BonhamsAuction

Sometimes in these days of iPads and smartphones it's a pleasure to look at real writing, at old books, scrawled signatures, the things that could be mere curiosities to future generations. Bonhams & Butterfields Fine Books & Manuscripts auction is coming up on February 13. One of the showcase lots is a book, prominently featuring California backdrops, of 100 hand-colored lithograph plates and accompanying text by famed German-Russian painter and explorer Louis Choris. Choris' volume has more than 100 plates depicting areas of San Francisco, such as the Presidio, the Mission, and the Bay; as well as the Hawaiian Islands; Alaska; the Philippines; Chile; and Easter Island. It is estimated at $100,000-$150,000.

The illustrated auction catalog for the Fine Books & Manuscripts Sale is available online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/18686. Take a look some other items after the jump...

At Bonhams & Butterfields Natural History auctions it's often the big items like the massive Alledomsmus shown above (estimated at $130,000-$150,000) that attract attention but a lot of the smaller specimens would actually work with people's decor. Many of the items to be auctioned off at Bonhams & Butterfields annual holiday auction of Natural History on December 12, 2010 in Los Angeles are prehistoric pieces that could be quite beautiful on display in modern homes. The collections of arrowheads, sea urchins, shark jaws and coral and even butterflies are both decorative and mounted history.

There is also a selection of fine jewelry including pieces that incorporate dinosaur bone, fossil ammonites and trilobites, carved mammoth ivory and various types of petrified wood. A few highlights of the preview are after the jump.If you see anything you like, bidding starts at 10 a.m.

I swung by the Bonhams & Butterfields press preview at the Petersen Car Museum in Los Angeles on November 11, camera in hand. The mission: check out the some of the cars and motorcycles that are part of the Classic California: Collectors' Motorcycles, Motorcars and Related Memorabilia auction taking place on November 13. My colleague Jared Paul Stern already mentioned some of the Steve McQueen items up for sale but there are many other items for sale including a wide variety of vintage cars.

Getting a quick polish in the setting California sun was the incredible 1939 Lincoln Zephyr Sedan Delivery Deco Liner which comes with a matching 1991 Harley-Davidson Sportster Deco Scoot. Completed in June 2008, the Deco Liner is a one-off custom 1939 Lincoln Zephyr created by artist Frank Nicholas and Terry Cook of Deco Rides of Long Valley, New Jersey. It is estimated at $110,000 - 150,000. Check out some of the other lovelies after the jump.

A rare malt whisky from a distillery that closed more than 70 years ago is expected to fetch up to £10,000.

The Glamis ten-year-old 20th century single malt was distilled and bottled by The Glenfyne Distillery Co. Ltd., on Ardrishaig in Scotland.

The distillery operated for more than 100 years before it closed in 1937, and the bottle was imported into the USA by Greig, Lawrence and Hoyt Limited, of New York. In addition to the Glenfyne Distillery crest embossed on top, it also bears an American tax strip and carries the words "Federal Law Forbids Sale or Re-use of This Bottle" on the shoulder.

It is the star item in Bonhams' whisky sale in Edinburgh on November 17.

I headed to the Bonhams & Butterfields Los Angeles location with one mission, see the hat. After all, there are only so many chances in life to see a striking blue hat covered with opals and expected to sell in the six figures. But there was a lot more to see, the preview was actually a three auction media preview with examples of exotic opals, 20th Century design, historic first edition books, maps, manuscripts, and photographs.

One of the most amazing parts of the preview (aside from the hat of course) was the display of a one-of-a-kind Tented Room designed by the late designer Tony Duquette and Hutton Wilkinson. The room was originally assembled for a California home in the late 1990s and reproduced here. According to Jason Stein, Specialist 20th Century Decorative Arts, Bonhams & Butterfields, this is the first time that a complete Duquette/Wilkinson creation of this type has been offered at public auction. The pieces will be sold consecutively during the auction on October 5 at Bonhams & Butterfields. Items of note include four Indian peacock mixed metal chairs inspired by the Peacock Throne of Shiva in Jaipur (estimated at $5,000-$8,000); four octagonal Indian painted wood side tables (estimated at $800-$1200) and eight black painted metal and hubcap sunburst wall decorations being sold in pairs at $3,000 to $5,000 per set. Click through for more highlights from the auction preview.

Four auction houses are betting that the Russians will keep the art market recovery alive. Sotheby's, Christie's, MacDougall's, and Bonhams all have sales lined up this week, and the objective is clear: bring in Russian billionaires, and get them to spend. With a reclining nude portrait, Orthodox icons and Faberge jewelry all going under the gavel, sales could reach as high as $86 million.

Historically, Russians have been reliable buyers of their own culture's works, with William MacDougall noting to Bloomberg that classical nineteenth century paintings leading the charge and early twentieth century pieces showing promise.

