NEW YORK – Auctions at Showplace has acquired the Estate of Peter Knoll, son of Hans Knoll, founder of Knoll Associates, a furniture and design company whose reputation for combining design excellence and technological innovation with mass production techniques attracted the talents of such luminaries as Harry Bertoia and Eero Saarinen. Peter Knoll, who died last winter at the age of 75, had an unmatched eye for fine cars, books, watches, art, furniture, silver and decorative arts. On Feb. 3 Auctions at Showplace will offer Part I of this magnificent collection to be followed on Feb. 17 by Part II. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
Peter Knoll loved fine watches. Through the years he amassed a grouping including an 18K Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model 331; Rolex Datejust Tapestry stainless and 18K with Jubilee bracelet; Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model 1024; mid-20th century Primalux Hi-Matic 30 jewel Incabloc; early Wittnauer wristwatch; circa 1950 Swiss Berney De Marche Model 3167-A; early 20th century Lemania 17-jewel chronograph tachometer and telemeter with two registers, and a Primalux in 18K rose gold.
Books were another passion, and we will have copies of a signed 1927 limited edition of Charles Lindbergh’s We, an autobiographical account of the events leading up to and including his New York to Paris solo transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis; an 18-volume edition of the collected works of Charles Dickens, circa 1890; Samuel Pepy’s Diaries in a nine-volume 1918 edition; and approximately 100 other publications from the 17th-20th centuries.
Naturally, there are a number of vintage Knoll company pieces, including rare unproduced prototype “QE2” folding lounge chairs, one in the original box; a walnut and white laminate chest of drawers; a Florence Knoll nightstand, wall-mounted cabinet and bed with caned headboard; a marble-top credenza; a red-upholstered office chair and club chair; a van der Rohe coffee table, a “Barcelona” lounge chair, frame and daybed; and a pair of “Bruno” chairs; a Saarinen marble-top “Tulip” side table; a nickel steel and glass coffee table by Warren Planter; a Mario Vignelli “Handkerchief” chair; and a pair of Richard Schultz outdoor chairs.
Sterling silver is represented with flatware by Tiffany & Co.; Bigelow, Kennard & Co.; Black, Starr & Frost; and others.
Luxury accessories include a Louis Vuitton canvas-covered trunk and black-branded “Peter Knoll” suitcase; a Mark Cross suitcase, and vintage sunglasses by various makers.
Fine art features an Ellsworth Kelly 1970 lithograph (below); an Ernest Trova silkscreen; an Erwin Blumenfeld poster; a Robert Indiana mirrored “LOVE” wall art; James Boynton prints; a woodcut by Carol Summers; a Josef Albers screen print; a Ken Price gouache; a Stow Wengenroth watercolor; and assorted photographs.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors to acquire items from the most prestigious family in the industry whose name alone is a benchmark for the very best of 20th century design.
For details contact Showplace Antiques at 212-633-6063, ext. 804.
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