Archibald Knox / Liberty & Co. Tri-footed “Bomb” vase c. 1902-05
ARCHIBALD KNOX (1864-1933) UK
LIBERTY & CO. London
“Bomb” vase c. 1902-05
Pewter w/ abstract Celtic leaf design in bas-relief on looping tri-footed base
Marks: TUDRIC PEWTER 0927
Illustrated: Archibald Knox, ed. by Stephen A. Martin (London: Academy Editions, 1995) ; Liberty Design 1874-1914, Barbara Morris (London: Pyramid Books, 1989) p. ; The Designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co., A.J. Tilbrook (London: Ornament Press Ltd., 1976) p. .
Archibald Knox / Liberty & Co. Rare Sterling and Opal caviar server 1904
ARCHIBALD KNOX (1864-1933) UK
LIBERTY & COMPANY London, UK
Cymric tri-handled covered server 1904
Sterling silver with repoussé Celtic knot motifs and three buttress handles; the handle of the domed lid inset with a jelly opal, cylindrical crystal bowl.
Marks: No. 5199, Liberty & Co., CYMRIC and Birmingham assay marks for 1904 (all the marks appear both on the underside of the base and on the cover)
Archibald Knox / Liberty & Co. Tri-footed pewter vase with blue enamel c. 1902-05
ARCHIBALD KNOX (1864-1933) UK
LIBERTY & CO. London
Tri-footed vase c.1902-05
Pewter with blue enamel
Marks: Liberty & Co., ENGLISH PEWTER, 0927
Model illustrated: Liberty’s 1875-1975, An Exhibition to mark the Firm’s Centenary (London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1975) p. 76; The Liberty Style, introduction by Victor Arwas (NY: Rizzoli, 1979) cat. no. 36
Archibald Knox / Liberty & Co. Pair of tri-footed vases c. 1902-05
ARCHIBALD KNOX (1864-1933) UK
LIBERTY & CO. London
Pair of tri-footed vases c. 1902-05
Pewter with abstract Celtic floral design in bas-relief on tri-footed base
Marks: 6, MADE BY LIBERTY & CO.., ENGLISH PEWTER 0227
Illustrated: Archibald Knox, ed. by Stephen A. Martin (London: Academy Editions, 1995) ; Liberty Design 1874-1914, Barbara Morris (London: Pyramid Books, 1989) p. ; The Designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co., A.J. Tilbrook (London: Ornament Press Ltd., 1976)
Gorham T.B. Starr Important Sterling “Macy” Renaissance Revival Pitcher 1893
GORHAM MFG. CO SILVERSMITHS Providence, RI
THEODORE B. STARR Retailer
Renaissance Revival pitcher 1893
A highly important Gorham sterling pitcher chased with mythological faces, putti and various scrolling foliate patterns, the handle in the form of Pan with four sphinx figures supporting the base, all with elaborate and exquisite hand chasing and repousse throughout. Extremely fine original condition with original gilded interior.
Marks: Lion, Anchor, G (Gorham silver touch marks), EX. (Exhibition), Theodore B. Starr, 6 pint, Sterling, 1805, double circle touch mark (date mark for 1893)
Provenance: Private Collection, New York; Private Collection Florida from 1984 to 2009; directly descended in the family of Thomas H. Macy (founder of Nantucket) prior to 1984
Thomas Jekyll (attr.) Aesthetic Movement Iron Umbrella or Cane Stand c.1885
THOMAS JEKYLL (attr.) (1827–1881)
BRITISH AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
Umbrella stand c. 1885
Black nickelled and patinated cast and wrought iron,
sunburst detail and decorative fretwork
H: 25 1/4” x W: 13” x D: 9 1/2”
Base W: 9 1/2”
Although he was a successful architect, Jeckyll is best known today for his “epoch-making” designs in metalwork. His architectural practice routinely included the design of gates, railings, and metal fittings for domestic commissions and of coronas, candelabra, and altar rails for ecclesiastical ones. But it was his exhibition pieces for the ironworks firm of Barnard, Bishop & Barnards of Norwich that brought him his greatest renown. His “Norwich Gates” for the 1862 London International Exhibition set in motion the 19th-century wrought iron revival in Great Britain. Subsequent creations, including his “Four Seasons Gates,” exhibited in Paris in 1867 and Vienna in 1873, and his cast iron pavilion for the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, received substantial praise, in particular for their creative use of Asian principles and motifs. His innovative Anglo-Japanese designs for stoves, stove fronts, fenders, fire irons, and other domestic metalwork were also produced and sold in large numbers. As these designs were both artistic and affordable, they allowed the incorporation of objects of beauty into middle-class homes. He was one of the few figures in the design reform movement in Britain who managed to unite beauty and utility.
A very intricately worked late Victorian or Aesthetic Movement wrought and cast iron tall stand for umbrellas or canes with delicately riveted cross hatch fretwork and curling details and handle motif along with an attached iron base with a sunburst design all in the original black nickel finish.
