10 items on LiveAuctioneers ending this week that I think are undervalued, or affordable—auctions ending soonest first. (Instructions on bidding at end). But first, housekeeping.
Housekeeping:
Shirts are all shipped. Zines shipping Wednesday.
I have a new story on Inverse.com where I interview a tenured psychology professor about why short workouts are neurologically beneficial long term and short, and which workouts help. Read it here.
Auctions:
French village tapestry, LA from Turkey, in-house shipping: Jasper has a heavy rug auction ending today, many from overseas. How to tell if a rug is real? Roughly: Turn it upside down, and if the stitches look identical, then it was machined. If they don’t, it’s something. Beyond that is knowledge that is so tightly held that no one will ever really understand. This aesthetic may be big soon, and the house also has Kilims, Persians, Chinese room rugs, though no Afghan war rugs. $8
Castiglioni Mezzadro stools, LA from Phila.: May have written about these before, which are both ideal, minimal and look automotive. They run about $700; another house has two in red for double the price. The auction with these also has a beautiful Kaiser Newman buffet. LA is thick with teak credenzas this week, but the Newman to me is better than any of them. A deal at $325
Pierre Cardin gold ring, LA from NJ: I’m convinced just about everything Cardin designed and produced before his foray into licensing (Reagan era) is not only inspired but beyond that, massive maybe. No designer was as successful in as many mediums, except maybe Massimo Vignelli, and he never designed jeans. A great ring. House also has some nice Tiffany jewelry, a solid gold cig case and the like, all more expensive than this. $125
Eight Warren Platner club chairs (Knoll), La from Fl.: Half outdoor looking with unfortunate upholstery that is too loud for the busy metal stand. But Platner clubs go for money (a G or so each, more a couple years ago, a few with a different design for less this year) and so this one presents a nice arbitrage opportunity. I’d keep the yellow ones. A very weird auction otherwise that includes a Rolex display clock, a corner Togo, Gae Aulenti’s Pipistrello lamp and one of those weird back chairs that people used 30 years ago. Possible steal at $1400
Helseth Trybo pine bench, LA from Netherlands, flat shipping: An almost Rietveldian bench from Norwegian designer Edvin Helseth, who has only a handful of items on LA, with no benches. Harsher than anything else I’ve seen Scandinavian. His Trybo chair is just as good. Not cheap, but to make a home you have to pay for beauty. $2,800
Perriand sitting bench, 60s, LA from Neth, flat shipping: Not sure how this house is shipping this for only $400. Maybe Perriand’s toughest piece of furniture. Perriand and Aulenti (and Cini Boeri) make very tough furniture. Torturous, and it doesn’t really seem for sitting. Who knows with her, though. I haven’t seen anything made of wood that was this beautiful in at least a year. $950
Frattini Caltha floor lamp, LA from CT: Frattini has made better lamps (I like the Megaron more, a Euro has one for just €40), but this thing is just one level below prime Colombo, and none have sold on LA in a decade, making this the Snake Lock of the Week. House also has a nice Poulsen pendant (king of pendants), cheap Stoppino Kartell nesting tables, a beat up Executive chair, a nice stainless steel service set, and lots of plastic. $50
Ruggles Umbo Wall unit, LA from CT: Same house as above. As rare to see a big Umbo as one in color. Maybe a handful have sold since 2014. One guy on eBay from North Carolina seemed to either have a never-ending supply or was listing the same one for a decade; he’s on Instagram now and we’re no further to answers but he’s doing well for himself. I picked up my Umbos a decade ago at an Iron Age show, and wrote a story about it for Vice under a pen name. Would be the SLOTW but isn’t. $1,800
Ginori dinnerware, LA from Nantucket: Another full set of luxury dinnerware from an important manufacturer that’s four times as cheap as buying a couch from a store. I’d say it’s nice enough to do until you get a full set of Vignelli for Heller (in the different colors) or an Andy Rooney-level Jadeite collection (I have the photo somewhere, but I can’t find it), but you can keep these for life. House is in Nantucket, $500
Euro Wildcard of the Week:
If you feel like spending cash to ship something overseas but still want a deal, buy:
Padova-style couch, LA from Sicily, LA from Sicily: Insane Euro glut this week, which is no surprise, though the highlight has to be this modular split-apart five-piece Padova style couch, a Rimo Maturi Nuvolone for. Mimo Leone, which don’t sell for a ton but are never domestic. €800
Odds and ends:
LC2 chairs, NWT, $1400, Philly
Poulsen mushroom lamp, $200, Fl.
Ico Parisi style brutal Italian desk, $4k
Kartell/Bohr etageres, patina, $425
Componbili (old ones, patina, no black base), $50
Thanks for reading.
Snake
Other work: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-JLRt0Ec6gZBm50hATYCYmLctnF9GhVijoEbam50JSw/edit
How to bid: Sign up to LA with your credit card ahead of the auction, register for that auction on the item page — there’s a button/prompt on every auction page — before bidding. Houses usually accept registrations within a day, but early’s better.
Bidding happens live in a pop-up window, though prices sometimes jump up before. Both app and website have good bidding UX. Sometimes items go for a lot, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes lots of watchers means something; sometimes not. Not much different from eBay. Because of buyers’ premiums (~25%), and freight, expect to pay over list. After winning you have ~a week to get the item. Houses can recommend third party shippers; some ship themselves. If so, In-House Shipping will be noted on the page below the bid amounts. Sometimes shipping is affordable, sometimes it’s not. Picking it up yourself is cheapest.
As with anything, insane steals are rare, nice deals are occasional, and fair prices are frequent. Respond if more questions.