CHICAGO and NEW YORK—Given the unsettled economy and the general instability of the marketplace, the auction houses didn’t expect a turnaround with their June sales — and the results matched their expectations. Fewer lots (except at Wright) and conservative estimates reflected both specialists’ selectivity and the reluctance of sellers to consign. Interior designers, who constitute a healthy segment of auction clientele, have been hard hit by the economic downturn, and most dealers are long on inventory and short on cash, all of which added up to sparse attendance in the salesrooms, fewer bidders on the phone and sales totals amounting to less than half those of the past two seasons.

No single market category dominated, although some names proved to be fairly safe bets, including Louis Comfort Tiffany (at slightly lower prices than last December’s), Harry Bertoia, classic Scandinavians like Hans Wegner, France’s stalwart Jeans Royère and Prouvé and some star Italian performers. George Nakashima showed signs of strain, but the contemporary sector was the hardest hit, as even hotshots like Ron Arad and Marc Newson faltered, notwithstanding the record-breaking £1,105,250 ($1.6 million) the latter’s 1988 Lockheed Lounge brought in April at Phillips. All indications are that speculators have left the market and serious long-term collectors are resisting the inflated prices of recent years. Many offerings sold below or barely at their estimates, and only 12 lots — half of them by Tiffany — garnered six-figure prices.

The season opened on June 2 with a hefty 446-lot auction at Wright, in Chicago. The session had a few bright spots: A superb 90-inch-tall Dandelion sculpture by Bertoia (est. $100-150,000), from a set of seven that were exhibited in the Kodak Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, brought $278,500, topping the $192,000 one of its companions fetched at Wright in December 2008. The next most expensive lot was Eliel Saarinen’s 1934 museum-worthy polished-brass candy bowl in the form of a saucer on a sphere, which went for $82,900, more than double its high estimate. The 1965 Futuro House (est. $50-70,000), an ovoid structure in fiberglass and foam by the Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, brought $50,000. Pieces by Prouvé and Paul Evans performed well, as did most by Wegner and other Scandinavian designers. Still, "It’s hard work out there right now," says the auction house owner, Richard Wright. "I think there will continue to be a sorting out of what’s going to be here for the long run."

The June 2 sale at Christie’s New York contained just 102 lots, mostly conservative designs. Except for a Claude and François-Savier Lalanne dinosaur sculpture, which virtually stopped traffic when displayed street side at 20 Rockefeller Center but failed to draw any interest inside the salesroom, there were few provocative offerings, and many items garnered just a few bids. The top earner was a François-Xavier Lalanne patinated-bronze cheetah from 1995 that brought $74,500, just under its estimate of $80,000 to $120,000; a circa 1910 Tiffany Tulip lamp (est. $60-80,000) snagged the next highest price: $68,500. Three pairs of circa 1913 Frank Lloyd Wright windows (est. $15-20,000 per pair) did well, the first two sets fetching $47,500 and the third $43,750. A circa 1988 François-Xavier Lalanne copper turtle topiary, a 1989 turquoise aluminum-wire chair by Forrest Myers and a 1973 Nakashima desk were among the few other lots that surpassed their estimates.

In its June 3 sale, Phillips de Pury & Co. maintained its commitment to envelope-pushing design — and suffered for it. Even auctioneer Simon de Pury’s persuasive charm was unable to generate bids for many of the offerings, particularly those with high estimates. The top lots were an Ours Polaire sofa from 1950 by Royère (est. $180-220,000), which fetched $194,500; a 1989 Nakashima Conoid dining room table (est. $150-200,000), which brought $182,500; and Ron Arad’s limited-edition 1992 After Spring chaise, which sold below its low estimate of $130,000 for $110,500. Among the most successful items were a capacious pair of circa 1970 black leather lounge chairs from the Italian designer Joe Colombo (est. $15-20,000), which went for $68,500, and a circa 1950 Macchie glass vase by Fulvio Bianconi (est. $30-40,000), which pulled in $100,900. Ceramics also found favor, especially a series of neutral-toned, intricately textured bowls and vases by Lucie Rie, the highlight of which was a 1984 vase that hurdled its estimate of $25,000 to $35,000 to bring $55,000.