PITTSFIELD, MASS.- Fontaine's Auction Gallery will kick off the year with an important Fine and Decorative Arts Auction on Saturday, February 7, at 11 am, to include approximately 600 lots of 19th/20th Century lighting, Tiffany lamps, art glass, leaded glass windows, fine silver, porcelain, marble and bronze statuary, Asian items, paintings, American & European furniture, clocks and jewelry. This auction will feature an important and monumental Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company chandelier from the First Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, N.Y., a Tiffany Studios leaded and jeweled glass “Ornamental” window, and a rare bronze sculpture by Evgeny Lanceray titled “Crossing of the Balkans.”

Expected to lead the sale will be 150 Tiffany Studios items, including examples of the Peony, Poppy, Daffodil, Dragonfly and Lotus. Preview by appointment only on February 5-6. Bidding is available via internet, phone and absentee.

“Rare and early examples of some of Tiffany’s best work will be offered,” said owner and auctioneer John Fontaine. “Tiffany lighting and windows are always in high demand but we’ve taken care to present a fine auction across the board with standouts in several collecting categories from jewelry and silver to Chinese Ming dynasty objects to European and American decorative arts.”



The circa 1892 “Moorish” chandelier is estimated at $300/500,000 and is one of the earliest surviving examples of Tiffany’s use of leaded glass panels that enclose a light source, this monumental chandelier has a 72-inch drop. Estimated at $200/300,000, the Schieren memorial “Ornamental” window from St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., dates to circa 1896 and each panel measures 101½ by 35 inches, framed.



Another expected high flyer in the auction will be Evgeny Lanceray’s patinated bronze sculpture, “"Crossing of the Balkans,” dated 1877. Estimated at $30/50,000, this sculpture came out of a private collection in Maine and measures 17 by 20 inches. Crossing the block about a dozen lots later comes another Lanceray ($20/30,000) depicting a KhirgizCossack capturing a wild horse in “The Capture,” the 17½ by 25 inches bronze traces its provenance to the Museum of the Holyoke Public Library.

Tiffany Studios table lamps having desirable motifs will also light up the auction, including a circa 1910 “Lotus” example ($80,000-$120,000), having its 26½-inch shade impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York” and its base impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 373,” a circa 1910 “Drophead Dragonfly” ($80,000-$100,000) having a 22-inch diameter shade impressed “Tiffany Studios, 1507” and the base impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 367,” and a circa 1910 “Peony” table lamp ($50,000-$75,000) having an 18-inch shade.

Also being offered is a very important “Grape Trellis” table lamp ($60,000-$80,000). Louis Comfort Tiffany incorporated grapevines in a wide variety of windows, lamps, desk sets, mosaics and vases throughout his important career. Although all things made by Tiffany were spectacular in their own right, the leaded glass shades were the most noteworthy. Of these leaded shades, Tiffany made two models of the Grape Trellis chandelier, in this auction Fontaine’s will be offering the only known Grape Trellis table lamp to exist.

Floral Tiffany Studios table lamps are, to pardon a pun, perennially popular. Highlights in this sale include a “Jonquil-Daffodil” table lamp ($60/80,000), circa 1915, with a 20–inch shade impressed “Tiffany Studios, N.Y., 1917” and its base impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 557.” A circa 1910 “Poppy” table lamp comes with an “Old English” base impressed "Tiffany Studios, New York, 557” and a 20¼-inch shade impressed “Tiffany Studios, New York, 1531.”

Boasting fine and known provenance, the parade of well-executed and artistically sublime Tiffany windows across the block continues with an “Angel of Faith” Price Memorial Window ($60/80,000), early Twentieth Century, signed “Tiffany Studios” in the presentation panel, 96 by 43 inches. It came from the Saint Matthews United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Scranton, Penn. Originally made for the New York home of famed industrialist Henry Osborne Havemeyer is a Louis Comfort Tiffany leaded glass window ($60/80,000), executed by Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company. The circa 1890-1892 window features leaded glass, hand-faceted favrile glass jewels and copper foil; each panel is 17 by 17 inches.

Rounding out the Tiffany Studios offerings are two rare “Turtle-Back” lanterns, each circa 1910, having a hinged bottom door inset with a “Turtle-Back” tile, 23 by 10 inches. Both came out of a private collection in Ohio.

Fontaine’s always has a few notable stunners in its jewelry category and a sparkler in this sale is an 18K yellow gold, platinum and 3.04-carat diamond ring featuring a 3.04 carat round brilliant cut diamond.

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 30,000 select buyers. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery has been voted “Best Antique Auction Gallery” eight times by the public.

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.