Date: Fri 16-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

Fontaine

Full Text:

Aquarium Lamp Sparks New

Handel Record At Fontaine

PITTSFIELD, MASS. -- Swimming with the fishes turned out to be a good thing

for bidders at John Fontaine's Major Antique and Lamp Auction, conducted

Saturday, April 10. Among more than 400 pieces of antique and Victorian

furniture and some 100 lamps, a rare Handel "Aquarium" lamp grabbed the

attention of no less than 16 hopeful buyers, divided into six on the phone and

ten in the packed gallery crowd, according to John Fontaine. The lamp opened

at $20,000, and bidding progressed in increments of $10,000 until the $60,000

mark, when it inched forward by $5,000 degrees toward an astonishing final

price of $82,500 -- a new world record for any Handel lamp at auction. The

prize, an example never offered on the auction market before, was claimed by a

private collector from southern New York State. "It was an incredible sale,"

said Fontaine, "[We grossed] over a $1 million." Missed out? Don't fret:

Fontaine's next lamp sale is slated for July.