AUTHOR
Ashley Suszczynski
Creative Director
610.558.1800
Mid Century Modern Steals the Show at Bunch Auctions November Hybrid Sale
November 3, 2016
The first day of November wasn’t just about frolicking through fallen red leaves while double fisting pumpkin spice lattes. Bunch Auctions’ kicked off November with their fall Decorative & Fine Arts hybrid sale, a variety auction that contained both cataloged and biweekly portions. 641 cataloged lots were offered alongside 368 biweekly lots, totaling over $122,000 at the hammer.
Furniture sales were the stars of the show, with three of the top five lots coming from this category.
• A mid-century modern dresser by Gio Ponti for M. Singer & Sons (Lot 9449) was the top-selling piece in the sale. Gio Ponti was conceivably the most influential figure in 20th century Italian Modernism. An architect, industrial designer, and furniture maker, Ponti produced thousands of chic products and furnishings. This 4-drawer figured walnut dresser exemplified extraordinary quality and craftsmanship, and brought $19,000 at the hammer.
•A figured maple William & Mary style stretcher base dining set (Lot 9471) was held in high regard, receiving competition from all bidding outlets. The table was bench made with baluster turned legs and came with 8 bench made Lancaster County style comb back dining chairs. The set exceeded its auction estimate, selling for $3,750 at the hammer.
• A Henkel Harris flatware chest with a top lift compartment (Lot 9446) was estimated at $200 – 400 and sold for a hammer price of $1,300.
In the smalls department, an Arts & Crafts lamp (Lot 9291) was one of the hybrid highlights, bringing in $1,800. The piece came to the auction house as a walk-in from a private consignor who knew nothing of the item’s origin. The hammered copper table lamp had 3 stylized handles with rings, 4 light sockets and an original mica shade. While the lamp was apparently unmarked, it bared much resemblance to a Limbert design.
The Asian Arts had a few pieces that impressed including a Polychrome figure of a young maiden holding a lotus flower (Lot 9237) soared above it’s $200-400 estimate with the hammer finally dropping at $1,400. A Chinese framed landscape scroll with a carved wood frame (Lot 9221) was estimated at $100-200 and closed at $1,200.
An array of 18 karat gold jewelry was offered, each of which brought excellent results. The top jewelry lot was an 18K gold woven necklace (Lot 9026) which earned $1,200. An 18K multicolored gold/ rose/ green necklace (Lot 9029) brought $950. Both of these necklaces had an accompanying bracelet, which each sold for $650.