Tiffany Pony Wisteria Lamp Leads Heritage Auctions’ Strongest Early 20th Century Design Auction Yet

A circa-1910 Tiffany Studios Pony Wisteria table lamp will lead Heritage Auctions’ November 11 Early 20th Century Design Signature Auction, a 230-lot sale the auction house describes as the strongest offering in the category’s history. Heritage says the auction brings together its most important property and highest pre-auction estimates yet for an Early 20th Century Design sale, with Tiffany Studios glass joined by major works from René Lalique, Loetz and other important designers.

The Pony Wisteria lamp is one of the centerpieces. Standing 17 inches tall, the table lamp translates cascading wisteria blossoms into leaded glass supported by a patinated bronze base. It comes from a private Michigan collection and represents one of Tiffany Studios’ best-known nature-inspired designs in a relatively compact format.

Another major Tiffany piece from the same collection is a circa-1910 Drophead Dragonfly table lamp. At more than 33 inches tall with a 22-inch-wide shade, the lamp offers a much larger interpretation of another of Tiffany’s signature natural motifs. Tiffany glass will also be represented by Springtime, a leaded-glass window dating to around 1920 and signed “L.C. Tiffany N.Y.” The composition depicts a barefoot woman in pale flowing drapery moving among blue and violet irises, with deep blues, muted golds and changing light giving the window a painterly effect. Heritage says the window’s original setting is unknown, although its moderate size and subject suggest it may have been created for a residential interior.

The November auction will also feature what Heritage describes as its finest selection of René Lalique works in years. Leading that group is the circa-1930 Yeso surtout, made from clear and frosted glass with metal. “This is the strongest selection of Lalique we have offered in a long time, and it deserves the attention of serious collectors,” says Nicholas Dawes, Heritage’s Senior Vice President of Special Collections. “The Yeso surtout is a wonderful centerpiece for the group, bringing together the clarity, texture and sculptural presence that make Lalique’s glass so compelling.”

Another standout comes from Loetz, with a mounted Phaenomen Gre 413 bowl designed by Jutta Sika around 1900. The glass-and-brass work has provenance tracing through a private Austrian collection and Galerie bei der Albertina Zetter in Vienna.

The sale extends beyond decorative glass. Heritage will offer a five-volume set of Les Maîtres de l’Affiche dating from 1896 to 1900. Published by Imprimerie Chaix in Paris, the volumes contain plates 1 through 240 and include work by artists including Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret.

Sculpture highlights include Joseph Csáky’s Tête de Femme, conceived in 1924 and cast in 1983. The silvered and gilt bronze is numbered seven from an edition of eight.

“The growth of our Design department has brought us to an extraordinary moment,” says Samantha Robinson, Heritage’s Vice President of Design. “Collectors increasingly turn to Heritage both to acquire exceptional glass and to entrust us with their collections, and that confidence is reflected in the quality of this sale. By a considerable margin, this is the strongest Early 20th Century Design auction we have ever assembled. Across Tiffany, Lalique and Loetz, we are offering the kind of material that makes collectors take notice.”

The November 11 auction also begins two consecutive days of major design sales at Heritage. The company’s Modern Design Auction follows on November 12 and is likewise being described by Heritage as the strongest offering in that category’s history, with its most important property and highest pre-auction estimates to date.