bonhams and butterfields

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.

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Photo Tour: Bonhams & Butterfields' Natural History Auction Preview

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

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.

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Artists Create Dog Bowls To Benefit Pet Charity

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Pets, Art, Charity

Your dog can have his dinner in a work of art. David Hockney and other noted artists have decorated simple white bowls to benefit a Los Angeles pet charity. The distinctive bowls will go up for auction on November 23 at Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The bowls are by David Hockney, Charles Arnoldi, Ross Bleckner, Robert Longo and Edward Ruscha and Kenny Scharf and are each estimated at $2,500 to $3,500. Proceeds from the simultaneous auctions will benefit PAWS/LA, a group helps low-income seniors and those disabled by life-threatening illnesses keep and care for their pets. It provides free veterinary care, pet food and supplies, vaccinations, grooming, foster homes for more than 2,500 pets.

Gallery: Dog Bowls at Bonhams

Tags: bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams Butterfields, charles arnoldi, david hockney, dog bowls, edward ruscha, kenny scharf, robert longo, ross bleckner

Photo Tour: Bonhams & Butterfields Media Preview of Fall Auctions

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions

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.

Tags: bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsAuction, Tony Duquette

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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]

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Furniture Auction Features Debbie Reynolds' Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping

Debbie Reynolds has a taste for old movie nostalgia. There's always something revealing about celebrities auctioning off some of their belongings. It's a little window into their lives. On September 13 at Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles, some of the pieces in the Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts sale will be from the personal collection of the iconic star.
Reynolds began her collection in no ordinary way. She started with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) auction in 1970, picking up memorabilia and costumes, props and set decor, including furniture, chandeliers and decorative arts. Her collection includes various items from 20th Century Fox, RKO and Warner Brothers, as well as items from the Estates of Harold Lloyd and Mary Pickford.

According to Reynolds many of the items were sourced by MGM and Fox Studios from around the world for use in several films including George Cukor's Camille (1936); Marie Antoinette (1938); Beau Brummell (1954) and Desirée (1954). Shown above are a pair of Louis XV polychrome decorated mirrors that are estimated at $8,000-12,000.

Property from the University of California Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California; the Estate of John Barker Hickox, Paradise Valley, Arizona and the Daniel G. Volkmann, Jr. Trust, will also be featured during the September auction.

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Bonhams To Hold Big Sales At The Venetian In Las Vegas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Two upcoming auctions being held at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas by Bonhams and Butterfields appeal to two very different types of buyers. First up is an auction of "Salon Jewelry" that includes diamond and platinum jewelry, signed jewels and watches. The sale features some high-roller-worthy pieces including a selection of men's rings and fine vintage jewelry belonging to the estates of Baron Franz von Mock-Hoeft and Adrian the Marquis de Gradoloff. The catalog mixes interesting antique paste pieces with more modern designer pieces. This sale will take place at The Venetian on September 21. Public previews will also be held at Bonhams and Bufferfields locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The other big sale to be held at The Venetian will be a Natural History sale on October 3. The showpiece for this one is a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus skeleton. It is one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus fossils. The fossil was found 22 years ago in South Dakota and is known as Samson. It is 40 feet long and 15 feet tall and consists of around 170 bones, more than half of a complete skeleton. The last one of these skeletons to go up for sale, Sue, the most complete specimen ever found, sold for more than $8 million dollars in 1997 to the Chicago Field Museum. Unlike Sue, which was still in pieces when sold, Samson is fully prepared and mounted and could fetch even more. The specimen will be exhibited and sold in the space formerly occupied by The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.

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