NEW YORK, NY.- The Martin Cohen Collection: The Final Chapter, featuring important interior and design pieces from the collection of the renowned dealer, collector and design connoisseur, Martin Cohen, achieved an impressive $3,034,492 at Bonhams New York (October 6-7) with 81% sold by value and 67% sold by lot.

Highlights of the sale included items created especially for the former Fifth Avenue mansion of New York pharmaceutical magnate, George Kemp – including early pieces designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (son of Charles L. Tiffany, founder of the eponymous jewellery and silver firm, Tiffany & Co.). The top lot was an Important Armchair, circa 1879, by LOUIS C. TIFFANY (1848-1930) FOR L.C. TIFFANY & CO., which sold for $237,575. An Important sofa designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany for ASSOCIATED ARTISTS, circa 1879, sold for $225,075. Both pieces were created especially for the opulent salon of Kemp house (now the Armani store on the corner of 56th and 5th Avenue).

There were also impressive results for fine glass works, which were also well-represented in the sale. Pieces by Paolo Venini (1895-1959) proved particularly popular, with A Dame Murrine Bowl, 1953, achieving $87,575 against an estimate of $25,000-35,000. A Rare Mosaico Zanfirico Ballottini vase, circa 1955, also by Venini, sold for $37,575, whilst A Rare Piume Vase, circa 1913, by Giuseppe Barovier (1853-1942) sold for $60,075.

Bonhams Head of Modern Decorative Art and Design, Benjamin Walker, added: “We are really thrilled with result of sale. It was a true privilege to offer Martin Cohen’s encyclopedic collection of wonderful items, which represented the culmination of over 40 intense years of continuous collecting and refining. This was a rare opportunity to acquire exceptional pieces that captured the splendor of American high society during the Gilded Age. It is particularly encouraging to see such impressive results for fine glass, a field Bonhams has long excelled in.”

Highlights of the sale included:




LOCKWOOD DE FOREST (1850-1932), Impressive Carved Mantel, circa 1890. Sold for $162,575.

HERTER BROTHERS (1864-1906), Important Pair of Andirons, circa 1878 from the library of the Marshall Field House, Chicago. Sold for $162,575.

TIFFANY STUDIOS (1899-1919); Set of Four Carved 'Peacock' Armchairs circa 1900 finely carved wood, mosaic inlaid with brass and coloured Tiffany Studios glass. Sold for $175,075.

ORLANDO HAND BEARS (1812-1851), Portrait of Ephraim Niles Byram, 1838, oil on canvas. Sold for $31,325.

PAOLO VENINI (1895-1959), A Dame Murrine Bowl,1953 for Venini, model no. 3866, fused glass murrines. Sold for $87,575.

The Martin Cohen Collection: Final Chapter ONLINE will run from October 14th - 28th on bonhams.com. The sale will feature 80 lots, many of which will be offered with no reserve.