This swirled vase or celery glass in brilliant sapphire blue, its eight ribs twisting sharply just below the boldly goffered rim and the bowl attached to the circular foot by a compressed-knop stem, is thought to have originated in New England or the Pittsburgh area. In overall excellent condition with one shallow chip to its rim, the 8 5/8" high x 4 1/8" diameter vase sold to the telephone for $4312.50 (est. $800/1200).
The 6" tall South Jersey toothpick holder is fixed atop an umbrella-form paperweight. The polychrome decoration is opaque white with traces of goldstone, the rim is tooled, and there is a collared foot with a rough pontil mark. Undamaged and attributed to John Ruhlander (1860-1935), it sold to a telephone bidder for $1495 (est. $100/150).
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc., Mt. Crawford, Virginia
by Walter C. Newman
Photos courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
When Jeffrey Evans developed the plans for his new auction company, one of his stated goals was to incorporate consciously an education element as one of his offerings. With no specific formula in mind for how to accomplish this, the idea was left open, waiting for the right opportunity.
On September 26, 2009, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates held its annual fall cataloged auction of early glass and lighting. The sale was divided into two parts-the first being a self-contained catalog sale of the pillar mold collection of Lyn and Gordon Layton. The nature of the Layton material afforded Evans the opportunity to include an educational aspect with the sale. This was accomplished in two ways.
First, Evans produced a separate four-color glossy auction catalog for the Laytons' 166-lot collection. Evans's catalogs are known for their accuracy and attention to detail. The Layton collection catalog is no exception. The catalog contains a warm introduction of Lyn and Gordon Layton as well as a discussion of the significance of their collection. The lot descriptions pay special attention to documentation of the provenance of each article.
In addition to the detailed lot descriptions, the Layton sale catalog contains a 13-page section by Art Reed, "Pillar Mold Glassware: A Retrospective." Reed is a well-known glass artist and scholar from Delancey, New York. His "retrospective" provides an extremely well-structured entry-level overview of the basics of pillar-molded glass. He discusses the form's definitive design and manufacturing characteristics, gives its history within the glass manufacturing industry itself, and offers hints on dealing with the task of assigning attribution to pillar-molded works. Reed used reprints of pages from glass manufacturers' catalogs, stock photographs, and photographs of specific lots offered in the Evans sale catalog as illustrations for his discussion.
Second, during the preview session on the evening before the sale, Reed presented his thoughts in an open lecture. The lecture was followed by a hands-on walk-through of the upcoming sale's lots, during which Reed was able to point out key design and manufacturing points as well as answer questions related to glass and pillar-molded glass in particular.
The auction itself was not disappointing. As a premier collection, the Layton material generated significant interest in the room, over the Internet, through the on-line absentee bidder system, and on the telephones. In fact, there appeared to be multiple telephone bidders for the majority of the lots. With the abundance of activity, Evans was forced to move a bit more slowly than he is used to but sold the Layton lots within approximately two hours.
The high lot of the sale as a whole came from the Layton material. A 10¼" colorless pillar-molded vase or celery glass with applied blue ribs took the honor, selling in the room for $8050 (includes buyer's premium) against a $2000/3000 estimate.
The surprise lot of the sale was a pillar-molded decanter, though not part of the Layton collection. The creamy opaque white and black amethyst cone-form bar decanter had come from a picker who found it in a North Carolina thrift store. The $24 investment paid off. The decanter sold to one of the telephone bidders for $6900 (est. $1500/2500).
One general category that seemed to do very well was the free-blown group. Commenting after the sale, Jeff Evans confirmed that the category "continues to be strong, and the prices seem to be on the move [upward]." He added, "The free-blown category seems to appeal to younger collectors in particular."
Another area of strength was among the pressed salts. During the second half of the sale more than 200 pressed salts in various forms, colors, and sizes crossed the block. Most were offered individually, but some lots containing ten or more items came toward the end of the category. With only a few exceptions, the better salts sold well above their high estimates. The high lot among the pressed salts was a medium to dark blue "Pittsburgh" steamboat form, which sold for $7425 (est. $1500/2500), followed closely by its near-twin in purple-blue for $5175 (est. $500/800).
For additional information, contact Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates at (540) 434-3939 or visit the Web site (www.jeffreysevans.com).
This 9 7/8" high pillar-molded quart bar decanter is one of those pieces that fuel the fires of interest in flea markets and thrift shops. The creamy opaque white cone-form decanter with black amethyst lip and neck ring accents and eight pronounced ribs is attributed to the Pittsburgh area, possibly Bakewell, Pears & Co., 1850-70. It lacks a stopper and has a minor flake from the underside of the bar lip. The decanter was recently discovered containing decorative plastic flowers in a North Carolina thrift store, where it was priced at $24. Active bidding pushed the decanter to $6900 (est. $1500/2500) from a telephone bidder.
Originally published in the January 2010 issue of Maine Antique Digest. (c) 2009 Maine Antique Digest
This 9 7/8" high pillar-molded quart bar decanter is one of those pieces that fuel the fires of interest in flea markets and thrift shops. The creamy opaque white cone-form decanter with black amethyst lip and neck ring accents and eight pronounced ribs is attributed to the Pittsburgh area, possibly Bakewell, Pears & Co., 1850-70. It lacks a stopper and has a minor flake from the underside of the bar lip. The decanter was recently discovered containing decorative plastic flowers in a North Carolina thrift store, where it was priced at $24. Active bidding pushed the decanter to $6900 (est. $1500/2500) from a telephone bidder.
