Fontaine’s Auction Gallery will present its first auction of the new year on Saturday, January 29, at 11 am. Featured in this important 19th/20th Century fine and decorative arts auction are 19th and 20th Century lighting, art glass, leaded glass windows, silver, marble and bronze statuary, American and European furniture. Buyers may bid online or via the phone and absentee.

More than a dozen fine and rare examples of Tiffany Studios lighting, not surprisingly, are on offer here, led by a Studios “Byzantine” floor lamp ($150/250,000), early 20th Century. The leaded glass lamp stands 78 inches tall and its patinated 26-inch domed shade is decorated with over 2,000 small copper-foiled glass tiles. The tiles are arranged in an elaborate design made up of four vertical wide bands that form a cross when viewed from above. The elaborate circular and diamond-shaped motifs are consistent with Tiffany’s “Byzantine” desk set pieces.

The parade of Tiffany lighting will continue to march across the block with a Tiffany Studios “Clematis” chandelier ($80/120,000), early 20th Century, leaded glass and patinated bronze, impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 604-11,” 38 inches tall; a “Nasturtium” table lamp ($80/120,000), circa 1905, whose 20-inch diameter shade was signed twice, one being an early tag impressed “Tiffany Studios New York;”  and a 20th Century Tiffany Studios “Nautilus” desk lamp ($10/15,000) in patinated bronze having a nautilus shell with a “Mermaid” base cast from a model by Louis Gudebrod, signed “Gudebrod,” 17 by 4½ by 8 inches and many other fine examples. 

Tiffany is not the only lighting maker represented in this auction, which will have fine lamps from a variety of talented and known designers, including a Handel “Underwater” and “Mermaid” table lamp ($15/25,000), early 20th Century, 21 1/2 inches tall, and a Continental bronze and jewel floor lamp with a figural parrot on a branch ($10/15,000) embellished with colorful jeweled wings, 84 by 40 inches.

Fine art offerings, especially those with provenance, will make buyers sit up and take notice, such as a Ralph Wolfe Cowan (American, b. 1931) portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy, commissioned by John F. Kennedy ($25/35,000). The oil on board is unsigned but includes a signed letter with dedication to the previous owner, measuring 98 by 52½ inches with frame. Also on offer are an 18th Century oil on canvas, “The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables,” after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ($8/12,000), marked “Schoenfels, Murillo,” 62¾ by 50 inches (frame) and a patinated bronze sculpture by celebrated Italian mannerist sculptor Giambologna (Italian/Flemish,1529-1608), depicting Amphitrite, goddess of the sea ($15/25,000), signed “Jean de Bologne” and standing 71 inches tall.

Regular buyers here know that Fontaine’s auctions typically have one or two statement design pieces on offer. This sale boasts a polychrome-decorated cigar store Indian carving, attributed to John L. Cromwell ($12/15,000), 87 by 27 by 21½ inches. The figure has been repainted over what seems to be signs of original paint but the base appears to be original. 

From large to small, detailed figures come in all forms and sizes as evinced by an Andre Jean Thuillier doll ($12/15,000), circa 1880, having a composition body with wooden joints and a bisque head marked “A 15 T,” 36 inches tall. In the 19th Century, hand-pressed A.T. dolls were highly sought after and typically only affluent families could afford them.

The furniture category is always well represented here and expected to do well are a monumental American cherry front and back bar ($20/30,000), late 19th Century, which will be sold and shipped from its current home in Riverwoods, Ill. Hertz Brothers case pieces are perennially popular here and crossing the block this month will be a figural carved oak banquet table ($12/15,000), late 19th Century. The table, having six leaves, is decorated with four winged maidens and signed with firm’s label, 30½ by 59½ by 59½ inches (table).

Rounding out the auction will be a late 19th Century Continental 800 silver repoussé samovar ($10/15,000), 25¾ by 15½ by 15½ inches, and a late 19th Century Thomas Webb & Sons cut crystal punch bowl ($8/12,000), signed “W. Fritsche,” 10½ by 7¼ inches. William Fristche was one of the firm’s two main engravers in the late 1870’s and is credited as one of the finest engravers/cutters of this era and made some of the finest “carved rock crystal” that the firm created.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is the oldest operating auction gallery in Western Massachusetts. It has earned the trust of collectors, investors and gallery owners worldwide. All cataloged lots receive nationwide exposure to the firm’s database of more than 24,000 select buyers. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery has been voted “Best Antique Auction Gallery” eight times by the public. 

Consignments are currently being accepted for the spring and summer auctions. Fontaine’s is actively seeking quality items for all upcoming auctions, to include furniture, lighting, art glass, clocks and watches, paintings, porcelains, bronze and marble statuary, Asian items, art glass and cameo glass, Russian objects, silver, musical, coin-op, advertising, toys, banks, gaming and carousel items. 

The firm will buy outright or accept on consignment. Call (413) 448-8922 and ask to speak with John Fontaine, or you can send Mr. Fontaine an email to info@fontainesauction.com. For more information about the company and the upcoming auction schedule, visit www.fontainesauction.com. Updates are posted frequently. 

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is located at 1485 West Housatonic Street (Route 20), Pittsfield, Mass. For more information, visit www.FontainesAuction.com or call 413-448-8922.