Muller Freres / French Art Deco Art Glass vase c. 1925
MULLER FRÈRES Lunéville, France
Vase c. 1925
Heavy cased clear glass over black glass with silver foil inclusions; acid-etched and deeply wheel-carved with a large zig zag motif
Signed: MULLER FRES LUNEVILLE (etched signature)
For more information see: Glass, Art Nouveau to Art Deco, Victor Arwas (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987) pp. 231-6;L’Europe de L’Art Verrier, des Precurseurs de l’Art Nouveau a l’Art Actuel 1850-1990, Giuseppe Cappa (Mardaga: Liège,1991) pp. 344-7.
Luke Lietzke, Large Glazed Hand Thrown Stoneware Floor Vase c.1955
LUKE LIETZKE (1906-2000), USA
LIETZKE DESIGNS Mogodore, Ohio
Large floor vessel c. 1955-1960
Blue glazed stoneware cylindrical vessel which has been shaped at the top into an elliptical form; the black glazed lip is rolled over with a flaring collar-like edge and the body is decorated with an abstract incised sgraffito line decoration.
Signed on bottom: Lietzke (inscribed in oval)
H: 15″ x W: 14″ x D: 13″
Price: $17,500
Luke Lietzke studied art at Michigan State University and the Art Institute of Chicago. At Michigan State she met her husband and life-long partner in design, Rolland. They moved to Ohio when Rolland accepted a job with Goodyear Aerospace and in 1942, when Rolland took a job with Firestone, they moved to Akron, Ohio. It was there that Luke volunteered at the Akron Art Museum. This position quickly developed into a design curator’s position created especially for her. Her memorable exhibits included such notable artists as Charles Eames, George Nelson and Isamu Noguchi. In 1964 she left the Museum and for a short period worked as a design coordinator. In 1966, she and her husband created their own company where she functioned as an exhibition designer, an interior design consultant and most significantly: a designer craftsman. Her porcelain pieces consistently received exhibition awards since 1948 and are included in six museum collections. Her talents would often combine to develop special projects, such as the design for the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Both her pottery and jewelry reflect her wealth of knowledge as well as her exposure to the world of International art.
Sydney Pitcher “St. Martin’s Cross Iona” Arts & Crafts photograph c. 1900
SYDNEY PITCHER F.R.P.S. (d. 1950) England
ARTHUR H. PITCHER (Framer)
“St. Martin’s Cross Iona” c.1900
Carbon process photograph, hand carved oak frame with beautiful wood grain detail.
Marks: S MARTINS CROSS IONA (carved incised mark)
Art Nouveau paper label (on back): Framed by Arthur H. Pitcher, College Court, Gloucester, Moulding No…..
Photograph: H: 9 1/2″ x W: 5″
Frame: H: 16 3/4″ x W: 8 5/8″ D: 5/8″
Sydney A. Pitcher FRPS (active 1904-1939) was a photographer with an interest in monument and church architecture. He is listed in the 1927 Kelly’s Directory of the County of Gloucester as a commercial photographer, publisher and picture frame maker, operating from 5 & 7 College Court, Gloucester. Pitcher was involved primarily in the photography of Gloucestershire churches, but also took pictures of churches and cathedrals in neighbouring counties, and of medieval sculptures at Winchester College. He collaborated on the publication of Rushforth’s series of volumes The stained glass of Great Malvern Priory Church , Gloucester, 1916-1927.
He joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1904, was admitted as an Associate member in 1925, and became a Fellow in 1928.
American Art Deco Reed & Barton Sterling candlesticks 1928
REED & BARTON (active 1824 – present) Taunton, MA
Candlesticks 1928
Sterling silver with Hoffmann-like fluted base and bobêches with undulating stem and palm leaf like terminating detail.
Marks: eagle R (in a shield) lion, Sterling, 1000, cement reinforced, eagle (date mark for 1928).
Model illustrated: Vanity Fair (Dec. 1928, Vol. 31), p. 120., Reed & Barton Vintage Catalog, p. 10, plate number 1000.
For more information on Reed & Barton see: Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers, Dorothy T. Rainwater (West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1986), p. 156-160.
Louis Majorelle French Art Nouveau “Fiddleback Fern” bowl c. 1900
LOUIS MAJORELLE (1859-1926) France
MOUGIN FRÈRES Nancy, France
Fiddleback Fern trefoil bowl c. 1900
A rare stoneware example of Majorelle and the L’Ecole de Nancy with a mauve and sea-green glaze, crystalline formations in interior in a trefoil loped form with fiddleback ferns at each interval.
Marks: Majorelle. de (impressed facsimile signature) MOUGIN NANCY, 10.K , L
Illustrated: Majorelle: Une Aventure Moderne, Roselyne Bouvier (Paris:
La Bibliothèque des Arts/Editions Serpenoise, 1991) p. 34, illus. 32.
