Macklowe Gallery presents "Seven Master Works" at the Winter Antiques Show

presents presents

Seven Master Works

at the Winter Antiques Show Jan. 25 - Feb. 3, 2013

Lalique “Night Moths” Brooch (BO-15274) An exceptional French Art Nouveau 18 karat gold, diamond and plique-à-jour enamel Symbolist brooch by René Lalique featuring two night moths in flight. Night moths allude to the mysteries of night and the unconscious as well as to the transient atmosphere of newly industrialized fin-de-siècle Paris. Lalique most likely created this piece for the Salon des Artistes Français in 1907 where he also presented a series of silk scarves embroidered with the same night moth motif. The piece is in its original box from the Place Vendôme where René Lalique established his gallery in 1905. An original preparatory gouache by Lalique depicts the two night moths shown from a slightly different perspective as well as the body of a night moth in profile. In its day, the piece was offered to its original owner by her sister on the day of her wedding and remained within the family until 2012. Lalique’s “Night Moths” brooch is a true discovery and a special addition to the artist’s definitive oeuvre.

Its extraordinary scale transports this piece beyond the realm of jewelry. This is the most significant work of art Macklowe Gallery has ever offered for sale.

Dimensions: 6¼’’ long x 4’’ high A similar model depicting three night moths also dated 1907 is pictured in: La bijouterie Française au XIX siècle, Volume III, troisième république, H. Floury editor, Paris 1908, Page 777. Varying preparatory designs for the piece are shown in René Lalique Schmuck und Objets d’art by Sigrid Barten, Prestel, Munich, 1977-1989, p. 435, and p. 118.

“Rose de France” Vase by Émile Gallé (G-14964) A French Art Nouveau “Rose de France” vase by Émile Gallé. In 1870 France was full of sorrow after losing the Franco-Prussian war. Émile Gallé’s hometown of Nancy had been annexed by Germany.

Gallé chose to use the motif of the red rose, which only bloomed in the Mt. Saint-Quentin province of Lorraine as a symbol of his patriotism. In addition, the piece is visually oriented along cardinal directions, looking West towards France and away from Germany. In 1902 a vase from this series was presented to the Russian emperor as a prestigious gift from France. The vase shows Gallé’s innovative technique of glass marquetry which involved the incorporation of glass fragments of various thickness, shapes and colors into the still malleable glass. The multi-layering of glass and the use of metallic foils behind the glass, make the “Rose de France” simply the best piece of French art glass we have ever owned. Circa 1900. Signed, ''Gallé ''.

Dimensions: 4½'' high x 6¾'' wide x 4½'' deep.

A similar vase is pictured in: Gallé, catalogue for the exhibition at le Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, November 1985-February 1986, Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1985, p. 149.

Daum & Majorelle “Magnolia” Lamp (EL-14628) A French Art Nouveau gilt bronze and glass “Magnolia” lamp by Daum & Majorelle. Louis Majorelle, a leading member of the École de Nancy and proponent of the Art Nouveau style, forged an important collaboration in the early 1890s with Daum glassworks to produce lighting fixtures after botanical motifs. This artistic venture, which ultimately spanned the course of three decades, resulted in some of the most spectacular and definitive expressions of the Art Nouveau style. The inspiration for Majorelle’s lamp designs came from numerous indigenous plants. The bases, composed of bronze or wrought-iron, were naturalistically sculpted in the form of slender stems or branches to support a variety of floriform glass shades.

Electric wires could easily be concealed within the hollow-cast bases to avoid any interruption of the naturalistic designs. An illustration in the firm’s sales catalogue promotes electric table lamps fitted with different floriform glass shades supplied by Daum, including water lily, dandelion, and magnolia models. Majorelle exhibited these lamps as both individual statements alongside furniture at the salons, and as integral elements within room ensembles unified by botanical themes. Today, the “Magnolia” lamp, one of Majorelle’s most successful lighting designs, has become a celebrated icon of the Art Nouveau movement. The impressive model was designed for the Exposition de l’École de Nancy in 1902, and appears in numerous interiors featured in the firm’s sales catalogues. Two versions of this lamp are in the permanent collection of le Musée de l’École de Nancy.

Dimensions: 31” high x 16” wide x 10” deep.

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Tiffany “Lava” Favrile Vase (T-15299) An abstract figural “Lava” Favrile vase by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The cone shaped cylindrical vase features an upward spiral in gold metallic glass in high relief against a purplish-blue lava ground.

