Bonhams & Butterfields Offers Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts in Los Angeles on April 30
April sale brings an eclectic selection of property from around the globe including a prominent Santa Barbara philanthropist’s collection.
Offering a global array of works for all collecting tastes, the April 30, 2007 Bonhams & Butterfields auction of Fine European Furniture Decorative Arts and Silver in Los Angeles will showcase pieces from the 16th through 20th centuries, with origins from Paris to Russia. The sale is timed to coincide with the 12th annual Los Angeles Antique Show sponsored by the Antique Dealers Association of California, held at the Santa Monica Air Center in the Barker Hangar.
The Spring auction features a wide variety of interesting material for private and institutional collectors, dealers and those with an eye for quality and the whimsical — from two wonderful imposing Regency mahogany wine coolers to a 19th century bone ship model of a man’o'war. Highlights from the 560-lot sale include furnishing and decorations from the estate of Ernestine Koska Smith of Santa Barbara and other owners with a diverse selection of English, French, Italian, Spanish, KPM German porcelain, clocks, silver by Georg Jensen and other prominent makers, garden furniture, architectural elements, carvings and Continental automotons.
The crown jewel of the English section is a fine George III breakfront bookcase (est. $20/30,000). Highly sought after for residential or corporate interiors, this outstanding breakfront bookcase successfully blends design and handcrafted skill of the highest order with premium grade timbers and embellishments.
On the block during the Continental section is a selection of eight KPM Berlin porcelain plaques. Estimates for these colorful and intricately painted panels range from $3,000 to $30,000. Varying in subject matter from beautiful exotic women to Biblical scenes, the 19×16 inch works should peak collector interest.
In the French section of the sale is a rare late 19th century clock of gilt, silvered brass and rouge marble in the shape of an industrial weather station — said to illustrate Europe’s fascination with the life and times of the industrial revolution.†With a working automaton steam engine, it is expected to bring $6,000 to $8,000. Also on offer will be a large selection of Louis XV and XVI style decorative works and furnishings including several pieces by Francois Linke, F Barbedienne and G. Durand (estimates range from $3,000 to $80,000) highlighted by a late 19th century French gilt bronze mounted and paint decorated Linke cabinet (est. $60/80,000).
From the Netherlands comes an 18th century inlaid walnut automaton tall case clock by Henricus Van Vlymen Amsteldam (est. $12/15,000). The painted automaton dial depicts a mythological scene of vessels at sea with Perseus riding Pegasus in flight, Cupid in pursuit, the figures of Mercury and Neptune, and a small town in the background. The nine-foot tall clock is expected to garner interest from Antique Show attendees and collectors alike.
The April sale will feature a large collection of property from the Estate of Ernestine Koska Smith, a prominent Santa Barbara resident. Smith was born in 1919 in Zanesville, Ohio. She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She and her family went on to live in York, Pennsylvania and Palm Beach, Florida, before settling in Montecito, California in the 1970s. Smith held a seat on the Board of Directors for the St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara. As a world traveler and connoisseur of the arts, her Estate’s property features a range of offerings including two large Regency carved mahogany wine coolers (est. $8/12,000 and $12/18,000) and a selection of 18th century Sevres porcelain. Considered plain by later tastes, several of the porcelain pieces were repainted a vivid canary yellow in the 19th century (estimates range from $400 to $800).
The sale also features a strong Italian section of furnishings and decorative arts. A magnificent Baroque shell and ivory inlayed walnut secretary bookcase from Milan highlights the offerings. Made in the late 17th century, both the upper and lower cases are decorated with classical figures and fabulous beasts. The piece stands more than eight feet tall and is estimated to bring $60,000 to $80,000 on April 30th.
A selection of carvings from around the globe will be included in the sale. For the garden is a set of four imposing carved marble figures of the Four Seasons (est. $40/60,000). Of interest is a private collection of finely carved French and German ivory figures depicting people in elegant attire and mythological subjects. Also on offer is an unusual polychrome decorated carved wood near life-size automaton chestnut vendor from the second half of the 19th century with moving eyes and head and a working oven (est. $10/15,000). Black Forest furniture includes a late 19th century carved eagle attributed to Swiss artist Alfred Stähli. Standing very patriotic at nearly three-feet tall, each of the eagle’s feathers is carved with painstaking detail (est. $4/6,000).
Additional highlights from the sale include: an unusually large and colorful Crown Darby porcelain dessert service with more than 18 plates (est. $4/6,000); four services of stunning Georg Jensen silver (estimates range from $6,000 to $15,000); an 18th century Flemish Baroque garden tapestry (est. $6/8,000); a bone model of a 19th century thirty-four gun war ship more than 4 ft-8inches in length (est. $8/12,000); a George III silver four-arm five basket epergne by Robert Hennell, London, 1781 with armorial (est. $15/20,000); a pair of 19th Venetian polychrome decorated carved pine console tables each supported by a vibrantly painted harlequin and masquerader (est. $20/30,000) along with other Venetian Grotto style furnishings and decorative items.
The auction catalog is online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/us. Previews of the property will open to the pubic April 27-29, or by appointment during the 12th annual Los Angeles Antique Show. For Los Angeles clients and Show attendees, private appointments will be available in addition to the adjusted preview hours — Friday, April 27, Saturday 28th open 10am-5pm each day- Sunday, April 29, open: 12 noon-5pm. Auction starts 10am Monday 30th April.
Related posts:
- Bonhams & Butterfields Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts Auction
- Bonhams & Butterfields to Offer Fine European & American Furniture, Decorative Arts, Garden Statuary and Porcelain on October 29, 2007
- Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts on Offer at Bonhams & Butterfields in September
- SKINNER AUCTIONS EUROPEAN FURNITURE, DECORATIVE ARTS & FINE SILVER APRIL 11TH IN BOSTON
- Bonhams Fine European Furniture, Decorative Arts, Silver, Rugs & Carpets
