On December 19, Christie’s finished off the season with a blockbuster triple-header that brought out such major dealers as Tony Delorenzo, of Manhattan’s Delorenzo Gallery, as well as several European buyers, and generated some heated bidding. The day began with 68 lots of Tiffany, the most unusual of which was an elegant glass and wrought-iron fire screen from 1905, distinctive for its superb workmanship and impeccable provenance. One of a group of consignments from the Strong National Museum of Play, a children’s museum in Rochester, New York, it attracted multiple bids, eventually going to an American dealer, who asked to remain anonymous, for $1,665,000, well above its conservative estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. A Nasturtium floor lamp, circa 1910 (est. $250–350,000), brought $385,000, and a superb Poppy table lamp, circa 1910 (est. $125–175,000), went to New York consultants Nancy McClelland and Lars Rachen for $337,000. The bargain of the day was the oil on canvas Rhododendrons, circa 1910 (est. $10–15,000), painted by Louis Comfort Tiffany for his handyman and consigned by the family of the original owner, which went for $91,000. Total sales were far above estimates, suggesting that, as New York antiques dealer Benjamin Macklowe says, “Tiffany is the blue-chip American-art investment.”

Next up was the sale of important 20th-century decorative art and design. The highest earner was a biomorphic green velvet lounge chair by Carlo Mollino, one of a custom-made pair dating to 1946 (est. $500–700,000). The price crept up slowly, driven by two phone bidders and ending at $881,000. Designs by artists also performed well. An enthusiastic French collector took home an understated circa 1934 bronze floor lamp by Alberto Giacometti (est. $250–350,000) for $469,000, and New York dealer Robert Gingold snapped up a set of 10 circa 1935 tapestry-upholstered dining chairs by painter Raoul Dufy ($20–30,000) for $62,200. The grand finale was a striking white fiberglass Boomerang desk and matching leather swivel chair by Maurice Calka, circa 1969, that sailed over its estimate of $30,000 to $50,000 to sell for an impressive $481,000.

The coda to the Christie’s auction, and the week, was the much-anticipated evening sale of objects from the estate of Robin Roberts, founder of the decorator-fabric showroom Clarence House and a discriminating collector. The sale starred a circa 1919–20 bronze armchair by Armand Albert Rateau (est. $600–800,000), the last of eight known examples, four of which had previously sold at Christie’s to such top dealers as Delorenzo and Robert Vallois, of Paris. This one climbed to $2,001,000 (one of its mates sold for €1,580,000, or $2 million, in the June 2006 sale of the collection of Claude and Simone Dray at Christie’s Paris).

Bonhams’s sale of 20th-century decorative arts, held the same day as the Christie’s one, focused on Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and contemporary glass. Here, the figures were understandably lower. Only a Tiffany tile chandelier, 1899–1918, and a set of Puiforcat silver flatware, circa 1928, exceeded the $100,000 mark, which, in the current market, is beginning to sound like small change.

As more art lovers discover design, these items will continue to find buyers, and the dollar totals—despite an inevitable correction of some over-the-top prices—seem likely to keep rising.

"20th-Century Design" originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's March 2008 Table of Contents.