STAR SALES

TIP-TOP TIFFANY

An enamel and gem-set tiger orchid brooch by Tiffany & Co. circa 1890. Sold for £50,000.

t the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, New York jewellers Tiffany & Co. exhibited a group of twenty-five exquisite enamelled brooches designed by George Paulding Farnham and modelled as exotic orchids.

Art Nouveau, a brand new artistic style celebrating the sinuous curves of the natural world, was poised to revolutionise the decorative arts. The Tiffany brooches were bang on trend and proved hugely popular. Farnham’s collection won a gold medal and the Paris Herald praised his “boldness and originality of design”.

This miniature masterpiece, its carefully modelled flowerhead studded with rose-cut diamonds and its stem set with emeralds and rubies, has lost none of its appeal today. It sold to a Parisian phone bidder for £50,000 at Ripon auctioneers Elstob & Elstob in 2020.

“It’s a wonderful piece, and in great condition – the colours are so vivid,” says David Elstob. “Not many of these orchid brooches were made, so it’s incredibly rare for them to come up for sale. I doubt if I’ll see another!”

The Wheel Deal

“The sports car shown here was a really nice find,” says David. “We were asked to do a probate valuation in Harrogate, and to be honest there wasn’t a great deal of value in the property. But my colleague and I had a lovely surprise when we looked in the garage and found a smart red 1995 Ferrari F355 GTS.”

Ferrari produced the F355 range between 1994 and 1999, and sold just over 2,500 of the GTS model, although it is unlikely that many of them are still such good shape as this particular example.

“The car had obviously been the owner’s pride and joy. It was low mileage, with only just over 40,000 miles on the clock. It had a good service history, only three record keepers, and had been very well looked after. A classic vehicle like this, in such good condition, was bound to attract a lot of interest, and we sold it last autumn for £61,000.”

Top Glass

A Lalique ‘Bacchantes’ vase, designed in 1927 and engraved ‘R.Lalique France’. Sold for £20,000.

Founded in 1888, the firm of Lalique still produces fine glassware today, but it is the pieces made during the lifetime of René Lalique himself that attract most interest amongst collectors. Pieces marked ‘R Lalique’, like the one illustrated here, were produced up until 1945 when Lalique died; thereafter the ‘R’ was dropped.

The Lalique ‘Bacchantes’ vase went under the hammer at Elstob & Elstob for an eyewatering £20,000 in 2020 – well in excess of its ‘come and buy me’ estimate. Why did it perform so well?

“For one thing it’s a rare pattern,” says David, “and especially rare in this size, which is getting on for 25cm high. It has particularly good opalescence, and considering its age it’s in very nice condition. Glassware often falls victim to chips and bumps, especially any design elements protruding from the surface, but this piece has survived remarkably well.”