Signed, ''LC Tiffany-Favrile 2334 C''. Circa 1908. Tiffany’s “Lava” glass was inspired by a trip to the Eastern Mediterranean, during which Tiffany visited Mount Etna in Sicily. The transformation of glass into volcanic “Lava” was achieved in the following manner: lustered glass was gathered on a blow pipe, rolled with chemical particles, and then worked in the flame. The heat from the fire generated a reaction in which miniature basaltic-type craters and pitting formed on the surface of the glass, which was then coated with metallic lustered glass to create the purplish-blue ground imitative of lava. Next, free-form trails of glass were applied, each piece worked in a reduction flame (one starved of oxygen), and finally sprayed with a metallic oxide. When a silvered finish fully developed it was sprayed with tin oxide and, depending on the artist, finished in blue, mauve, or gold tones. The production of Lava glass was the most risky of any Tiffany technique because it incorporated metallic oxides with different coefficients of expansion. When these were blended together during numerous high-temperature firings they created hazards for the annealing process that often flawed the pieces in their final moment of creation. The powerful form of the vase and the clean articulation of the different metallic finishes make this piece incredibly rare.

Dimensions: 9½'' high x 4¼'' diameter.

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Tiffany Tobacco Box (T-15023) A Tiffany Studios New York carved wood, Favrile glass and bronze tobacco box by Louis Comfort Tiffany. This rare and meticulously crafted tobacco box is one of the designs included in Tiffany Studios’ elite line of wooden “Fancy Goods”. The output of these carved wooden humidors, cigarette boxes and card cases was limited to a small number and they were produced for only a short period of time. First offered through Tiffany and Company, this stunningly naturalistic humidor, which is believed to have been carved from a single piece of wood by Joseph Briggs, was featured in Tiffany & Company’s Blue Books from 1906 to 1912. The two Favrile glass scarabs reflect a fascination with Ancient Egypt that began in the 1860s with the first archaeological explorations and continued through the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods. The scarab represented the Egyptian sun god Khepri and was a symbol of resurrection. The ancient Egyptians placed scarabs on mummies for good luck and protection against evil as they made their journey to the next world. This box is one of seven known signed examples, three of which are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia, and the Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum, Japan.

Dimensions: 4½'' high x 5'' wide x 3¾'' deep.

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Charpentier Clock (F-14906) A French Art Nouveau clock titled “La Fuite de l’Heure” by Alexandre Charpentier in collaboration with Tony Selmersheim. This object is an exciting recent discovery and an important addition to Charpentier’s oeuvre. The clock features three gilt bronze reliefs, depicting the three Muses of Time. In one plate Clotho measures out the thread of a man’s life, in another Lachésis spins it, and in the third plate Atropos cuts it. Charpentier envisioned the plaques not as references to antiquity but to modern French women. He chose sinuous models, typical of the day. In fact, Atropos, portrayed with modern scissors, resembles an early 20th century French seamstress. The enamel clock face depicts a swarm of bees flying towards the sun. Bees have long been associated with fertility and the feminine divine. Napoleon used the bee on his coat of arms as a symbol of immortality. Today, bees continue to represent industriousness and social organization. In this masterwork, the bees swarming toward the sun echo the themes of mortality explored in Charpentier’s bronze panels and allude to the modern working woman of Fin de Siècle Paris. Both the gilt bronze plates and the clock face are set within a wooden frame ornamented with carved floral decoration. Circa 1900. Signed, ''62554 Clockwork by J. Auricoste Paris 6409 77'' Dimensions: 15¼’’ high x 9’’ wide x 5’’ deep.

Similar clock pictured in Alexandre Charpentier (1856-1909): Naturalisme et Art Nouveau, published by the Musée d’Orsay, 2008, pp. 114-116.

Tiffany “Dragonfly” Lamp (L-15315) A Tiffany Studios New York leaded glass and patinated bronze "Dragonfly" table lamp. The shade features a band of dragonflies with blue bodies, red eyes and wings in shades of blue, mauve and ecru. The veined detailing on the wings is executed in wire mesh.

The watery ground against which the dragonflies are displayed is comprised of opalescent blue and green “rippled” glass.The shade is further decorated with translucent blue and green and white opalescent jewels as well as upper and lower green yellow and orange “brick” borders. There is also a band of alternating translucent blue and green “rippled” glass tiles. The shade sits atop a tendriled “twisted vine” base.

