Snake Auction Observer 008
Design intelligence: undervalued and/or cheap furniture, lighting, accessories
10 items on LiveAuctioneers ending this week I think are undervalued, or affordable—auctions ending soonest first. (Instructions on bidding at email bottom).
Auctions:
Stilnovo floor lamp, LA from CA, flat shipping: Nameless designer Stilnovo floor lamp, metal like Bob Sonneman’s, but also in league with some of the rounder/more insane lamps Stilnovo’s done (by Colombo, Sottsass, other nameless fools), and so probably banged out by some Italian guy. Jasper, the house, has been trying to sell this all year and hasn’t. They always have good stuff. $200 flat shipping, a little much for $480, so why not DM them with an insulting offer? Sometimes that works.
Nirvana autographed Gibson lawsuit guitar, LA from Fl.: LiveAuctioneers is occasionally even better for musical instruments than for furniture, guitars mostly, and this is the best deal I’ve seen in a while. It’s a Lawsuit Gibson, which is a Les Paul copycat made in the 70s that plays so well Gibson sued the suite of companies making these into ceasing production. They are everywhere and are as well made as any legit Gibsons from the past 30 years. They’re cheap, too. Signed by Nirvana, I won’t speak to its accuracy, though maybe the band bought it to smash. $20
Alessi teakettle, LA from UK: Dick Sapper, one of the great Knoll hired guns, inventor of the best clock radio ever made, let his hand get heavy on this teapot, which resembles another good one he did awhile back. It’s also in line with great ones from Alessi—like this satanic one— which might be the only company that still makes wild-looking things for the kitchen. Sapper is best when he works with Zanuso, but this one’s just £20
Scarpa Soriana for Cassina, LA from NY: Some people say the world turned on its ear when science started using CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, 15 years ago, other people say it’s when they opened up that mummy tomb, which happened around when Sorianas started fetching over 7K, in mid-late 2020. Feels less like an Egyptian curse than a market adjustment, though. Why wouldn’t Sorianas be very expensive? This one, in the best color, will go for a lot. A smaller one sold for only $2,500 just three years ago. $4,750
Six Venturi Chippendale chairs for Knoll, LA from NY NY: Same house as above, it’ll be wild if this set of Venturi chairs sells for under $6K, since in no universe, not even one cursed by the Pharaohs, are these three-figure chairs. The one I wrote about a couple issues ago went for $1,600; Doyle also has a few one-off Venturis (Queen Anne with the Sottsass zig zag, and Sheraton with the red crap on it) hovering at about a G each. Volume arbitrage here, only $3,000 and the Snake Lock of the Week
Two pieces of plastic furniture, LA from Atlanta: This seventies-style Panton-type chair and maybe Knoll roller is cheap and sticks out from a great auctioning of the estate of Ruth West, I think a Georgia lawyer. Other very affordable hits include: a Saarinen marble tulip table, no-name steel club chairs, some sculptural armchairs (steel and wood, steel esp. great), a Robert Erickson recliner that looks Danish but better, a Percival Lafer sofa at $1400, a chair for half that, some insane/incredible flatware from William Spratling, who I’ve never heard of before (not his fault) and enough wooden bowls to sink a battleship. Sometimes it pays to go to law school, though $5 says she sat on the board of Northrupp Grunman. $150
Donald Judd No. 4 table, LA from Chi.: This Judd table (same color as the yellow shelves in my kitchen) stands out in an auction full of very high-grade avant-slash-fancyboy furniture. (This rocker and some Bill Bell chairs stick out.) I like this less than Judd’s chairs but more than most of his work. Worth an investment, I think; can’t do better. $1700
Knoll executive cabinet, LA from Chi.: This cabinet from Knoll is just about everything you can want in a piece of furniture: plain, harsh, strong, simple, offensive and finally beautiful. Perfect, and Knoll’s best I think. $2,000
Schedoni Ferrari leather print, LA from Wy., IHS: This auction house (in Wyoming; maybe Henry Winkler owns it) has a bunch of rough stuff, watches (and watch accessories, like this Piaget watch strap measuring tool), back issues of Manipulator Magazine (just finding out about it now; interesting), some great Ferre sunglasses for $99 and these Schedoni leather commemorative prints that can’t be improved on and which are also much cheaper than the luggage Schedoni makes for Ferrari. (Secret is out on those, good luck getting any for under $5500.) $99
Chairish Wild Card:
Salotti style chair and ottoman, Fl.: I have been combing Chairish everyday as I do LA for newsletter grist but never include any items because it’s now more expensive than 1stDibs over there. This chair, which is just OK, is in the median range of what a Nicoletti Salotti chair goes for. (Two sold last year on LA, for $200 and $650.) It’s also discounted by 64%; $500
Odds and ends:
Blue LC2 loungers, 80s I think, a pair, $600, Chi.
Franco Albini ceiling lamp, $2K, Chi.
Mendini Zanotta chair (weird), Fl $750
Euro Wildcard of the Week:
Klaus Uredat Corbi sofa, LA from Antibes (Fr.): Uredat doesn’t get the respect he deserves, but doesn’t have a long digital trail: he’s done the Targa chair (unbeatable), and this sofa. One of these Corbi sofas (they’re modular) sold for €6800 this year. House also has the van der Rohe psychologist’s couch, a Fabio Lenci chair, this by Ducaroy (mamma mia), an unbelievable French dresser among stuff I don’t like. Not a deal, more nice to see up at auction. €6000
Thanks.
Snake
Other work: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-JLRt0Ec6gZBm50hATYCYmLctnF9GhVijoEbam50JSw/edit