Phillips Autumn Design Auction - October 2019
On October 17th, 2019, Phillips is hosting its seasonal design auction sale with 156 lots from great designers of the 20th Century.
From Italian masters like Gio Ponti to Art deco maestro like Josef Hoffmann, the sale also include more recent works from Joris Laarman or Rick Owens.
Here is a very subjective and personal selection with various bid prices.
You can browse and download the catalogue here.
Lot. 2: Rare cabinet by Pietro Lingeri
Burr walnut, veneered-wood, glass, brass, brass-plated steel (1930)
The IV Triennale introduced architecture as one of its central themes.
The architects worked with 40 small workshops from the Brianza & Como areas to realise their designs.
Estimate GBP 7,000 - 9,000 (sold for GBP 18,750).
Lot. 8: Important and rare illuminated drinks cabinet by Pietro Chiesa
Coloured mirrored glass, mahogany-veneered wood, mahogany, painted wood, laminated wood, glass, brass (ca. 1939). Manufactured by Fontana Arte, Milan.
Estimate: GBP 70,000 - 90,000 (sold for GBP 287,500).
Lot. 9: Two ‘Sasso’ adjustable table lamps, model #Lta 1 by Luigi Caccia Dominioni
Anodised and painted aluminum, brass, polished river stone (ca. 1948). Manufactured by Azucena, Milan.
Estimate: GBP 15,000 - 20,000 (sold for GBP 27,500).
Lot. 35: Table lamp, model no. 12827s by Vittorio Gregotti, Lodovico Meneghetti and Giotto Stoppino
Painted aluminum, brass, brass-plated steel, glass (ca. 1960).
Manufactured by Arredoluce, Monza.
Estimate: GBP 2,000 - 3,000 (sold for GBP 4,750)
Lot. 36: Pair of rare armchairs by Uno Åhrén
Painted elm, fabric. Manufactured by Svenkst Tenn, Stockholm (ca. 1931).
The present design was exhibited at the Swedish Exhibition of Industrial Art, Dorland House, London, 17 March–22 April 1931 and Svenskt Tenn’s inaugural furniture exhibition, Galerie Moderne, Stockholm, September 1931.
The founder of Svenskt Tenn, Estrid Ericson commissioned Uno Åhrén to design furniture for the company in the early 1930s. The clear distinction between the cushions and painted-wood frame of the present model armchair refects Åhrén’s functionalist approach to industrial design, whilst retaining a distinctively Nordic humanity through the use of natural materials. The armchair was paired with an abstract sealskin rug designed by the architect Jan Ruhtenberg at both the London and Stockholm exhibitions. Åhrén also designed a variation of the model in tubular metal, manufactured by Gebrüder Schürmann, Germany, for the International Exhibition for Interior Design (IRA), Cologne, which opened in October of that year. The armchair designs demonstrate the infuence of Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret’s tubular steel ‘Fauteuil Grand Confort’ armchair, designed in 1928 and exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, Paris in 1929.
Estimate: GBP 3,000 5,000 (sold for GBP 7,500)
Lot. 41: Sofa by Ragnar Östberg
Birch, fabric (ca. 1930). Manufactured by Upsala Möblerings AB, Uppsala.
Estimate: GBP 4,000 - 6,000
Lot 43: Coffee Table by Gio Ponti
Walnut-veneered wood, walnut, painted wood, glass (ca. 1940). Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.
Estimate: GBP 6,000 - 8,000 (sold for GBP 17,500).
Lot. 44: Mirror by Osvaldo Borsani
Walnut, mirrored glass (early 1930s).
Manufactured by Arredamenti Borsani Varedo, Italy.
Estimate: GBP 4,000 - 6,000
(sold for GBP 10,625)
Lot. 45: Tree lidded boxes, models nos. 1781, 2121 and 2183 by Fontana Arte
Glass, copper, nickel-plated brass, painted wood, mahogany (1960s). Largest box acid-etched Fontana/Italy and incised with manufacturer’s mark FX.
Estimate: GBP 2,000 - 3,000 (sold for GBP 8,125).
Lot. 60: Rare bookcase by Gio Ponti
Cherry-veneered wood, cherry wood, laminated wood, brass (ca. 1950). Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.
Estimate: GBP 7,000 - 9,000 (sold for GBP 11,250).
Lot. 64: Flower-holder by Max Ingrand
Coloured Glass, glass, nickel-plated brass (ca. 1954). Manufactured by Fontana Arte, Milan.
Estimate: GBP 3,000 - 5,000 (sold for GBP 6,250).
Lot. 65: Pair of rate table lamps, model no. 584/G by Gino Sarfatti
Acrylic, brass, painted steel (ca. 1957)
Manufactured by Arteluce, Milan.
Estimate: GBP 7,000 - 9,000
(sold for GBP 25,000).
Lot. 68: Illuminated wardrobe by Gio Ponti
Mahogany-veneered wood, Mahogany, glass, brass (early 1950s).
Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.
Estimate: GBP 8,000 - 12,000
(sold for GBP 10,000).
Lot. 106: ‘Tapis volant’ (Flying carpet) daybed by Maria Pergay
Stainless steel, fabric (ca. 1968)
Estimate: GBP 55,000 - 75,000 (sold for GBP 62,500)
Lot. 133: Settee by Augusto Romano
Ash, fabric, brass (1940s).
Estimate: GBP 4,000 - 6,000 (sold for GBP 5,000)
Lot. 151: Table lamp, model no. M 3038 by Josef Hoffmann
Designed in 1919, executed 1919-1925.
Brass, fabric shade. Executed by the Wiener Werkstätte, Vienna.
Estimate: GBP 12,000 - 18,000 (sold for GBP 12,500)
Article updated after the auction with final sale prices.
