Los Angeles – Spirited bidding from buyers across the globe resulted in an exceptional outcome for Wearable Art: Jewels from The Crawford Collection, the first single-owner collection of artist jewelry ever presented at auction. Ninety-five percent of the 312 lots were sold totaling more than $1.7 million in the October 12 sale. The top lot in the sale was a Gold "Grand Faune" Pendant by Pablo Picasso that sold for $62,813. Bonhams set a new auction record for a piece by Charles Loloma which achieved $56,563 for the Gold and Multi Stone Inlay Cuff. Loloma's designs did exceedingly well, filling eight of the top ten slots. A Gold and Turquoise Ring was particularly sought-after: it made $40,313 against a presale estimate of $5-7,000. Similarly, a Gold "Tete Aux Seins" Pendant by Max Ernst sold for $35,313 against a presale estimate of $8-12,000.

Bonhams Los Angeles Director of Jewels Emily Waterfall said, "It was such a pleasure to work with a sale featuring more than 300 pieces of wearable sculpture representing a cross-section of important and beautiful 20th-century artist jewelry from more than 30 master makers. This sale was an education in great studio jewelry rarely seen at auction from Betty Cooke and Margaret De Patta to William Spratling, Pablo Picasso, Charles Loloma, and many more. With the excitement and success of the sale, and the new auction records established, we have opened up an important new area for Bonhams."

The sale brought several artists to market that have rarely if ever been presented in an auction setting. An auction record was set for Jesse Monongya with A Gold and Multi-stone "Night Sky" Cuff at $21,562 (against a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000). A William Spratling record for jewelry was set with a Silver and Amethyst Jaguar Necklace and Brooch that sold for $15,300. Also a record was set for Betty Cooke, a Baltimore artist whose retrospective is currently on view at The Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, with a Gold Convertible Necklace that sold for $9,562 (against a pre-sale estimate of $3,000-5,000). Pieces by Margaret De Patta, a mid-century studio jeweler from California exceeded expectations; as did works by Sam Kramer, and Peter Macchiarini.

14 October 2021