Louis C. Tiffany / Tiffany Studios Dogwood Blossom table lamp c. 1906
LOUIS C. TIFFANY (1848-1933) USA
TIFFANY STUDIOS New York
Dogwood Blossom table lamp c.1906
Stained glass shade in shades of pink, white, gold and green glass with rich brown/green patinated leading and a matching base with a rich brown/green patina.
Signed: TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK (impressed bronze tag on shade); TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK, 2588-1, Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company cipher (impressed on base)
Related model illustrated: Tiffany at Auction, Alastair Duncan (New York: Rizzoli, 1981), p. 98, illustration 268
Sèvres / Genevieve Rault Rare French Art Nouveau grand vase 1907
MLLE GENEVIÈVE RAULT (décor 1907) France
MANUFACTURE NATIONALE DE SÈVRES France
Andromeda branches grand vase 1907
Glazed porcelain with pâte-sur-pâte applications. The multicolored “Andromeda” foliage and branches in shades of pink, salmon, green and taupe on a cream background.
Marks: underglaze green S and 1907 (in triangular cipher), MANUFACTURE RF NATIONALE surrounding DÉCORÉ A SÈVRES 1907, underglaze blue GR (conjoined monogram).
H: 16″ x Dia: 7 1/2″
This example from the Sèvres Manufacture is a tour-de-force of early 20th century porcelain. The graphic Art Nouveau design of the pastel foliage and white blossoms of the Andromeda vase is brought to life thanks to the fine detailing of every individual blossom made with hand-applied pâte-sur-pâte or paste porcelain.
Tiffany & Co. / Art Nouveau “Frog on a lily pad” covered snuff box 1880
TIFFANY & CO. New York, NY
“Frog on a lily pad” cigarette case 1880
Hand wrought sterling silver with repoussé and chased gold design of a frog sitting on a lily pad with a dragonfly in it’s mouth, “lap over edge” and hand hammered details, gilt interior and spring action to the hinge when the sides are pressed
Tiffany Archive Illustration: Design for Cigarette Case No. 5804, No. 1019, 249, stamped Tiffany & Co. New York, February 26, 1880
Model and Archive illustration: Bejewelled by Tiffany 1837-1987 Clare Phillips (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006)
For more information see: Tiffany Silver, Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1978); The Silver of Tiffany & Co., 1850-1987, Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. and Janet Zapata (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1987).
Marks: Tiffany & Co., 5804, M, 2540, Sterling-Silver, 1019
H: 3/4” x W: 2 7/8” x D: 2 1/8”
The Frog and the Dragonfly
from The Lost Lagoon
by Reg Down, 2010
Once upon a time a dragonfly lived beside a lake high in the mountains. He flitted from bulrush to bulrush – and zipped after mosquitoes. He snapped them out of the air so quickly that no one could ever quite see what he was doing.
One day, as he was flying across the water, his beautiful wings glistening like rainbows, he came across a frog.
“Ribbit!” said the frog. “Come here, Mr. Dragonfly. I would like to have a better look at you.”
But the dragonfly was clever. In fact, he was so clever that his eyes were made up of hundreds of eyes all put together on the top of his head. And each one of those eyes said to him: “That frog wants to eat me!”
So he landed on top of a bulrush where the frog could not get him, and said, “Yes, Mr. Frog, I am close enough for you. What do you want?”
“Ribbit! Ribbit!” croaked the frog, “I think you should come closer because my eyes are not very good.”
So the dragonfly came a little closer. He flitted to a flower floating on the water—but still not close enough for the frog to grab him with his mouth.
“Yes, Mr. Frog, what do you want?” he asked.
“Oh, Mr. Dragonfly,” said the frog, “I have an itch on the end of my nose and my legs aren”t long enough to reach it. But your legs are scratchy—they will be able to scratch my itchiness much better that I ever could.”
The dragonfly found this quite funny. He thought, “That frog wants to eat me! I am sure that frog wants to eat me!” So he flew behind the frog and landed on his back.
The frog could feel the dragonfly crawling on his back, but he could not turn around to grab him. “Oh, Mr. Dragonfly,” he said, “you have to come closer to my nose. In fact, my lips are getting very itchy—please come closer.”
So the dragonfly went and sat between the frog”s eyes. Now the frog”s eyes were looking into the dragonfly”s eyes, and the frog saw that the dragonfly had far, far more eyes than he had. So he said, “Oh, Mr. Dragonfly, you are surely much, much more wise than I am. You have so many eyes that you can see the whole world!”
And the dragonfly replied, “Of course I can see the whole world! I have so many eyes that I am the wisest of all flies!”
“Well,” said the frog, “I have a little tickle in the bottom of my throat—what is happening there?”
And the dragonfly looked, and looked, and looked…….and Snap! the frog ate him up.
Marks: stamped in black: E. Gallé, nancy depose, E G with cross of Lorraine
Designs for other Egyptian decoration illustrated: Les dessins de Gallé, Philippe Thiébaut (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 1993) p. 98-99
Related forms and designs illustrated: La Ceramique de Gallé (Nancy: Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, 1984) p. 119; Egyptomania: Egypt in Western Art, 1730-1930 (Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux and Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1994), pp. 472=74.
