Bonhams announce the 20th Century Decorative Arts sale on December 14, 2010. The auction will begin at 1 p.m. at the Bonhams gallery located at 580 Madison Avenue at 56th Street.
Frank Maraschiello, Vice President and Director, 20th Century Arts, said, “It is a pleasure for Bonhams to continue to sell works by the Bugatti Family: Father and furniture maker Carlo, sculptor Rembrandt and Racing and Luxury Car Designer Ettore. The two bronzes featured in this sale are exquisite little gems, each beautifully sculpted and charming in its own way.”
Highlights of the sale include two important bronze figures by the renowned Rembrandt Bugatti; Éléphant Blanc “Il Y Arrivera”, the petite model, circa 1908, patinated bronze, inscribed R. Bugatti and impressed Cire Perdue/A.A. Hebrard (est. $100,000-150,000) and Jaguar Accroupi (petite model), 1908 bronze inscribed R. Bugatti and numbered 16, further impressed Cire Perdue/ A.A. Hebrard (est. $40,000-60,000).
Of particular interest is an Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann burled walnut and silvered- bronze Rasson sideboard (circa 1926) with silvered-bronze escutcheon by Joseph Bernard (est. $150,000-200,000). This exceptional sideboard features the collaborative efforts of the leading cabinetmaker of the 1920s, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, and Joseph Bernard, one of the most important figures of French sculpture in the early 20th century. Their works were exhibited at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs and soon afterwards, Ruhlmann enhanced some of his cabinet designs with bronze fittings by Bernard. Their business relationship developed further when Mrs. Bernard commissioned Ruhlmann to provide custom-made furniture for the sculptor’s house in Boulogne, and the present sideboard was created for that residence.
Additional items of note include: a fine Tiffany Studios Favrile glass and bronze Apple Blossom table lamp (1899-1918)(est.$160,000-200,000); and six Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan wrought-iron elevator grilles, designed for the Chicago Stock Exchange and manufactured by the Winslow Brothers Company, circa 1893; these superb iron grilles were part of the design that Adler and Sullivan used for the Chicago Stock Exchange’s elevator banks and highlight the ball motif featured in the ornamentation of the elevator door screens (est. $2,500-6,000).
Auction:
December 14, 2010, New York at 1 p.m.
www.bonhams.com/usa/20thcenturydeco