Fontaine’s Fine & Decorative Arts
September 23 & 24, 2023
1485 West Housatonic Street,
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 448-8922
info@fontainesauction.com
www.fontainesauction.com

PITTSFIELD, MASS. — Fontaine’s will present an important two-part fine and decorative arts auction September 23-24, sessions starting at 11 am, that includes more than 800 lots of Nineteenth-Twentieth Century lighting, art glass, silver, porcelain, marble and bronze statuary, paintings, American and European furniture, clocks, watches and jewelry. This auction will include the Harold F. Wright estate of McPherson, Kan., the Anthony Vidakovich estate of Queens, N.Y., and various other private collections. Available bidding methods are internet, phone and absentee.
The action starts off the first day with many important pieces crossing the block in favorite categories buyers have long associated with Fontaine’s, especially lighting. Already attracting significant online interest is a massive and lavishly carved English oak tall case clock from the Nineteenth Century ($60/80,000), measuring 11 feet 10 inches tall by 52 inches wide. The carving on this clock is extensive with a pair of 3-foot-tall putti at the base flanking a central medallion of Sir William Whittington and a date of 1793. The case’s main door boasts a 4-foot-tall carving of a young Whittington flanked by Father Time and Lady Justice. Elsewhere there are musical instruments, standing winged angels and a carved three-dimensional bust of Whittington. The movement and dial are both signed “Joshua Hampson Fecit 1743.”

A notable highlight from longtime antiques collector Harold Wright’s estate is a Birger Sandzén (American/Swedish, 1871-1954) painting, “Between Showers” estimated at $50/75,000. The artist gave this painting to a school in Kansas, which many years later sold it at auction, when Wright acquired it. Also coming out of his estate are a number of table lamps, including a Tiffany Studios “Daffodil” lamp ($40/60,000), circa 1910, measuring 27 inches tall with a 20-inch-diameter shade; a Duffner & Kimberly Art Nouveau-style lamp ($8/12,000), circa 1905, and a Handel “Birds of Paradise” lamp ($5/7,500), circa 1915, standing 23¾ inches tall with an 18-inch diameter shade.

Fontaine’s always has fine examples of antique lighting, especially by Tiffany Studios, and this sale is no exception, featuring a Tiffany Studios “Curtain Border” floor lamp ($50/75,000) hailing from a Baltimore, Md., collection. This circa 1910 lamp, standing 79 inches tall, has a 24½-inch-diameter shade impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 1515” while the base is impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 376.” Another Tiffany Studios standout is a circa 1905 “Banded Dogwood” table lamp ($40/60,000) having a tripod base and stands 32½ inches tall with a 20½-inch-diameter shade. There are more than 75 items in this auction carrying the Tiffany name, including 40 Tiffany Studios lamps.

Jewelry, silver and watch offerings here have been attracting quite a robust following in recent auctions, and highlighting the jewelry category is an 18K white gold, pink sapphire and diamond jewelry suite ($15/25,000) having nearly 30 carats of princess cut and faceted sapphires and more than 15 carats of round brilliant diamonds. Silver includes 85 items and will feature a Georg Jensen 122-piece Acorn flatware set ($8/12,000), a Tiffany & Co. reticulated centerpiece ($6/8,000) weighing 130 troy ounces, and a pair of J.E. Caldwell & Co vegetable dishes ($3/5,000) weighing 97 troy ounces. Watch offerings continue to be substantial with more than 10 Rolex wristwatches, featuring an 18K gold Day-Date President, reference 1803, circa 1973.

Rounding out the first day are a Gustav Stickley curly maple vanity ($15/25,000), designed by Harvey Ellis and produced circa 1912, boasting inlays of pewter, fruitwood and ebony, signed with the firm’s joiner’s compass decal, 54 by 36 by 18 inches; a Jean Baptiste Clesinger (French, 1814-1883) bronze sculpture of two bulls fighting ($12/15,000) and a rare Black Forest carved wood figural umbrella stand ($10/15,000) in the form of two cats on branch-form supports above two dogs, each with glass eyes, standing 39 by 29 by 19 inches.
Sculpture offerings continue in the second session with a Mathurin Moreau (French, 1822-1912) bronze sculpture of a seated woman holding a book ($1,2/1,500), measuring 21½ inches tall. This session has a little bit of everything for most collectors’ interest, including gold jewelry, Weller pottery, porcelain, Tiffany Studios desk sets and more.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is at 1485 West Housatonic Street (Route 20). For more information, www.fontainesauction.com or 413-448-8922.