Hendrik Petrus Berlage Holland Rare Architectural Candelabrum c. 1900
HENDRIK PETRUS BERLAGE (1856 – 1934) Netherlands
BECHT & DYSERINCK for ‘t Binnenhuis
Rare Architectural Candelabrum c. 1900
Riveted and detailed “Eiffel Tower” like form in brass and copper with four feet, small cut out designs and two bobeche trays supporting five candles.
H: 14″ x W: 8 1/4″ x D: 8 1/4″
Hendrik Petrus Berlage, a Dutch architect and designer attended the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and a year later switched to architecture. Berlage enrolled in 1875 in the architecture department of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich. Through 1878 Berlage studied in Zurich under Gottfried Semper, whose teachings had a lasting influence on his work. After finishing these studies, Berlage spent three years traveling in Germany (1879) and Italy (1880-1881) before returning to his native Amsterdam. From 1881 Berlage was employed by the Amsterdam architect Theodor Sanders and from 1884 Berlage was a partner in the business until he opened his own practice in 1889. In 1884 he submitted a design for the projected Commodity Exchange (Beurs van Berlage) in Amsterdam, winning the competition in 1896. This building, completed in 1903, was Hendrik Paulus Berlage’s first important commission, which also solidified his reputation. Also in Amsterdam and at this same time, Berlage built the Diamond Guild building (1897-1900). In 1900 along with the architect and designer Jacob van den Bosch, Hendrik Paulus Berlage opened the gallery, “‘t Binnenhuis”. They sold their own designed furniture and objects they from 1900-1929. In 1900 Berlage was also commissioned to plan a southern extension of Amsterdam. This was Berlage’s most important contribution to urban planning and he worked on the project until 1915. In 1911 Berlage went to the US, where he saw the new buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. Berlage built his own house in The Hague and moved into it with his family in 1913. The Gemeentemuseum in The Hague (1919-1935) was Berlage’s last important building, however it was not completed until shortly after his death. Hendrik Petrus Berlage was the founder of the “Amsterdam School” and was a pioneer of modern architecture in the Netherlands. In his 1905 essay “Gedanken über Stil in der Baukunst”, Berlage fiercely criticized 19th-century historicizing architecture as pompous, reserving his praise for the austere simplicity of early period styles. His criticism was severe since he stated flatly that historicizing architecture was all appearance rather than reality, was not art; too much was imitation, more iron was used than stone, and so on. Hendrik Petrus Berlage was therefore an early critic of Historicism even though his Amsterdam Exchange still reveals Romanesque features.
American Folk Art, Pine Tree and Shaker Style House andirons c. 1920’s
MASSACHUSETTS IRON WORKS Saugus area
Pine Tree and Shaker Style House andirons c. 1920’s
Cast and hand finished iron with a natural black/brown patina.
H: 22 1/2″ x W: 20 1/2″ x D: 16″
This pair of extraordinary andirons are a unique expression of American Folk Art at it’s best. The tall tree form resembles a towering carved wood version of a pine tree in 1 1/2″ thick cast iron and the Shaker Style house with a classic pitched roof and chimney has four “windows” that light up when the fire is roaring from behind. These are a substantial and gutsy design and are a very rare find in the world of Americana.
Willem Brouwer Dutch Art Nouveau / Arts & Crafts Pottery Vase c. 1905
WILLEM COENRAAD BROUWER (1877-1933) The Netherlands
POTTERIJ VREDELUST Leiderdorp, The Netherlands
Vase with handles c. 1905
Brown glazed red clay with tan light brown cut out overlaid and sgraffito decoration in a stylized organic motif, two applied looping handles
Marks: Brouwer 139 (incised)
For similar work see: Dutch Decorative Arts 1880-1940, eds. Titus M. Eliëns, Marjan Groot, Frans Leidelmeijer (New York: Battledore Ltd.,1997),p. 56; Leven in een verzameling: Toegepaste kunst 1890-1940 uit de collectie Meentwijck (Laren: Singer Museum, 2000), illus. 76, 77, p. 74.
For more information on Brouwer see: Art Nouveau en Art Deco in Nederland: verzamelobjecten uit de vernieuwingen in de kunstnijverheid van 1890 tot 1940, Frans Leidelmeijer and Daan van der Cingel (city unknown: Meulenhoff/ Landshoff, 1983), pp. 80-82.
Louis C. Tiffany / Tiffany Studios Rare Kettle-on-Stand c. 1902
LOUIS C. TIFFANY (1848-1933) USA
TIFFANY STUDIOS New York
Kettle-on-Stand c.1902
Silver on copper with carved teak wood handles and finial in an organic-form and hexagonal shaped kettle-on-stand with burner
Marks: Tiffany Studios, New York (on all three pieces)
Illustrated: The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Donald L. Stover (The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1981), p. 88, illus. 189 (description on p. 96); Tiffany at Auction, Alastair Duncan (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1981) p. 50, pl. 137.
