CHICAGO/NEW YORK— Prepared for the worst, the major auction houses breathed a collective sigh of relief after their December design sales. Overall, results were below estimates, as buyers exhibited a new conservative streak, either switching their allegiance from provocative contemporary works to the safety of old standards or declining to purchase anything at all. Still, some reassuring high spots buoyed hopes and brought a much-needed lift to the glum holiday season.

The sales started off slowly in Chicago on December 9 and 11, as Wright failed to sell nearly half of the lots it offered. "Obviously, we are facing a tough market," says the auction house owner, Richard Wright. The prices for many of the pieces that did find buyers hovered around their relatively low estimates. For instance, Harry Bertoia’s Untitled (Dandelion), 1962 one of seven sculptures that the artist created for New York’s 1964 World’s Fair (est. $200-300,000), squeaked by at $192,000. Work by designers who typically lead the auctions, such as George Nakashima and the Italian stars Ico Parisi and Gaetano Pesce, brought lower-than-expected sums or failed to attract bidders, and contemporary designs from names like Marc Newson and Rolf Sachs were passed. Even the 41 lots from the historically significant Empire State Building archive reaped what Wright described as "subdued" results. The sale did manage one triumph: A 1957 silver and steel Maria Pergay table that was custom-made for the wife of the Algerian ambassador to France (est. $60-80,000) sold for $112,800.

A few days later, Christie’s took aim at serious collectors with three modest-size sales featuring designs mostly by proven sellers, some of which came with aggressive estimates that made no concession to a recession mentality. "We set the bar high," admits the international head of 20th-century decorative arts and design, Philippe Garner, "but these objects are exceptional." Despite lower-than-usual sell-throughs, Christie’s grossed $9.2 million, a figure that was well within the presale estimate of $8.6 million to $12.8 million and put the house ahead of its competition in a dicey season.

Christie’s led off on December 15 with the single-owner sale of mostly French Art Deco furnishings from the Palm Beach residence of Frayda and George Lindemann, the billionaire parents of the prominent contemporary-art enthusiast Adam. The house had reportedly offered a guarantee on the 54 objects, banking on their salability, and the outcome proved it right: 42 of the lots sold, bringing in $3,578,250. Top earners included two major pieces by Paul Dupré-Lafon: a 1940s parchment, oak and patinated-bronze table-desk with a swivel chair (est. $300-500,000), which went for $458,500, and another desk-and-chair ensemble (est. $300-500,000), which made $302,500. Later in the session, an eye-catching Claude Lalanne round dining table with six chairs, from 1996 (est. $200-300,000), reached $314,500, setting an auction record for the designer.

The highest price of the week was achieved the next day, at the house’s 20th-century decorative art and design sale, by the 1949 Carlo Mollino table that graced the catalogue cover. The earliest known version of Mollino’s biomorphic Arabesque tables, this distinctive laminated-plywood and glass piece was snapped up by the New York dealer Brian Kish for $1,314,500 — a sum comfortably above the high estimate of $1.2 million but not surprising for an iconic item with impeccable provenance. "It was consigned by the family of the original owners," says Garner. "Few pieces like that come to market."

Beyond the Mollino, though, the sale experienced some turbulence. A quirky Line Vautrin chandelier and a rare Bugatti silver tray failed to find buyers, and a Ron Arad carbon-fiber table from 2002 (est. $100-150,000) never took off. The implosion of the Arad piece was one indication that buyers were favoring midcentury designs, such as the 1950s Jean Royère chandelier (est. $50-70,000) that brought $62,500. There were, however, exceptions to this rule. Maurice Calka’s white fiberglass Boomerang desk and chair from 1970 (est. $10-15,000), for instance, mushroomed to $35,000.

Earlier in the day, Christie’s offered 52 Tiffany lots, 46 of which sold — many well over their estimates. Of the nine objects that brought more than $100,000, the most expensive was a Wisteria lamp from the estate of Mr. and Mrs. William F. Buckley, Jr., which went for $410,500 (est. $200-300,000). Three other lamps also sold well above their six-figure high estimates, attesting to the continuing strength of this segment.

