Nakashima and Jansen Rule at Kamelot Auctions

PHILADELPHIA, PENN.

:Kamelot Auction's fall sale featured a compilation of lighting, paintings and decorative arts, as well as an important collection of furniture by such celebrated French cabinetmakers as Jansen and F. Linke. On September 24, in association with Susanin's of Chicago, the auction house also presented an eminent acquisition of 12 George Nakashima pieces, complete with factory bill of sales provided by the original purchaser.

Kamelot Auctions was able to obtain a significant consignment from a 20,000-square-foot estate in Bryn Mawr, a Philadelphia suburb. Among the antiques of this estate were the Nakashima items. "We were able to obtain an array of fine furniture, each piece custom made and in excellent condition," recalls Joseph Holahan, one of the partners of Kamelot Auctions.

Holahan continued, "The homeowners never mentioned the furniture from George Nakashima's studio and during my visit to the house, I did not see any sign of Nakashima's work. Unexpectedly, my visit concluded in the basement of the home. As I was preparing to leave, I nudged open the basement door and much to my surprise saw that the room was filled with Nakashima furniture. The owners had purchased the items in 1969 for a meditation room they were building in their home and were unaware of the escalation in value of Nakashima's work. I can't wait to give them Kamelot's consignor statement showing that the pieces they purchased in 1969 for less than $2,000 sold at our auction for a combined total of more than $70,000."

The Nakashima items included an English walnut pedestal table, which hammered down at $14,950, a second English walnut pedestal table of unusual size brought $21,850, and a rare wall hanging with butterfly joints and free form edging sold for $8,050. A walnut bench with one free form edge sold for $13,800, multiple pairs of footstools sold for $2,530 a pair, with a single pair of prie dieux selling for $3,000.

Among the collection of Jansen items was an ebonized and bronze mounted coffee table that sold for $7,475, a set of ten polychrome dining room chairs in the Louis XIV style that brought $8,050, and pair of open arm chairs with original paint and silk fabric that hammered down at $4,140. A sleek Jansen mahogany dining room table with a brilliant walnut finish reached $3,220, and an eight-light gilt iron chandelier sold for $7,700.

A showing of furniture by Paris cabinetmaker F. Linke included a two-door bronze mounted vitrine, which sold to a telephone bidder for $11,500, and a Louis XVI style bronze mounted marble-top vitrine attributed to Linke sold for $6,900.

Other highlights of Kamelot's fall sale included a Nineteenth Century English Chippendale secretary desk, sold to an eBay bidder for $8,625, and a 1940s polychrome French Empire daybed that sailed past the $800-$1,200 estimate to sell for $9,200.

Mirrors also did exceptionally well, with an exquisite belle époque French gilt mirror circa 1890 selling for $4,370, a rare Nineteenth Century French regency style giltwood mirror bringing $4,485, and a rare Quimper Nineteenth Century French faience mirror achieving $2,300. Among decorative items, a Nineteenth Century marble statue of mother and son on green marble pedestal reached $10,350, and a refined pair of late Nineteenth Century French figural bronze and dore table lamps drew $2,990.

In the fine arts category, an original Louis Icart charcoal drawing titled "Woman Lounging" was auctioned for $3,450, a Walter Baum, Bucks County town scene sold for $2,990 and a Grif Teller autumn landscape brought $3,910. Among a group of religious representations, a Bertoncelli Madonna and Child oil painting sold for $2,530.

All prices quoted above include the 15 percent buyer's premium. Kamelot will be hosting the Philadelphia Architectural Antiques and Victoriana Auction on November 12. The sale will feature hundreds of stained glass windows and doors, dozens of fireplace mantels, an interesting assortment of architectural elements, and an outstanding collection of Victorian furniture.

Kamelot Auctions is currently accepting consignments for its upcoming winter sale of furniture and fine arts slated for February. For information, 888-KAMELOT (888-526-3568) or www.kamelotauctions.com.