Rago-Cohen Spring Auction Posts Solid Sales

It was a sale that started with a roar.

Four crouching panthers encircling a low Marblehead bowl decorated by Arthur Hennessey opened the April 24 auction at the Rago Arts and Auction Center by blowing past its pre-sale estimate of $25,000-$35,000, stopping only when it sold for $61,000. A few minutes later a second piece of decorated Marblehead, this one a 12-inch blue vase adorned with deer and foliage, scored a solid $9760 (all prices include the buyer’s premium of 20%-22%).

The Marblehead pieces were soon followed by more than a dozen pieces of Grueby and George Ohr that all found confident buyers in the $2000-$7000 range, a Dirk Van Erp lamp that broke past its $7000-$10,000 estimate to finish at $14,640, and an L. & J.G. Stickley tall case clock that chimed in at $30,500.

While David Rago and Jerry Cohen provided collectors with a wide range of art pottery, metalware and Arts & Crafts furniture, those rare, jaw-dropping, eye-popping, “best example of this form we have ever seen” pieces were not as numerous as they have been in the past.

"The number of good Arts & Crafts pieces not in collections assembled over the past thirty years is diminishing year by year, and very few ‘new finds’ enter the marketplace anymore,” Jerry Cohen observed. “As a result, Arts & Crafts sales have become extremely dependent on collectors bringing their collections to market. The April sale, which offered a high quality, but limited quantity, of material, suffered from the absence of any large collections.”

David Rago added, “Right now people who have Arts & Crafts material are mostly keeping it. They love it, they understand it, they enjoy living with it, and they’re just not selling it. There is precious little coming out of attics and basements.”

Arts & Crafts collectors proved on Saturday that when an exceptional piece did hit the block, they were ready to bid. A Tiffany vase sold for $19,520, a Sadie Irvine Newcomb College vase did $10,980, an 1897 Rookwood Sea Green vase decorated by Artus Van Briggle sold for $11,590, and a 1901 Gustav Stickley open bookcase went for $24,400.

"I was very pleased with the furniture section of this sale,” Cohen continued. “It is the first sale I can remember where every single piece of Arts & Crafts furniture met or surpassed reserve, and was 100% sold. I also liked that while there were many strong prices realized, many pieces sold at levels the average collector could afford."

To his point, a two-door L. & J.G. Stickley bookcase sold for $3660, a matched pair of J.M. Young flat arm Morris chairs sold for $2074 each, and a signed Charles Stickley box settle required just $3050 to find a new home.

One of the highlights of the sale was a silver, turquoise and enameled necklace designed by Charles Ashbee, founder of the Handicraft Guild and School in London in 1888. Showcased on the title page of the catalog, the stunning necklace carried a pre-sale estimate of $4500-$6500, but went home with a proud new owner for $15,860.

For complete auction results and information on future auctions, please go to www.ragoarts.com.

-bj