Tiffany’s world-renowned “Dragonfly” design is attributed to Clara Driscoll and is one of the most popular models for Tiffany lamps.

No other design has been used to produce such a wide variety of shades. Driscoll’s correspondence from April 6, 1899 documents her role in the creation of the “Dragonfly” shade and gives insight as to how Tiffany lamps were made: “This Dragon fly lamp is an idea that I had last Summer and which Alice [Gouvy] worked out on a plaster mould…After she had made the drawing on this plaster mould I took it in hand and we worked and worked on it till the cost built up at such a rate that they had to mark it $250.00 when it was finished and everybody, even Mr. Belknap, thought it was impractical on account of the cost, but… [t]hen Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Belknap said — It is very original and makes talk, so perhaps it is not a bad investment. Then Mr. Tiffany got well and came down and said it was the most interesting lamp in the place and then a rich woman bought it and then Mr. Tiffany said she couldn’t have it, he wanted it to go to London and have another

one made for her and one to go to Paris. So they asked me to estimate on four more…’on condition that we can have one of them in a week.’ I told him that I should have to step very lively if I did and…that of course it would make a difference to make so large a number but that I could let him know in half an hour. Then I rushed upstairs and [spoke to the] men who have a part in it, the one who puts the glass together with solder, the one who does the metal work — burner base & c and the one who does the etching on the wings after we have made the pattern for him to work by. We found that among us we could come down $5.00 a lamp or $20.00 on the entire estimate, with safety and even profit (we hope) so it was settled and now comes a race. We are to work early and late and I hope it will be done. The girls have entered into the spirit of it and two of them are coming early (an hour) this morning.” 1 The “Dragonfly” model provided the designers and artisans with unusual opportunities to show their skill and imagination. First, there is the insect itself, which can be endowed with varicolored bodies, eyes and wings. Then, since the shade is described by the Tiffany Studios as “Dragonfly and Water Design,” designers were free to create any sort of stream or pond they could imagine and they could imbue the scene with every kind of atmosphere in which they wished the insects to fly. Thus, the mood of “Dragonfly” lamps may evoke a peaceful summer’s day or a contemplative moment at dusk.

Dimensions: 20'' diameter x 26½ '' high.

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1

Eidelberg, Martin et al., A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls (New York: New York Historical Society, 2007), page 97.

Daum & Majorelle “Magnolia” Lamp Similar lamp pictured in: Chantal Bizot and Edith Mannoni, Mobilier 1900-1925, Paris 1977, p. 27.

Alastair Duncan, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lighting, New York, 1978, xvi.

Wolf Uecker, Lampen und Leuchter: Art Nouveau, Art Déco, Herrsching am Ammersee, Germany, 1978, p. 129.

Noel Daum, Daum: Maîtres Verriers, Lausanne, 1980, p.142.

Roselyne Bouvier, Majorelle: Une Aventure Moderne, Paris 1991, front cover and p. 189.

Christian Debize, Émile Gallé & L’École de Nancy, Metz, 1998, pp.74-75.

Alastair Duncan, Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau Design, London, 1991, p.123 and pp. 149, 168, 173 and 214.

Paul Greenhalgh, ed., Art Nouveau: 1890-1914, London, 2000, p.61.

Roselyne Bouvier et al., Musée de l’École de Nancy, Paris, 2001, p.51.

Tiffany Lava Vase Similar vase pictured in: Fin de Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman Collection, by Alastair Duncan. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1989, Page 48, Plate 21 and The Tiffany Collection of the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk,

by Paul E. Doros, Richmond, VA: W. M. Brown & son, Inc., 1978, p. 53, cat. no. 64. Circa 1908.

Tiffany Tobacco Box Literature: Alastair Duncan, Fin de Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman Collection, Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 1989, p. 65 for an illustration of the model.

Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Louis Comfort Tiffany at The Metropolitan Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1998, p. 91 for an illustration of the example belonging to the museum.

Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, 2001, front cover and p. 206 for illustrations of the model belonging to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.

John Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 2002, p. 194.

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Antique Collectors’ Club, 2004, p. 357 for an illustration of the museum’s example, formerly in the collection of Benedict Silverman.

Tiffany Dragonfly Lamp Similar dragonfly shades in different color palates are pictured in: The Lamps of Tiffany, by Dr. Egon Neustadt, New York: The Fairfield Press, 1970, pp.

102-105. A similar lamp, also with a shade in different colors, is pictured in: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models,

by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge: Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1988, p.

94, plate 374.

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