Modern Magazine

Behind the Numbers

  • Behind The Numbers | Spring 2013

    Lot 25 Phillips DePury “Design Masters” sale, December 11, 2012: Untitled (Cat. 134) vase by Magdalene Odundo, signed and dated 2000 Polish–ed and carbonized terra-cotta. Estimated at $40,000–$60,000, it sold for $105,700. Some reasons for the unexpectedly high price…

  • Behind the Numbers: Winter 2013

    Lot 48 Los Angeles Modern Auctions “20th Anniversary Auction,“ October 7, 2012: Tahoe Wall by Sheila Hicks, c. 1970. Estimated at $20,000–$30,000, it sold for $93,750. Some reasons for the unexpectedly high price…

  • What Sold, for How Much, & Why?

      Lot 154  Sotheby’s New York “20th Century Design“ sale, March 7, 2012:  Silver Style cocktail shaker and tray designed by Kem Weber, c. 1928.  Estimated at $7,000 to $9,000, the pair sold for $34,375. Some reasons for the unexpectedly high price:   Cocktail culture Shakers are particularly collectible mementos of the Prohibition era, when [...]

  • “Grand Repos” designed by Jean Prouvé

    Lot 35 Artcurial/ Briest-Poulain-F. Tajan “Jean Prouvé ‘Structure Nomade’ et pièces de mobiliers historiques de Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, Jean Prouvé et Pierre Jeanneret” sale in Paris, October 24: A sheet metal and leather fauteuil “Grand Repos” designed by Jean Prouvé in 1930.

  • Louis H. Sullivan and Dankmar Adler Elevator Door

    Lot 245 Wright’s “Important Design” sale in Chicago, June 9: an elevator door from the Chicago Stock Exchange designed by Louis H. Sullivan (1856–1924) and Dankmar Adler (1844–1900) in 1893, produced by the Winslow Brothers Company. The piece sold for $76,900 off a pre-auction estimate of $20,000–$30,000…

  • René Herbst Steel Chandelier

    Lot 844, Christie’s “Les Collections du Château de Gourdon” sale in Paris, March 29–31: “Suspension,” a nickel-plated tubular steel chandelier designed by René Herbst (1891–1982) in 1929. The piece sold for €139,000 (approximately $197,365) off a pre-auction estimate of €20,000 to €30,000 ($27,000 to $40,000). Some reasons for the unexpectedly high price…

  • Alvar Aalto Valaistustyö Desk Lamp

       LOT 243, Pierre Bergé et Associés “Phillip Denys, Le design historique” sale in Brussels, Belgium, December 15, 2010: A leather and metal desk lamp (model A 704, known as the “Valaistustyö” in Finnish) designed by ALVAR AALTO, circa 1950. The piece sold for € 22,500 (approximately $30,000) off a pre-auction estimate of €1,000 to [...]

  • Macassar Club Chairs

    LOT 110 Doyle New York’s “Doyle + Design” sale in Manhattan on September 28, 2010: A pair of circa 1980 Macassar ebony veneer and upholstered club chairs attributed to the Pace Collection. The pair sold for $13,750 off of a pre-auction estimate of $1,500 to $2,000. Some reasons for the unexpectedly high price…

  • Vitória Régia Stools

    Lots 127 and 152, Phillips de Pury & Company’s “Latin America” auction in New York, October 3, 2009: Two 2006 “Vitória Régia” stools—one 49 inches in diameter, the other 29 inches—by the Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana. The larger stool sold for $21,250, and the smaller for $16,250, off pre-auction estimates, respectively, of $8,000 to $12,000 and $5,000 to $7,000…

  • Maria Pergay Tea Table

    LOT 318, Wright Auctions, Chicago, December 9, 2008: A tea table designed by Maria Pergay in 1957. Custom-made of silver, silver-plated steel, and mirror-polished stainless steel, it sold for $112,800 off an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000—the top lot in the sale. Some reasons for the high price…