Fine arts auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields’ monthly auctions of fine art, antiques, furniture, and collectibles - the SoMa Estate Auctions - routinely bring 800-1,000 lots to the block in San Francisco.  Beginning with the September 19th sale, Contemporary Designer Furnishings, a new category, will be added to the regular offerings.  Highlights will include property designed by McGuire, Michael Taylor Designs, Eames, Brown Jordan, Eero Saarinen and Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, among others.

Sourced primarily from private collections, estates, institutions and other sellers, each SoMa Estate Auction includes collectibles such as: paintings and prints, jewelry, Asian works of art, rugs, silver, American and European furniture and decorative arts, and other home furnishings, with estimates ranging from $300 to $3,000 per lot.  September’s auction will be held over two days, featuring estate jewelry in the second session on Monday, Sept. 20th.

According to SoMa Estate Auctions Director Christine Skinner, “These monthly auctions have long been a resource for professional decorators and dealers, for savvy collectors and others in search of an affordable work of art or furniture from all periods and styles of design and tastes.  Our expansion to feature Contemporary pieces will bring custom upholstered sofas, seating, contemporary lighting, coffee tables, bookcases and cabinets to auction.”

Christine Skinner has been assembling the monthly SoMa Estate Auctions for the past five years, prior to that she supported Bonhams’ high-end “fine” sales of art and furniture, working within the auctioneer’s related specialty departments.  She added, “The idea for SoMa sales moving forward is to offer a truly comprehensive range of furnishings from the antique to contemporary design, in one monthly marketplace.” 

Highlights for the September sale will feature approximately 80-lots of Contemporary design. Several Michael Taylor Designs custom and prototype pieces include: a Michael Taylor Italian rococo style walnut and leather upholstered side chair (est. $500/700), a pair of Michael Taylor Designs porcelain celadon table lamps (est. $300/500), a Michael Taylor Designs aluminum Volpe table lamp (est. $200/300) and a Michael Taylor Design lounge chair with matching ottoman (est. $1,200/1,800).  A leather sofa designed by Orlando Diaz Azcuy, manufactured by Marco Fine Furniture, could bring $2/3,000.  A pair of McGuire circular side tables could sell for $400/600.

Fine art lots – paintings, sculpture, prints and photography – consistently attract strong bids, an Ansel Adams photograph “Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite” could bring $2,000/3,000 while a special offering of Old Masters is expected to attract bidders for September.  A Neoclassical style oil on canvas on a three-fold floor screen is estimated at $600/800. 

Additional highlights include: a 16x11-foot Tabriz carpet, Northwest Persia (est. $4,500/5,500), an early George III sterling silver sauce boat with associated ladle (est. $1,500/2,000), a diamond/white gold bracelet, offered with a diamond and pearl ring (est. $1,000/1,500), and a 20th century Asian Ivory carving of a lion and python locked in combat (est. $600/800).

The Bonhams & Butterfields website [ www.bonhams.com/soma ] hosts the sale’s illustrated online auction catalog and previews open in the auctioneer’s San Francisco salesrooms on Friday, September 17th, continuing on Saturday and Sunday until the start of the auction.  Bidders are encouraged to inspect property and consult with the firm’s specialists during the previews.  The firm’s website offers a search feature for those looking for a particular type of decoration or furnishing.