Metalware at center of stylish mix in Benefit Shop’s May 20 auction

Set of six chrome chairs by Milo Baughman chrome for the Design Institute of America, estimate $500-$5,000

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — While the offerings at this months’s May 20 Red Carpet auction from The Benefit Shop Foundation are far-ranging, from Asian art and African masks to midcentury furniture and pop art, a high point will be metalware. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

Sleek and chic, metal is all the rage today in design. Featuring everything from framed art to statuary and accessories, this auction boasts a wealth of interesting metalware pieces.

“Metal makes for a stylish and luxurious finish,” said Pam Stone, owner and founder of The Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc. “We have some lovely midcentury metal-framed works of art as well as bronze sculptures, decorative accessories and fine dining items.”

Chrome was a favorite material for famed Modernist furniture designer Milo Baughman. A striking addition to the auction is a set of six chrome chairs by Baughman for the Design Institute of America (shown at top of page). Estimate: $500-5,000

Crossing the block early on will be several signed mixed media artworks on paper by the late Canadian artist Rene Marcil, estimated at $100-500 each. Dated 1950, the Abstract Expressionist style works, possibly crayon and colored pencil, depict landscapes. Each is attractively set within a silver metal frame and measures 20¼ by 16¼ inches.

Rene Marcil signed mixed-media on paper of townscape, possibly crayon and colored pencil, set in stylish silver metal frame, estimate $100-$500

Other highlights in the fine art category include three bronzes of women: a signed bronze sculpture of a woman in long robes by Giuseppe Renda, reminiscent of his “Spring Breeze” sculpture, 17½ inches tall, $100-500; a signed and gilded bronze statue signed by Eugene Marioton and cast by L. Perzinka of a woman in peasant clothes holding a tambourine, 18 inches tall, $50-$150; and a gilded bronze nude Art Nouveau sculpture of a female nude holding castanets and dancing in front of a mirror, 15½ inches tall, $100-$500.

The thread of metalware in the auction continues into the art of dining with a set of 12 Wedgwood Florentine porcelain plates (shown below) with a dragon motif on its wide gold borders, $400-$1,500; an antique RW & S sterling silver Art Nouveau ladle with a repousse female nude figural surrounded by scrollwork and sinuous vines and florals, $100-300; and a circa-1853 Gorham sterling silver coffee pot having Art Nouveau design elements with repousse of curling stems, a floral finial and seashell detail, 11 inches tall, $200-600. Also on offer is a 77-piece Grande Baroque by Wallace sterling silver flatware set with a total weight of 45.21 ozt, $1,500-$3,000.

Set of 12 Wedgwood Florentine porcelain plates with dragon motif on wide gold borders, estimate $400-$1,500

Rounding out the auction are an H&F antique French dore bronze mantle clock with a finely enameled design and elaborately decorated, 17½ inches tall, $100-$400; a signed Japanese mixed metal keepsake box with lid, decorated with a garden scene and figurals in relief, 2 by 5½ inches, $40-$200; and a circa-1970 octagonal faux-painted malachite mirror, circa 1970, marked Sarried, 23¼ inches, $200-500.

The Benefit Shop’s monthly Red Carpet sales feature choice collections of antique, Midcentury Modern, name-brand furnishings, sterling silver, china, crystal, jewelry and fine art. With a mission of “to donate, to discover and to do good,” the foundation is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Auction proceeds support community organizations.

For additional information on any item in the sale, call 914-864-0707.

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