A rare example of a subtle organic-form and hexagonal shaped kettle-on-stand emulating pooling water in a Japanese influenced design by Louis Comfort Tiffany and made by Tiffany Studios
Albert Edward Jones British Arts & Crafts Copper and Lapis Lazuli Box c.1905
Albert Edward Jones (1879-1954) Birmingham, UK
British Arts & Crafts Movement
Footed box with hinged lid and hasp 1905
Hand wrought and patinated copper with riveted strap work and hasp, inset with 4 cabochons of lapis lazuli, brown leather and wood interior.
This box is a particularly handsome example of British arts & crafts metalwork by the famous designer / craftsman A.E. Jones. It retains its original deep, rich chocolate brown patina with the contrasting cobalt blue large round bezel-set cabochons of lapis lazuli.
Friedrich Gornik Bronze “Pelican” Art Nouveau Vide Poche c.1910
Friedrich Gornik (1877-1943) Austria.
“Pelicans” vide poche c. 1910.
Bronze with a natural gold patina of two pelicans on a rock, one seated and the other eating fish.
Marks: F Gornik and monogram.
For more information on Friedrich Gornik see: Der Österreichische Werkbund, Astrid Gmeiner & Gottfried Pirhofer (Salzburg & Wien: Residenz Verlag,1985) p. 228; Österreichische Keramik des Jugendstils, Waltraud Neuwirth (Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1974) p. 156.
Edmond Lachenal French Art Nouveau Green glazed pitcher / vase form c. 1900
EDMOND LACHENAL (1855-1930) Paris, France
Green glazed pitcher / vase form c. 1900
Marks: E LACHENAL (impressed and glazed in a rectangle on base)
For information on Edmond Lachenal see:”Edmond Lachenal”, Fritz Minkus, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, IV (1901) pp.390-98; La Céramique Art Nouveau, Edgar Pelichet and Michèle Duperrex (Lausanne: Les Éditions du Grand-Pont, Switzerland, 1976) pp. 66,71,74,78,83,112,115; “l’Atelier Lachenal à la galerie Georges Petit “ in Les Echoes d’Art” (1933), p. Vll; Art Nouveau: Belgium & France, exh. cat. Yvonne Brunhammer et al. (Houston, TX: Institute for the the Arts, Rice University, 1976), p. 48; Le Japonisme (Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1988) cat no. 377, p. 321; Japonisme: the Japanese influence on western art in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Siegfried Wichmann (Parklane: New York, 1980) pp. 339, 349; cat. no. 920.
Franz Xaver Bergman Art Nouveau “Frog” pen wipe c. 1905-1910
FRANZ XAVER BERGMAN (1861-1936) Austria
“Frog” pen wipe c. 1905-1910
Cold-painted bronze, boar’s hair bristles
For information see: Art Bronzes, Mich. Forrest (Schiffer, 1988).
L: 3 1/2″ x W: 3 1/2″ x H: 2″
Price: $1,675
A well-known animalier at the turn-of-the century, the sculptor Franz Bergman created a number of small bronzes in a variety of subject matter. Other figurative works were informed by the Jugendstil / Art Nouveau style and the European taste for the exotic as is found in his figures of rug merchants and camels. His animal sculptures, however, capture the Viennese tradition of naturalistic bronzes. The quality of the bronze casting shows tremendous detail, which was carefully brought out through the applied patination process known as cold painting.
Firmin-Marcelin Michelet French Art Nouveau “Four Seasons” sculpted vase c. 1900
FIRMIN-MARCELIN MICHELET Sculptor (1875-1951) France
GENTIL ET BOURDET [pottery]
“Four Seasons” vase c. 1900
Glazed stoneware in a cream color with tan and light brown highlights molded with four female profiles and corresponding floral branches below representing the “Four Seasons” of the year
Marks: F. Michelet (underglaze), Gentil et Bourdet Architectes Ceramistes
Another example of this vase is in the collection of the Brighton Museum Brighton, England
Exhibited: French Art Nouveau from English Collections, City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, 1977, Cat. No. B7.
Illustrated: Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Thirties; The Ceramic, Glass and Metalwork Collections at Brighton Museum (Brighton: The Royal Pavillion, 1986)cat. no. 41, p. 22.
