RAGO’S CRAFTSMAN AUCTION MARCH 8TH AND 9TH - TIFFANY, STICKLEY, ART POTTERY AND GLASS EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF ALEXANDRA AND SIDNEY SHELDON AND SIX OTHERS TO SELL AT RAGO’S CRAFTSMAN AUCTION ON MARCH 8TH AND 9TH. TIFFANY STUDIOS “POPPY” TABLE LAMP; FURNITURE BY GRE
$13,500-17,500). One of the best pots from Teco is lot 738, a massive architechtonic corseted vase (pre-sale estimate $12,500-17,500). Newcomb College is well-represented by a 1904 vase carved and painted by Marie De Hoa LeBlanc with blue wisteria (pre-sale estimate $32,500-37,500). Works by Ohr, Robineau, Frackelton, Rookwood, Newcomb College, Saturday Evening Girls, Hampshire, Wheatley, Clewell, Van Briggle, Walrath, Overbeck, Robineau, Volkmar and yet more potteries are also available, including those from the Zanesville, Ohio region: Owens, Weller and Roseville.
Arts and Crafts furniture of import (in addition to the Sheldon and O’Connell property) includes excellent examples from Gustav Stickley: a drop-front desk (pre-sale estimate $8,000-12,000); a spindle Morris chair (pre-sale estimate $11,000-14,000); and a trapezoidal tall case clock (no. 3), complete with weights and pendulum (pre-sale estimate $37,500-55,000). Other fine makers in the sale: L. and J. G. Stickley, Limbert and Rolphs.
The Sheldon’s Poppy Lamp is in good company here. Notable among works from the firms of L.C. Tiffany, Handel, Duffner & Kimberly, Pairpoint, Suess, Bigelow and Kennard, Steuben, Bradley & Hubbard, Wilkinson, Gustav Stickley and Dirk van Erp is a Handel filigree scenic table lamp and a Tiffany lantern.
Though the auction name remains “Craftsman,” Rago’s has broadened this sale in recent years to encompass decorative objects from other significant early 20th-century design movements such as Art Nouveau. Vessels, jewelry and decorative items by the workshops of Tiffany, René Lalique, Almeric Walter, François Decorchemont, Gallé, Daum, and Muller Frères will be offered, top among them a 19” Tiffany Favrile Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase (pre-sale estimate $18,500-22,500). Also worthy of note is a fantastic grouping of five of the Martin Brothers grotesque bird jars, with pre-sale estimates ranging from $12,000-26,000, as well as ceramics by other British makers.
It is a fortunate home that awaits a twenty-five tile panel from Grueby decorated with a landscape of rolling hills and tall trees. This spectacular panel comes from the 1910 home of a wealthy mining family in Michigan. For sale from Van Briggle is a fine, large tile depicting a tree against a mountainous landscape (pre-sale estimate $10,000-15,000). Also available: tiles from Hartford Faience, Saturday Evening Girls, Batchelder, American Encaustic, Low, Taylor, California Art, and, of course, the Marblehead tiles from the Baggs family.
A small but choice selection of Native American arts will attract both collectors and Arts & Crafts enthusiasts and includes a beaded pictorial Plains doctor bag and a fine California/Great Plains basket. Also of note: metalwork by Yellin, Liberty & Co., Stickley Bros., Benedict, Jarvie, Rolhfs, Louis Sullivan and Dirk van Erp; Dedham tableware; Tiffany silver; paintings and prints; textiles; stained glass windows and rugs.
“The abundance of riches in this sale astounds me,” said David Rago. “Anyone who has interest in this field of collecting and can visit the exhibition will be glad they made the effort. The catalogue will be a great resource; it’s a downright bargain.”
Auction Contact Information
David Rago and Suzanne Perrault (decorative arts): 609-397-9374 or info@ragoarts.com
Jerry Cohen (furniture): 800-448-7828 or jerry@craftsman-auctions.com.
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