Submitted by aarAdmin on Mon, 06/29/2020 - 00:00
An unusual circa 1980 limited series “Trumeau Architettura Cabinet” (lot 637) by Italian artist Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988) went under the hammer for $27,000 at Leski Auctions Decorative Arts & Collectables sale on June 28 in Melbourne.
A versatile and eclectic artist with plenty of creative flair, Fornasetti was one of the 20th century’s most prolific figures and vitally important to the Italian industrial design culture, for which he gained a broad international reputation.
Purchased directly from the artist by the vendor, the cabinet is a repeat of the 1951 model created by fellow Italian architect, furniture designer and artist Gio Ponti (1891-1979), a major player in the renewal of Italian design after World War II, with whom from 1940 Fornasetti began to work closely.
Together they developed a home interior and furnishing style long promoted in theory but until then never put into practise.
Exhibited at the 1951 Triennale IX, the “Architettura” trumeau was typical of their work and in 1998 auctioned at Christie’s for a then record $15,000.
Given that this was an auction of some 915 collectable lots with few people able to attend in person because of the current coronavirus pandemic restrictions in Australia, for 800 items or 87 per cent of those on offer to go under the hammer was a more than commendable result.
The next highest lot (620) was the 1922 Wiener Werkstatte sideboard designed by Austrians Otto Prutscher (1880-1949) and Jacob Low (1887-1968) that sold for $24,000. This was followed by lot 433, a Chinese blue glazed stem bowl with a Yongzheng mark from 1723-1735 that came in at just $2000 below that figure.
A late 19th century Chesterfield brown leather settee (lot 599) surprised many when it brought $12,500 on a $2000-$3000 estimate, while a signed art deco statue of a woman by Romanian sculptor Dimitri Chiparus (1886-1947), who lived and worked in France, fetched a solid $9000.
A 17th century Charles II English oak chest of drawers (lot 554) was another good pick up for $6000 and a circa 1880 French industrial maritime clock with rotating globe (lot 702) was knocked down for $5500 – the same as a particularly attractive circa 1820 Regency miniature table workbox (lot 126).
Just behind these two lots at $5400 was a circa 1960s Jakob Rudowski vintage Australian sideboard with six doors (lot 646) – while rounding out the top lots at $4200 each was a circa 1896 Rozenurg Dutch art nouveau monumental pottery vase (lot 195) and a 19th century Chinese walking stick with rosewood shaft and cloisonné and gilt bronze dragon handle (lot 296).