For more information on Firmin-Marcellin Michelet see: Étains 1900:
200 Sculptures de la Belle Époque, Philippe Dahhan (Paris: Les Éditions de l’Amateur, 2000), p. 274.
Olivier de Sorra / Pierrefonds (Count Hallez d’Arros) French Art Nouveau six branch vase c. 1900
OLIVIER DE SORRA
SOCIETE FAIENCIERE HERALDIQUE DE PIERREFONDS
Six-branch vase c. 1900
Copper color glaze with blue oxide flower crystallization
H: 11″ x Dia: 9″
Price: $7,250
The Societe Faienciere Heraldique de Pierrefonds pottery studio was founded in the village of Pierrefonds in 1903 by Count Hallez d’Arros and is renowned for it’s crystalline and flambe glazes
Amphora Art Pottery / Eduard Stellmacher Art Nouveau “Fern fronds” vase c. 1900
EDUARD STELLMACHER Turn-Teplitz, Austria
AMPHORA ART POTTERY Turn-Teplitz, Austria
“Fern fronds” vase c. 1900
Glazed earthenware with applied three-dimensional fern fronds
Marks: STELLMACHER TEPLITZ, Amphora mark, 1145, 7
For more information see: Deutsch Kunst und Dekoration, ( March 1901) pp. 346-349; Sammlung Bröhan: Kunsthandwerk, Glas, Holz, Keramik, Vol. 1 Band II (Berlin: Bröhan Museum, 1976), pp. 284-293.
Scandinavian Art Nouveau “Wisteria” bronze photo frame c.1910
SCANDINAVIAN ART NOUVEAU
“Wisteria” bronze photo frame c.1910
Elaborately detailed, acid etched and multi-patinated bronze table top photo frame with gilt details of a cascade of wisteria blossoms, leaves and vines.
Overall Frame: H: 12” x W: 7 ½”
Oval photo window opening H: 5 ½” x W: 4”
Salvatore Meli Important large scale Italian Sculpture / Ewer 1952
SALVATORE MELI (b. 1929) Italy
Important Sculpture / Ewer 1952
Glazed terra cotta, brown and dark green with white scraffito decoration, original stepped and angular wood base.
Signed: Meli 1952 Roma
For more info on Meli see: Design 1935-1965, What Modern was, ed. Martin Eidelberg (New York: Harry Abrams, 1991) p. 237.
Salvatore Meli belongs to that initial group of artists, including Guido Gambone and Lucio Fontana among others, who elevated Italian ceramics to a fine art during the post-war period. Meli conceived this vessel, first on paper, then by laboriously constructing the body in clay, coil by coil, to achieve the richly textured and dynamic form; the incised and painted decoration is in concert with the organic shape. The massive scale of this work defies function as a ewer but was created as a sculptural object. The original wooden base recalls Italian futurist sculpture forms of the early twentieth century.
H (with base): 23 1/2” x W: 13” x D: 9.5”
H (without base): 19 1/8”
Fernando and Humberto Campana, Zig Zag Screen 2001
Humberto Campana (1953 – ) Brazil
Fernando Campana (1961 – ) Brazil
Zig Zag Screen, 2001
Circular iron frame with electrostatic silver painted surface, translucent PVC hose stretched in a web pattern.
Illustrated: Campanas, Humberto and Fernando Campana (Sao Paulo: Bookmark 2003) p. 240; Mood River, February 3 – June 26, 2002, exh. cat. Jeffrey Kipnis and Annetta Massie (Ohio: Wexner Center, 2002)
Exotic variety of silk and cut silk velvets sewn and sculpted in the form of a spray of various pineapple shapes on a tufted cushion seat and upholstered legs.
Marks: Tolomeo (written on the velvet), Tolomeo script signature (brass plaque)
Exhibited: Fondazioni Cerratelli, Pisa, Italy, Summer 2006
Model illustrated and biographical information on Carla Tolomeo: Il Fogliaccio, July 7th, 2006
For further information see: Carla Tolomeo Mai Sedersi Sugli Allori, Never rest on your laurels 1995-2004, Carla Tolomeo (Milano 2004)
Alberto Marconetti / Italian Post-War Design Armchairs c. 1960’s
ALBERTO MARCONETTI Milan, Italy (active Argentina)
Armchairs (Two available) c. 1960’s
Oak, painted iron, leather strapwork and seat
Marks: by Alberto Marconetti (script signature)
H: 40 1/2” x W: 27” x D: 21”
Seat height: 19″
Price: $7,450 (each)
This pair of armchairs nods to the influence of such Italian designers as Carlo Bugatti and Carlo Mollino yet are their own unique creation. They have an unusual anthropomorphic quality in that the frame suggests a skeletal structure. In addition, the leather strapwork, iron loops and hooks allude to the equipage of the ancient Roman equestrian order.
Sori Yanagi / Tendo Co. Ltd. / Japanese Crafts “Butterfly” Stool c.1956
Sori Yanagi (1915-2012), Japan
Tendo Co. Ltd., Japan
Butterfly stool, 1956.
Bleached rosewood veneer on plywood with brass.
H: 15” x W: 16 ½” x D: 12”
Price: $4,900
This model can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
The Japanese designer Sori Yanagi is best known for his 1956 Butterfly Stool. It is both elegant and utterly simple: two curved pieces of molded plywood are held together through compression and tension by a single brass rod. The stool’s graceful shape recalls a butterfly’s wings, and has also been compared to the form of torii, the traditional Shinto shrine gates. He loved traditional Japanese crafts and was dedicated to the modernist principles of simplicity, practicality and tactility that are associated with Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, and Le Corbusier.”