Phillips de Pury & Company’s auction on December 17 was the most adventurous of the week, featuring a variety of envelope-pushing works that included a fine group of contemporary ceramics. Ben Williams, the specialist who has been developing the ceramic component of the sale since last year, believes that clay pieces are all the more appealing when seen alongside expensive design offerings. "We’re showing objects priced from $4,000 to $50,000 to people accustomed to spending $100,000 for furniture," he says. Offerings included works by Hans Coper, Lucie Rie and several outstanding Japanese potters. In the last group, the contemporary ceramicist Morihiro Wada realized an auction high when his Vessel, Pattern from Inner Image, 1985, sold for $23,750, besting a high estimate of $14,000.

As a rule, however, the Phillips results were lackluster. Many of the sale highlights were bought in, including a couple of highly anticipated Arad chairs: a 2006 coiled silicone form and a 1990 sculptural piece of rough-surfaced steel that carried six-figure estimates. A recent Newson work was one of the few contemporary lots to exceed expectations. His shapely Micarta desk, from 2006 (est. $170-190,000), fetched $206,500, to become the costliest piece of the day. Several rare designs by Royère also performed well. A pair of his 1951 Oeuf chairs (est. $50-75,000) went for $124,900, and an imposing 1950 Sinusoidal chandelier, estimated at $65,000 to $75,000, brought $80,500. Another rarity, a Gio Ponti chest of drawers from 1955 (est. $60-80,000), was among the top lots, making $92,500 despite its worn finish. The chest wasn’t the only Ponti design to surpass its high estimate. Phillips also knocked down a pair of his columnar table lamps (est. $5,000-7,000) for $27,500.

Ending the season on a positive note, Sotheby’s worked hard to keep estimates realistic and client expectations within reason for its two sessions on December 18. Its efforts paid off for the most part, as a number of lots outperformed estimates and several brought exceptional sums. The most museum-worthy offering — a spectacular cast- and wrought-iron elevator enclosure (est. $250-350,000) made by Adler and Sullivan around 1893 for the Chicago Stock Exchange — actually went to an unidentified American museum, for $602,500. Early 20th-century Arts & Crafts designs also did supremely well. A 1912-25 table lamp by Dirk Van Erp (est. $70-90,000) brought $170,500; a stained-glass laylight from Frank Lloyd Wright’s historic Darwin Martin residence in Buffalo, estimated at $80,000 to $120,000, sold for $218,500; and Florida collector Rudy Ciccarello snagged a pair of monumental turn-of-the-century andirons by Gustav Stickley (est. $40-60,000 ) for $278,500. Other successes included a 1986 François-Xavier Lalanne sheep seat, which was enthusiastically bid up to $158,500, beating its high estimate of $80,000, and a striped three-legged chair made by Joaquim Tenreiro in 1954 (est. $60-80,000) that set an auction record for the designer when it brought $92,500.

The Sotheby’s sale of Tiffany lamps eclipsed the Christie’s session, bringing in $3.5 million for just 36 lots. The priciest item was a rare and well-documented Pebble design (est. $300-500,000) that brought $746,500. A dozen lots reached six figure territory, including a Wisteria table lamp (est. $150-200,000), which sold for $188,500, and two floor lamps — a Peony (est. $120-180,000) that brought $266,500 and a rare Fish Scale version (est. $350-500,000) that made $470,500. James Zemaitis, the director of 20th-century design at Sotheby’s, reported that the majority of the purchasers of this blue-chip material were private collectors and that Americans were well represented in the bidding.

In the end, the auction houses emerged from the week optimistic. After the disastrous September auctions, every sale was seen as cause for celebration, and many savvy professionals agree that a cool-down period could be a good thing for the overheated design market. As Zemaitis points out, "The era of ambitious, aggressive experimentation is over." A reversion to lower prices may, in the long run, lead to sales that are driven by quality and provenance rather than by fleeting trends and speculation.

"20th-Century Design" originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's March 2009 Table of Contents.