And, there's hope from an economic perspective:

"Russia's economy is clearly in recovery and oil prices are up," William MacDougall, co-director of MacDougall's, said in an interview. "The main dark cloud is the Greek debt crisis. While it raises problems for euro-denominated assets, it should be good for fine art, which is a safe haven."

Last year, the four auctions were good for only 29.1 million pounds, down 50 percent from the same week in 2008. Prospects look far better for 2010. Sotheby's has 615 lots, one of which may go for 1.5 million pounds, and Christie's has more than 550 lots with a total top-end estimate of more than 11 million pounds.

The first decade of the new millennium was the domain of Latin America, Asia, Turkey and Russia. A robust art market emerged in the Middle East, which brought with it plenty of interest in the region's artist. But, what about Africa? The continent has been underrepresented in galleries and at auction, but it looks like collectors eager to try something new may be developing an appetite for African art.

The region's offering is both large and incredibly diversified, according to a report by Artprice, and over the past 20 years, several African artists have been able to garner some attention at international art fairs and major exhibitions. Pieces have been featured sporadically, with a show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 1989 and anther two years later at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. The Africa Remix exhibition toured from 2004 to 2007 ... and that's about it.

There's been a bit more action in the auction market, with Sotheby's becoming the first major house to sell contemporary African art in June 1999, when it sent the Jean Pigozzi collection under the gavel in London. It generated less than $16,000 but still set a record. Since then, Sotheby's hasn't dedicated any London or New York sales to African art (aside from its work with South African auctioneer, Stephan Welz & Co). Bonhams has taken more of an interest in the category, holding an African art sale back in April and moving 64 percent of the lots offered.

In London today, $90 million in Russian art is going under the gavel, and the auction houses are hoping that a still robust community of Russian billionaires will come out in force to repatriate their heritage. Both Christie's and Sotheby's are holding auctions on December 1, 2 and 3, with MacDougall's, which specializes in Russian art, also selling on December 2 and 3. Bonhams is conducting one today.

There are some signs that the sales could go well. Sotheby's moved $13.8 million in Russian art at an auction a month ago, topping the $9 million presale estimate. The Russian government is saying the economy should grow next year, after falling 10 percent this year. If recovery is en route, big spending Russians may show up at this week's art auctions.

There's no shortage of Russian art coming on the market this week. In addition to the 540 lots being offered by Sotheby's, at a presale range of 14.8 million pounds to 21.2 million pounds, MacDougall's is selling 460 lots (12.5 million pounds to 17.6 million pounds), including a painting of a topless woman by Zinaida Serebriakova for between 1 million pounds and 1.5 million pounds. Christie's has 578 lots, with a presale estimate of 6.5 million pounds to 9.3 million pounds.

Celebrate if you own an Ed Ruscha print. At a Bohnams and Butterfield's auction last week, excited bidders pushed Standard Station (E.5) past its high estimate of $40,000 ... all the way to $170,000 and a new record for Ed Ruscha's work. The previous top spot for Ruscha was $133,000 for Hollywood, which was attained during the art boom in 2007.

The record-setting piece features a red gas station, an image now associated with Ruscha, and is #33 in an edition of 50 (a pretty large run). The strong auction performance follows an enormous retrospective held for the artist at London's Hayward Gallery and recognition by Americans for the Arts with its Artistic Excellence Award.

But, there's no prize so grand as an outstanding performance at auction.

Sotheby's and Christie's are heading east to seek their respective fortunes. The two auction houses are offering more than $26 million of Asian art this week in London. The lots themselves are attracting record numbers of buyers from mainland China, a section of the market that has shown signs of life this year. Chinese buyers were quite active in Hong Kong last month.

Nicholas Chow of Sotheby's told Bloomberg News, ""We've seen a really aggressive push from mainland Chinese collectors during the last season of sales" and that "they're buying things at the very highest level." An Imperial jade seal, for example, moved for GBP3.6 million on Tuesday, six times the high-end presale estimate.

On November 3, Christie's sold an aggregate GBP5.7 million, beating the presale estimate of GBP5.2 million. Of the 319 lots, a third didn't move. The top seller was an eighteenth century enamel model of a Buddhist shrine, which beat its presale range of GBP60,000 to GBP80,000 with a hammer sale of GBP229,250. Nine of the top 10 most expensive items went to buyers from Asia.

Collectors from mainland China are quite eager to repatriate art and other objects from their heritage, particularly the Qing and Ming dynasties ... a fact of which the auction houses are fully aware. Christie's sent 210 invitations to mainland Chinese for its 12th annual Asian Art in London event, which ends November 7, 2009. Sotheby's pursued a similar number of collectors. Bonhams has invited 30 new buyers from mainland China.

