Shining brightest in the sale was this Tiffany Studios Rose table lamp, circa 1914, that brought $91,450. According to the auction catalog, the price of the shade at the time of production was $160, which was on par with the Peony and other floral designs by Tiffany ($75/125,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Cottone Auctions
GENESEO, N.Y. – On Saturday, March 28, Cottone Auctions offered in an online-only format the collection of Dr Ronald and Krista Reed, owners and proprietors of Reed Eye Associates, Rochester, N.Y. The sale of 314 lots was 92.3 percent sold by lot and totaled just under $1.6 million, with about 3,000 registered bidders participating from around the world.
Commenting by email after the sale, Matt Cottone said, “We are grateful to our loyal customers who continue to support our sales.”
Works by Tiffany were plentiful in the sale, which featured 26 lots, three of which swept the leaderboard. Achieving the highest price of $91,450 was a Tiffany Studios Rose table lamp, followed closely by a Tiffany Studios 18-light Lily lamp that brought $70,800. Both had been illustrated in books on Tiffany by Alastair Duncan and the Rose lamp had provenance to Lillian Nassau, Ltd. Rounding out the top three prices was a Tiffany Studios Dragonfly lamp that also sold for $70,800. Other notable Tiffany results included a set of four Tiffany Studios Dolphin sconces that made a splash at $29,500 and a Tiffany Studios Favrile glass and bronze ceiling fixture that reached a high bid of $38,940.
Other sale highlights include a pair of late Eighteenth Century Cherokee moccasins from the American South that saw considerable interest, closing at $48,380. The pair, which were purportedly in an “outstanding” state of preservation, were worked in black dyed buckskin with French silk brocade, ribbons and Italian cut beads in stylized floral patterns. They had descended in the family of Mary Sarah Wellesley, Countess of Cadogan, (1805-1873).
A “Chieftain” chair by Finn Juhl topped the offerings of furniture at $48,380; a Roman marble of a young boy acquired by an American diplomat in Italy in the Nineteenth Century had a flurry of bidding action to finish at $37,760, more than ten times its low estimate.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.cottoneauctions.com or 585-243-1000.