Yanagi, who studied architecture and art at Tokyo’s Academy of Fine Art, was inspired by the work of Le Corbusier and by the designer Charlotte Perriand, with whom he worked in the early 1940s, while she was in Tokyo as the arts and crafts adviser to the Japanese Board of Trade. But perhaps the most indelible influence on Yanagi was that of his father, Soetsu Yanagi, who led the “mingei” movement, which celebrated Japanese folk craft and the beauty of everyday objects, and who founded the Nihon Mingeikan (or Japanese Folk Crafts Museum) in Tokyo. Yanagi fils, who was named director of the museum in 1977, succinctly described his design aesthetic in a 2002 interview in The Japan Times: “I try to create things that we human beings feel are useful in our daily lives. During the process, beauty is born naturally.” Throughout his life, Sori Yanagi was inspired by what he called “anonymous design” — he cited the Jeep and a baseball glove as two examples — and he in turn inspired younger designers, like Naoto Fukasawa, Tom Dixon and Jasper Morrison.
Italian Design “Pop-Art” Oversized “Anywhere” Lamp c. 1960’s-1970’s
ITALIAN DESIGN / POP ART
“Oversized “anywhere” lamp circa 1960’s-1970’s.
Real blown glass bulb with a yellow metal “protector” paying homage to the classic “anywhere” work light. It is interesting to note that at a later date Ingo Maurer who designed the famous “flying bulb lights” used this light as an inspiration and did a paired down simple version utilizing plastic rather than glass for the actual glass bulb part.
Nigel Coates, Rare, Early and Iconic Genie stool 1988
NIGEL COATES (b. 1949) England
BRANSON COATES ARCHITECTURE London
“Genie” stool 1988
Carved and sandblasted solid ash seat on twisted mild steel legs
Marks: NIGEL COATES GENIE STOOL
Illustrated: 1000 chairs, Charlotte & Peter Fiell (Cologne: Taschen Verlag, 1997), p. 615.
H: 26: x D: 13 1/2″
Price: $9,500
British architect and designer. He studied at Nottingham University and the Architectural Association, London, where he graduated in 1974 and subsequently taught until 1989. In 1983 he formed the group NATO (Narrative Architecture Today) with a group of former students and began to practice independently; two years later he went into partnership with Doug Branson (b 1951). Coates became known for his fluid and lively graphic style and the overt theatricality of his designs. His proposals for the redevelopment of London, involving sophisticated allegories of popular culture, were shown in two exhibitions: ArkAlbion (1984), with drawings of new development areas such as County Hall and the Isle of Dogs, and Ecstacity (1992), with computer simulations and video clips. In the renovation (1980) of his own flat in London he juxtaposed the original, ornate late 19th-century interior with ‘found’ furniture and decorative objects. The publication of this project brought Coates to the attention of Japanese clients who were seeking fashionable Western designers, and he carried out several projects in Japan that became increasingly theatrical: in Tokyo the Metropole Restaurant (1985) evokes a European café, while the Parco Café Bongo (1986) juxtaposes classical English furniture with an imitation aeroplane wing mounted on the ceiling; and the Arca di Noè (1988), Sapporo, is an eclectic mixture of classical motifs and a concrete boat. Coates’s radical approach was dissipated in later British works, such as a series of London shops: one for Katharine Hamnett in Sloane Street (1988) has a shop front formed of aquaria, and one for Jigsaw in Knightsbridge (1992) has its shop front formed of a two-storey copper column in the shape of a phallus. In 1992 he began designing an extension to the Geffrye Museum, London.
Coates was an influential teacher at the Architectural Association from 78- 86, and has lectured extensively abroad. In 1995 he was appointed Professor of Architectural Design at the Royal College of Art and now divides his time equally between the college and his office. Nigel Coates furniture is represented in the Modern Furniture Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
“I go for architecture that overlays and enhances. By blending observation and wit with reason, I want my work to generate a sense of the unexpected, and the seemingly spontaneous.”
Michael Powolny / Wiener Keramik / Wiener Werkstaette / Vienna Secession “Putto mit Hahn” c. 1910
MICHAEL POWOLNY (1871-1954) Austria
BERTOLD LÖFFLER (1874-1960) Austria
WIENER KERAMIK Vienna
Putto mit Hahn c. 1910
Glazed white earthenware handpainted with black enamel
Marks: MP (impressed artist’s monogram), WK (impressed company logo in a square), original Wiener Keramik paper label
Exhibited: Frühjahrsausstellung Österreichischer Kunstgewerbe in Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (MAK museum), Vienna, 1912.
Model illustrated: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, Vol. XXXI, October 1912 – March 1913, n.p.; Michael Powolny: Keramik und Glas aus Wien 1900 bis 1950, Elisabeth Frottier (Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1990) 1912 photograph with the cock sculpture displayed in vitrine from Frühjahrsausstellung Österreichischer Kunstgewerbe, illus. 4, p. 15 and illus. 27, p. 54, cat. no. WV92.
Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstaette, Silverplate and Crystal Cruet Set c.1922
JOSEF HOFFMANN (1870-1956) Austria
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE (1903-1932) Vienna
Cruet Set c.1922
Silver plated stand with original cut crystal paneled bottles
Model illustrated: Wiener Werkstätte G.M.B.H. catalog (December 1923), kat. nr. M di 5, p. 406. (This WW catalogue is in the collection at the Rare Books Department of the New York Public Library)
Josef Hoffmann / Wiener Werkstaette Leather purse c. 1909-10
JOSEF HOFFMANN (1870 – 1956) Austria
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE (1903-1932) Vienna
Leather clutch purse c. 1909-10
Leather clutch with gilt tooling and silk lining, gilt bronze clasp
Marks: WIENER/ WERK/ STÄTTE ٭ (inside flap)
Similar design illustrated: Wiener Werkstätte Lederobjekte (Vienna: Museum für angewandte Kunst, 1992) p. 45
Related models illustrated: Vienne 1880-1938: l’Apocalypse Joyeuse (Jean Clair, Editions du Centre Pompidou: Paris, 1986), p. 280; Vienna: Dream and Reality, ed. Hans Hollein & Catherine Cooke (London: Architectural Design Editions, Ltd., 1986) p.38
W: 8 3/4“ x H: 6”
Michael Powolny / Wiener Werkstätte Vienna Secession Centerpiece Bowl c. 1906
Michael Powolny (1871-1954) Austria.
Bertold Löffler (1874-1960) Austria.
Vereinigte Wiener Und Gmundner Keramik.
Pedestal centerpiece bowl, circa 1906.
Hand-painted faience with a black and white diamond pattern on three pedestal legs on a black base with an edge of repeat white triangles and all supporting a black bowl with a white interior.
Marked: Conjoined WK (in a square), KG (with flower cipher in square), 43 (incised under glaze) / 3,1P (painted).
Another example of this same model can be found in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
Illustrated: Wiener Werkstätte Period Photo Archiv, MAK Museum, Vienna, p. 42.Vienna 1900-1930: Art in the Home, Historical Design, Inc., exhib. cat. (New York: 1996) p. 45; Viennese Design and the Wiener Werkstätte, J. Kallir (New York: Galerie St. Etienne, 1986), p. 80; Wiener Keramik, Historismus, Jugendstil, Art Déco, Waltraud Neuwirth (Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1974), p. 349.
Josef Hoffmann / Wiener Werkstaette Piano lamp c. 1910
JOSEF HOFFMANN (1870-1956) Austria
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE (1903-1932) Vienna
Piano lamp c. 1910
Original nickel plated brass with a period silk shade
Marks: WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, JH monogram, rose mark
For more information see: Josef Hoffmann Designs, ed. Peter Noever (Munich: MAK and Prestel-Verlag, 1992), Wiener Werkstätte: Avantgarde, Art Déco, Industrial Design, Waltraud Neuwirth (Vienna: Selbstverlag Dr. Waltraud Neuwirth, 1984).
Michael Powolny / Wiener Werkstaette Vienna Secession “Schneckenreiter” c. 1910
MICHAEL POWOLNY (1871-1954) Austria
BERTOLD LÖFFLER (1874-1960) Austria
VEREINIGTE WIENER UND GMUNDNER KERAMIK Vienna
Schneckenreiter c. 1910
Glazed white earthenware hand-painted with black enamel
Marks: conjoined WK (in a square), KG with flower (in a square), 81 (impressed)
***Extremely rare Powolny model in black and white.
Model illustrated: Michael Powolny: Keramik und Glas aus Wien 1900 bis 1950, Elisabeth Frottier (Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1990), p. 50, illus. 20, cat. no. WV43; Vienna 1900, Vienna, Scotland and the European Avant-Garde, Peter Vergo (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1983), p. 63, plate 19; “Austrian Architecture and Decoration,” The Studio Year Book of Decorative Art 1911 (London: The Studio, 1911), p. 233.
This model may also be found in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (Inventory number 604, 1966).
Josef Hoffmann / Wiener Werkstätte / Vienna Secession Oval serving tray c. 1910
JOSEF HOFFMANN (1870-1956) Austria
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE (1903-1932) Vienna
Oval serving tray c. 1910
Silver plated alpaca
Marks: JH monogram, WIENER/WERK/STATTE, MADE IN AUSTRIA (impressed); L 478 a 1 (inscribed)
Illustrated: Wiener Werkstätte: Die Schutzmarken, The Registered Trade Marks, Waltraud Neuwirth (Wien: Selbstverlag Dr. Waltraud Neuwirth, 1985), p. 221; Wiener Werkstätte, 1903-1932, Gabriele Fahr-Becker (Köln: Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH, 1995), p. 161.
@hd_jewels