Auctioneering

DEAREST RON, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, Anne Shelton
The Estate of Ron Brownson, no bids yet, closes Wednesday
It’s quite mournful to nose through the earthly possessions of the late Auckland Art Gallery curator Ron Brownson, currently being quietly auctioned off at Cordys. Some comfort though can be taken from the extremely interesting house he seems to have kept, full of Pacific and Asian material culture, Middle Eastern textiles, gay photography and some nice bits of contemporary art from the many artists he supported during his long stint at the Gallery including this very Anne Sheltony Anne Shelton photo and THIS quite weird Julian Dashper painting.

A PHANTOM SHIELD by John Whagi
Webbs Material Culture, no bids yet, closes November 12
The PHANTOM SHIELDS of the inter-tribal conflicts of Papua New Guinea in the late 20th century are always my favourite kooky, cross-pollinated part of any good museum’s South East Asian collection and this looks like a particularly good one but yikes, the price! No bids yet but they are looking for upwards of $9,000.

A HUGE AMOUNT OF SLIGHTLY UNLIKEABLE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
Number 8 Solutions, closes monday
I’m assuming someone has been sitting on this Christmas shop full of Christmas decorations all year waiting for now to release it into the wild, otherwise it does seem like very bad luck for your Christmas shop to go into liquidation just before peak season. Warning some of the lots in here seem like they might be A LITTLE CURSED.

A BUTTERFLY DESK
Webbs Estate, Starting $800, closes Tuesday
If you live for an insanely 1980s looking, overly complicated sculptural desk, your life is largely devoid of joy in recent years, but this is your lucky day with this beauty blessed with a huge amount of slots and drawers designed for objects of no contemporary use. A beauty.

A PURE DRUGS APOTHECARY DISPLAY JAR
Webbs Estate, Current bid $500, closes Tuesday
A must have for a deplorable Herne Bay house party, this amazing relic of the buzzy late 19th century has some predictable early action on the bidding and will no doubt be a popular Christmas gift for whoever lands it.

AN EAMES STYLE GROUP CHAIR
Webbs Estate, Starting $300, closes Tuesday
Nice to see one of these in blue. Looks to be in pretty good nick as well.

A VINTAGE DISPLAY RACK
Webbs Estate, Starting $60, closes Tuesday
I have no idea what you would display in this, but I love how complicated it is to look at when it’s empty.

A LE CREUSET SAUCEPAN WITH LID NO 14
Webbs Estate, Starting $50, closes Tuesday
The wee spout on this saucepan! Adorable!

A 'BLACKMAIL BEGINS HERE AND NOW' BANNER
Webbs Estate, Starting $70, closes Tuesday
This two and a half metre long banner is my favourite thing I have seen for sale in Auckland this year. Would make a fantastic Christmas gift and an unbelievable piece of decoration for your brothel, drug den or political office.