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Dragon Jar Sells For $7.658 Million At Bonhams & Butterfields

A blue and white porcelain Dragon jar had a huge result at Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco at the Fine Asian Works of Art sale on Monday December 13th. The 14-inch high jar was described conservatively as Qianlong Mark, Late Qing/Republic Period and given a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000. But bidders who felt the dragon jar was a unique treasure pushed the bidding sky-high. It eventually sold for $7.658 million.

Dessa Goddard, Vice President and Director, Asian Works of Art said, speaking about the sale: "The jar proved to be a puzzle for several clients with whom I spoke who all declared it to be unique. Without a consensus of opinion we felt obliged to be cautious with our attribution. Needless to say, we are elated that the jar achieved such a spectacular price. Its sale provided a fantastic slice of auction drama that our clients and staff will remember for many years to come."

The jar is decorated with bands of plantain leaves, waves, and a cloud-collar at the waisted neck and broad shoulders. The sides are painted with six dragons emerging from crashing waves and flying amid stylized clouds and flames. The sale brought in more than $19 million total.

Just last month an 18th century Chinese porcelain vase from the Qianlong period stunned the world when it sold for £43 million ($69.3 million) at Bainbridges Auctions. The vase was only estimated to sell for £1.2 million but fierce bidding among Chinese would-be buyers drove up the price. The vase sold to a Chinese bidder who turned up to bid on behalf of an undisclosed buyer.

Tags: asian art, bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams auction, BonhamsButterfields, dragon jar

Opal Hat Could Be The Most Valuable Hat Ever Auctioned Off

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

I've never seen a hat quite like it. The piece above is titled the "Deep Blue Sea" and was created by Australian master milliner Ann Maree Willett and opal miners Vicki and Peter Drackett to showcase opals mined at Australia's famous Lightning Ridge. The hat will be sold at the "Nature of Opals" sale at Bonhams & Butterfields, San Francisco on November 10. The hat is formed from hand-blocked Australian felt, decorated with bright feathers and carrying 26 opals weighing approximately 1,447 carats. The opals were carved into beautiful microsculptures by Daniela L'Abbate and Christine Roussel and placed in sterling silver and 18-karat gold settings by master goldsmith Gerd Gerold Schulz. It is estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000 which would place it among the most expensive hats ever sold at auction. The world's most expensive hat is the Chapeau d'Amour-the "hat of love"-created by designer Louis Mariette. It is made of woven platinum and covered in diamonds and has a value of $2.7 million.

The sale also includes a wide variety of the types of opals available from brown boulder opals shot through with blue flashes, to orangy fire opals and plenty of white opals showing bright rainbow fire. Many lots are intricately carved and some are opalized fossils of flora and fauna. Before the November 10 auction, Bonhams & Butterfields will hold highlight presentations in Los Angeles October 1-3 and New York October 16-18, followed by a full preview in San Francisco from November 6-9.

[via National Jeweler]

Tags: bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams auction, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, hat, milliner, millinery, opal, opals

The Montblanc Sale of the Century at Bonhams & Butterfields

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Writing Instruments, Auctions

On Feb. 15 in Los Angeles Bonhams & Butterfields will present an auction exclusively dedicated to writing instruments from Montblanc, makers of fine pens with the famed "snow cap" motif. The sale, timed to coincide with the annual Los Angeles International Pen Show, will contain more than 130 lots of exceptional models from several of the major Montblanc categories including rarely seen examples. Highlighting the auction is one of the most sought after Montblanc pens ever produced, the Magical Black Widow Skeleton limited edition fountain pen (above), estimated at $18,000 - $24,000. Encased by a web of white gold, the instrument features a filigree spider studded with black diamonds on the clip.

Also on offer are the Diego Rivera limited edition fountain pen, crafted from white gold with a partial black lacquer finish in Aztec design, a cap overlaid with a white gold windowpane with elaborate Mexican etchings and a black sapphire set in the clip, estimated at $12,000 - $18,000; the Thomas Jefferson fountain pen, decorated with solid gold rings, petrified wood inlays, and a clip bearing a mandarin garnet, engraved with a portrait of the former president and estimated at $21,000 - $24,000; and a diamond studded Greta Garbo model crafted from solid yellow gold with mother-of-pearl inlay, estimated at $14,000 - $16,000.

