Modern design auction. Wright.

wheel-thrown earthenware | gertrud and otto natzler | c1955 |click > enlarge

Featured in this auction is a special collection of ceramics by Otto and Gertrud Natzler. Using clays indigenous to California, Gertrud threw vessels which Otto clothed with monochromatic glazes. Janet Kardon, curator of the American Craft Museum, writes of the Natzlers: “For Gertrud, the pot was an extension of her hand; for Otto, the glazes were the result of a controlled and skillful interaction with chemistry and the vagaries of the kiln.” The Natzlers’ remarkable partnership resulted in over 25,000 vessels and 2,500 glaze formulations. Exceptional among the collection is the Nocturne bottle, a slender, poetic form enhanced by a deep blue and violet glaze (estimate: $20,000-30,000). This example was exhibited in 1971 at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.

set of six chairs from the tabourettli theatre | santiago calatrava | 1986

Wright’s Modern Design auction opens the 2013 auction season featuring works by the most celebrated designers of the past century. Designs by Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson & Associates, Jean Prouvé and George Nakashima figure prominently in the sale. Highlights include furnishings designed by Santiago Calatrava for the Tabourettli Theater in Basel, Switzerland, an exceptional Swan sofa by Vladimir Kagan and a collection of puzzle sculptures by Miguel Berrocal.