Mother Nature’s art was celebrated at Bonhams & Butterfields’ natural history auction on June 22, with collectors, curators and enthusiasts spending more than $1 million for exotic gems and minerals, spectacular prehistoric fossils, remnants of dinosaurs, meteorites and desirable examples of Earth’s natural wonders. A 2-inch-wide, 263-carat opal discovered in Australia and the object of much international interest sold for $120,000.
The summer natural history auction stands as the 20th Bonhams & Butterfields offering in the past decade featuring specimens culled from locations across the globe, as well as objects from space that have impacted the Earth. Bidders participated in the sale from as far as Russia, Europe and Korea, and both coasts of the United States.
Opals were of tremendous interest to bidders; half of the auction’ top ten lots featured an opal, either in mineral form or carved and polished. Top lot of the day was the above-noted “Flame Queen” red on black opal, which was discovered in Lightning Ridge, Australia, circa 1915. The region is known for its opals, and the “Flame Queen,” one of the most spectacular ever unearthed there, had been exhibited at a London museum in 1937 during the coronation of George VI and illustrates multiple books written on opals. An Australian effort to acquire the piece by the Australian Opal Centre was afoot, as of 5 pm Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, and the auctioneers could not predict the new owner’s intention with respect to exhibiting the “Flame Queen” in Australia.
Other opals generated strong bids, including a carved example by the noted German sculptor Manfred Wild. Wild’s carving of a rooster was described by the auctioneers as “fantastic,” and it sold for $72,000 to a Russian private collector. A black opal encased in an iron nodule was also discovered in Australia, stemming from the Yowah, Queensland, region. This 3-inch-wide specimen’s interior is filled with a brilliant facet-grade gem-quality opal and sold for $60,000 to a Korean museum.
An assembled collection of fine opal cabochons collected in the 1970s sold for $24,000, while a large, nearly 1,400-carat polished light opal, also discovered in the southern regions of Australia, brought $19,200.
A large Melo pearl from the salt waters off Vietnam sold for $60,000, the 125-carat orange-hued pearl to become part of an Indonesian private collection. A brooch featuring a purplish-pink cultured pearl surrounded by 100 carats of morganite and black diamonds sold for $18,000. Other lots of jewelry featured rare and semiprecious stones designed into rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, many lots selling within and above their estimates.
Within the sale’s décor section, several lots were acquired by members of the interior design community, the works of natural materials intended for commissions in the United States and Europe.
One lot in the section, a custom azur-malachite table displaying blue and green azurite veins in a natural stone matrix, sold for $18,000; the table is considered both sculpture as well as furniture. The piece was crafted by noted artist Zee Haag from raw material within his vast collection.
A complete slice of a space invader from Mars, a meteorite discovered in North West Africa, weighs nearly 1.3 grams and sold for $3,900, while a wondrous freestanding trilobite fossil retrieved from Russia and meticulously prepared sold for $6,600. A bidder paid $14,400 for a Russian cave bear skeleton, the fierce beast’s remains standing nearly 9 feet tall. As well, a virtually complete psittacosaur dinosaur skeleton mounted in a predatory pose sold for $13,200.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, www.bonhams.com/us or 323-850-7500.
