On December 8 Christie’s celebrates New York’s Historical Design Gallery and surveys the entire modern movement with selected iconic designs spanning the late 19th, 20th and 21st centuries including French ceramics, New York related objects, Scandinavian Design, photographs, American Mid-Century Design and Bauhaus. The auction contains 197 lots, with the majority offered without reserve, and is expected to realize in excess of $800,000.
Hand-Repoussé Brass and Nickled-Metal Five-Panel ‘Oasis’ Screen, 1920s with lacquered details, nickeled-bronze feet, the reverse fabric upholstered each panel: 55½ in. (141 cm.) high, 18 7/8 in. (48 cm.) wide. Estimate: 40,000 – 60,000 U.S. Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd 2009
Highlights include an array of works by Archibald Knox including a stunning ‘Cymric’ silver enameled case, 1902 (estimate: $30,000-50,000), and a ‘Tudric’ and mother-of-pearl clock from 1902-05 (estimate: $30,000-50,000), both originally executed for Liberty & Co, London. Other lots include an Adolph Loos leather and ebonized wood ‘Elbow Chair’ from circa 1899 (estimate: $4,000-6,000); an elegant hand-repoussé brass and nickled-metal fivepanel ‘Oasis’ Screen after the design of Edgar Brandt (pictured above, estimate: $40,000-60,000); and a glass, chromed and painted metal Z-Clock by Gilbert Rohde (estimate: $8,000-10,000).
The sale will feature a selection of original 1960’s, beautifully designed posters for musical legends such as the Grateful Dead, and The Doors, and the Yardbirds with estimates ranging from $400-1,200. Other notable highlights are a pair of limed and ebonized oak chest of drawers, circa 1940 by James Mont (estimate: $10,000-15,000); a hand-knotted wool rug from the 1930’s by Edward McKnight Kauffer (estimate: $15,000-20,000); and a refined Jean Royere wool upholstered oak sculptured armchair, from 1955, (estimate: 20,000-30,000).
Art lovers will be offered the chance to acquire works on paper by contemporary masters Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly in addition to black and white photographs by Harry Callahan, Berenice Abbott, and Bill Brandt, among others. Also included in the sale are contemporary pieces by renowned designers Shlomo Harush, Ron Arad, and Shiro Kuramata. The sale provides a comprehensive overview of spectacular decorative pieces spanning the past century and into our present decade.