Let There Be Light! Circa 1900 Tiffany Church Window to Be Auctioned in Pa.

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Dec 06, 2010, 09:47 ET

DENVER, Pa., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A spectacular Tiffany Studios stained-glass window created around the turn of the 20th century for a church in Duluth, Minn., has drawn a legion of admirers since being placed on display at Morphy Auctions' Pennsylvania gallery.

It's the star attraction among some 20 stained-glass windows, Tiffany lamps and other premier examples of art glass to be auctioned Dec. 10 at the company's 730-lot sale of fine and decorative art.

The rainbow-hued window measuring 72 inches by 43 inches features as its central element a cedar tree with a double-plated trunk and lower branches. Its deep-green leaves are accented by blue mottles and streaks of azure glass. The lush garden scene includes several other trees, as well as ivy, vines and eight luxuriant red roses in full bloom around the base and up the sides of two massive columns. A stone path meanders toward an urn-topped wall, rendering depth and dimension to the eye-filling landscape.

"This window has been in the consignor's private collection for more than 40 years, so it's fresh to the market and will surprise many of today's collectors of Tiffany art glass," said Morphy Auctions' CEO, Dan Morphy.

"Needless to say, my team took every possible precaution in transporting the window to our gallery in Pennsylvania. It can be nerve-wracking when you're entrusted with something as unique and valuable as this Tiffany window, which is unquestionably a masterpiece," Morphy said. "It's well documented that Tiffany considered his stained-glass windows, both ecclesiastical and landscape, to be his most important works."

While unsigned, the window is undeniably the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). In the 1980s, after 20 years of painstaking research, Dr. Egon Neustadt – the world's foremost authority on Tiffany – confirmed its authenticity. The late Dr. Neustadt's letter of authenticity accompanies the window, which is expected to make $150,000-$250,000 on auction day.

In addition to the selection of stained-glass windows, more than 30 Tiffany and other art-glass lamps, fine paintings, pottery, furniture and objets d'art are slated to go under the hammer at Morphy's Dec. 10 event.

Online: www.morphyauctions.com.

SOURCE Morphy Auctions