Tags: Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, Diego Rivera, DiegoRivera, fountain pen, FountainPen, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, Montblanc, pens, Thomas Jefferson, ThomasJefferson

Steve McQueen's 1940 Indian Chief at Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Steve McQueen's magnificent 1940 Indian Chief motorcycle, one of the most prized among his collection, is being auction off on Nov. 14 during Bonhams & Butterfields' Classic California sale at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The King of Cool was pictured with the beloved bike on the cover of the book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile. The actor had the classic moto meticulously restored by Southern California's Starklite Motors in the '70s and used it to zoom around the Hollywood Hills. It's estimated at an extremely reasonable $55,000 - $65,000. Also on offer is McQueen's original condition 1949 Chevy pickup which he used to travel incognito around Beverly Hills, wearing sunglasses and a big cowboy hat to dodge the paparazzi; it's estimated at $20,000 - $30,000.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Tags: Bonhams, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, celebrity, Indian motorcycles, IndianMotorcycles, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, motorcycle, Steve McQueen, SteveMcqueen

Ruscha Print Sets New Record for Artist

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

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.

Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, artist, artmarket, artwork, bonhams, bonhams butterfields, bonhamsauction, BonhamsButterfields, breaking, breakingnews, ed ruscha, EdRuscha, hayward, haywardgallery, london, london england, LondonEngland, ruscha

Dinosaur for Sale (still)!

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

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.

Tags: bonhams, bonhams auction, bonhams butterfields, BonhamsAuction, bonhamsbutterfields, dinosaur, dinosaurs, las vegas, las vegas nevada, las vegas nv, LasVegas, LasVegasNevada, LasVegasNv, tyrannosaurusrex, venetian

Continue reading “Dinosaur for Sale (still)!”

Tragic John Lennon Sterling Cartier Box at Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping

On June 14 Bonhams & Butterfields is auctioning off a sterling silver Cartier cigarette box with an extremely interesting provenance as part of their Entertainment Memorabilia sale in Los Angeles. For Christmas in 1980 John Lennon and Yoko Ono commissioned 12 of the boxes from the famous French jeweler and had them engraved "Double Fantasy / Xmas 1980 / N.Y.C. / John & Yoko." Shortly before they were being readied to send out however John was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside their New York apartment house, the Dakota, on December 8th. Despite the horrific tragedy, Yoko ended up sending out the boxes because as their Dakota neighbor Marnie Oetrozze Hair, who owned this one, noted, Lennon had made out the list of recipients back in October. The box, which comes with a letter of provenance handwritten by Hair, is estimated at $3,000 - $5,000.

Tags: Bonhams, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, Cartier, celebrity, Dakota, entertainment, John Lennon, JohnLennon, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, memorabilia, New York, NewYork, silver, smoking, sterling silver, SterlingSilver, Yoko Ono, YokoOno

McQueen Motorbikes & Memorabilia Bring Big $

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Men's Style

Two of legendary actor Steve McQueen's motorbikes and "The King of Cool's" international driver's license took top spots on Saturday at Bonhams & Butterfields' first-ever motorcycle and memorabilia auction at the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel, CA, held during the inaugural The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, an event showcasing the finest motorcycles from the past, present and future. The auction, which brought in $941,000 total, featured spirited bidding and international interest.

$84,240 was paid for McQueen's 1963 Triumph Bonneville Desert Sled, built by stunt rider and off-road racing champ Bud Ekins and painted by iconic detailer Von Dutch, while another bidder paid $39,780 for McQueen's last vintage bike purchase – a 1929 Harley-Davidson 45ci DL. Another enthusiastic McQueen fan and collector paid $42,700 - more than four times its estimate - for the International Driver's License (above) issued to the actor in 1964. The 3.5x5-inch license displays his portrait photo and signature and came to auction from the collection of his first wife.

Tags: Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, Harley-Davidson, motorcycle, Steve McQueen, SteveMcqueen, Triumph, Von Dutch, VonDutch

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