In October, the Sotheby's Hong Kong art auction was good for $170 million, with plenty of bidding and buying by mainland Chinese buyers.

Bonhams & Butterfields tried to unload a dinosaur skeleton Saturday, but the piece was one of 17 lots that didn't move at the Natural History auction at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The auction house had originally hoped to pull in estimated $6 million for the 66-million-year-old bones of a 40-foot Tyronnosaurus Rex. In all, it was shooting for around $8 million in sales. Only 60 percent of the lots coming under the gavel sold.

The T. rex skeleton that nobody wanted (at least not at that price), named Samson, is the third most complete ever pulled from the ground, according to Thomas Lindgren, Co-Director of Natural History at Bonhams & Butterfields.

"'Samson'" is one of four known T. rex specimens which display characteristics that set it apart from other examples of the species," Lindgren continues. "In the dynamic science of paleontology, variation from one specimen to the next may indicate varying developmental phases, normal variations within a species, or it may represent the discovery of an entirely new species. As it stands, experts identify 'Samson' as Tyrannosaurus rex."

Samson was the first T. rex to come on the scene since 1997, when Sotheby's auctioned Sue, a dinosaur of similar size. The Field Museum in Chicago picked her up for a record $8.36 million – a price that still has not been topped. Sue is considered to be the largest and most complete T. rex ever excavated.

When times are tough, you don't spend when you don't have to. There's sufficient graffiti in London to keep art collectors entertained, which is causing them to shy away from works by Banksy. Larger auction houses have cut down on the Banksy works they are carrying, and some of the regional auction houses are canceling their urban art specialist sales.

It's hard to tell if Banksy is disappointed. The artist, who was born in Bristol (west England) keeps his (her?) identity a secret. So, if you see some weirdo crying in a corner over the next few weeks at a pub in Bristol (or, maybe, London), ask if it's Banksy. It could be cooler than finding Waldo.

Prices for pieces by Banksy have plunged this year, with failure rates on the rise. Auction houses are now sufficiently nervous to hedge their bets, carrying little (or no) inventory by the artist and canceling auctions that may not deliver.

In general, contemporary art auction selling points are down 30 percent to 50 percent – about as much as your 401(k). The top houses – Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips de Pury – didn't carrying any of Banksy's work in their June or early July auctions. This year, 76 Banksy paintings and prints have come under the gavel, with 30 of them (almost half) not selling. The highest price reached was $230,500 at a New York Sotheby's event. Last year, the top price for a Banksy piece was $1.9 million at Sotheby's RED charity auction in February.

Classic car collectors in England have come to know Bonhams' auction at the old Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell as a significant event on the calendar. Always packed with a mouth-watering selection of classic Astons and Lagondas, the Works Service auction has raised some £14 million in sales over the past ten years. But this year the prospective bidders are in for another surprise: protestors.

Aston Martin moved its production facilities to a new factory in Gaydon two years ago, leaving the old historic Newport Pagnell facility to its classic maintenance and restoration division. But the Works Service only needs so much space, so part of the compound is earmarked to be converted into a Tesco supermarket. Historic automobile enthusiasts find this disgraceful, and intend to bring it to the attention of the marque's devotees this Saturday when they arrive for the auction, which will feature a rare 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante expected to fetch over half a million dollars. Follow the link for more information.

Once the undisputed land of conspicuous wealth and consumption, the United Arab Emirates is being squeezed by a large drop in oil prices. It's a shame this comes after the region's addiction to art has become fully entrenched. Sotheby's is planning its first contemporary art sale from its new Doha, Qatar branch on March 18, 2009 – also the opening day of the Art Dubai fair. Hell, it's enough to make you "scream" (see photo).

This looks like the triumph of ambition over common sense, but Sotheby's was probably too far into its Middle Eastern endeavors before the bottom fell out on the region's finances. And with Bonhams and Christie's already in town, Sotheby's had little choice but to follow.

The UAE has committed quickly to the art scene. Abu Dhabi is working on building a Louvre, and is erecting a Guggenheim. Last year, art auction revenues reached $34.9 million, up 70 percent from 2007. But, the upcoming auction should be tricky, particularly with the poor performance of the sector last fall in more established markets, like New York, London and Hong Kong.

In around two weeks, we'll see if Sotheby's will be able to make this new auction house work, or if it will fall victim to the greater recession-triggered decline in the art market. The Mei Moses All Art Index dropped 4.5 percent last year. This seems like a modest amount, but you need to remember that record-setting sales continued through the middle of the summer. Last May, Roman Abramovich was a billionaire with a new Francis Bacon piece in his collection. Today ... we know he feels pain, too. The second half of the year wiped out the first half's records and pulled prices down further.

It's a tough time to count on the market to make Sotheby's Doha a success, but the market doesn't give us choices.

[Photo: "El Grito" by Julio Aguilera]