis being led astray on the other.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy Capsule Auctions
NEW YORK CITY – A Tiffany & Co. sterling silver loving cup sold for $41,250, the top lot at Capsule’s February 24 Deco & Design sale, a curated auction of early Twentieth Century ceramics, glass, silver, furniture and objets decoratifs from New York and New England collections. The price was more than twice the high estimate. Property from the estate of Marian Galewitz, the cup, weighing 3,274 grams, depicted Pan playing a flute on one side and Themis being led astray on the other. Themes of the sale include classical, mythology and the male figure. The cup was marked with the Pan American Exposition stamp, from the 1901 Buffalo World’s Fair and stood 14½ inches high.
“This auction had particularly spirited phone bidding,” said Simon Baranoff, partner at Capsule Auctions. “Some of these top items are from the incredible collection of Seymour Stein – we plan to have a similar sale later this year featuring more works from his collection.”
From Stein’s collection, a three-piece salon suite after a design Pierre Chareau (French, 1883-1950) in a stunning deep salmon topped the furniture category, realizing $40,000. Oak with fabric upholstery, the suite comprised one sofa and two armchairs. Its original upholstery bore the cloth label of Poteau & Cie Decorateurs 59, Rue de Turenne, 59 Paris.
The auction house posited that the firm Poteau & Cie was the manufacturer of this suite in the 1920s. What is unclear is the extent of the relationship between Chareau and Poteau & Cie.
Listed as after Pierre Chareau, this three-piece salon suite realized $40,000.
With a great dark brown patina, a pair of Edgar Brandt (French, 1880-1960) cobra andirons reared to a final price of $32,500. Each snake is property from the collection of Seymour Stein.
Vintage Louis Vuitton luggage is a perennial favorite at auctions, and this sale offered a Louis Vuitton malle-bibliothèque/travel library trunk similar to the “Hemingway” trunk. Going out at $25,000, the 21¾-by-24-inch trunk featured an exterior with “LV” monogram canvas, lozine trim, brass hardware, stamped “047521” with maker’s marks, a leather top handle and painted with ownership initials “J.B.M” to its sides. The interior of the trunk was fitted with two upper frieze drawers and strap compartment over three lower drawers fitted with partitions.
Two additional Tiffany lots of note included a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver vase with applied winged putti flanking the neck and allover floral swag and rocaille decoration, which earned $12,188, and a Tiffany Studios jeweled turtleback desk lamp, circa 1910, of Favrile glass and bronze with brown patina, 14¾ inches high, which found a buyer at $9,375.
Finally, the Stein collection bid goodnight with a Lallemant “Moon” vase, a painted and glazed earthenware vase with “R. Lallemant” painted on bottom. It sold for $4,625.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.capsuleauctions.com or 212-353-2277.
