Tiffany Studios

Private Collection, Westchester, NY

Overall in very good condition. The brass surfaces throughout have been cleaned and polished by a professional metalwork conservator, and the surfaces lacquered as a preventative measure to slow future tarnish. The small acorn-shaped brass knobs which secure the rear brass legs have been replaced and reproduced according to the exact form and scale of their original counterparts. The brass surfaces throughout with light surface scratches, abrasions, minor surface pitting and areas of soiling and darkening to the recessed contours of the design consistent with age and use. The proper right andiron with a very small surface tear to the brass (1/8 x 1/4 inch) located at the inverted area of the standard just below the top spiral-form finial. The rear iron log holders with expected surface wear, discoloration and corrosion consistent with prior use; the rear iron legs with some minor surface losses presumably from heat exposure. The threaded screws and bolts securing both andirons to the rear log holders are replaced (only accessible and visible from the underside). These andirons present beautifully and have tremendous visual presence.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lot is identical to a pair of andirons that was part of a fire set from the Anita Baldwin residence in Arcadia, California sold at Christie's New York, March 9, 2006, lot 14.  Please see Sothebys.com for a photograph from 1977 showing the model in situ.  A second pair of the same design was later sold at Christie's New York, December 8, 2009, lot 75.  Anita Baldwin was the daughter of Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, the turn-of-the-century California investor.  An entrepreneur herself, upon inheriting the estate in 1909 the young Miss Baldwin opened a horse breeding farm and began construction of a three-story, fifty-room mansion which she named Anoakia, a combination of her first name and the oak trees that she had planted in abundance on the property.  She contracted the architect Arthur Benton to design the home and the artist Maynard Dixon to decorate the interiors with American Indian artifacts and works by Ernest Batchelder and Louis Comfort Tiffany among others.  Described as "at once extensive and simple" in a February 1914 article in Sunset, the journal published by the Southern Pacific Company, the estate embodied both the new wealth and fashion for aesthetic restraint of the time.  The same article describes the grounds and furnishings in depth, making special note of the peacock motif used throughout the house and seen in the present lot. 

An inventory of Anoakia dated April 7, 1914-May 7, 1916 records an extensive collection of art and fine furnishings, including six sets of andirons.  While the house was eventually torn down much of the work by Tiffany Studios has survived, along with the original portfolio for the firm's designs for the house.  In addition to the previously mentioned pair of andirons from the estate sold at Christie's in 2006, additional material produced by Tiffany with Anoakia provenance has been sold at Christie's New York, June 7, 1996, lots 216-243 and December 14, 1996 lots 332 and 333.   A pair of lanterns and a chandelier were sold in these rooms on March 10, 2005, lot 137 and December 10, 2005, lot 470, respectively.