This Dino Martens "Mezza Filigrana bianco bruno" glass vase from the mid-1950s has a low estimate of about $400.
UPDATED 10/17
Until October 21st, online bidders can make their best offer on post-war and contemporary glass design such as a rare Stig Peterson Darlington Glass “Pitter Platter” (circa 1970) with an £150/$245 low estimate, or a Frank Thrower Margueritte Floor Vase (circa 1994) with a £200/$327 low estimate, at the first glass auction by Auction Atrium, a sort of EBay for fine and decorative art, as well as collectibles, based in London.
Started in October 2006 to fill a gap in the auction market left when Sotheby’s and Christie’s turned their attention to the higher priced auction items during the height of the market, Auction Atrium has been hosting its own live auctions for everything from fine art and vintage collectibles to Indian and Islamic art. Glass is just the newest category for this expanding online marketplace that differentiates itself from EBay by its expertise in evaluating the authenticity and quality of its wares, which are on view at a London showroom or can be discussed with one of its experts via email or telephone.
Auction Atrium adds a 20-percent buyer’s premium to the “hammer price” of any item sold on its website. Shipping costs to any address outside of London are also added to the bill. The sale includes rare designs from Scandinavia, Italy and
Czechoslovakia, including pices by Geoffrey Baxter, Kaj Franck, Vicke Lindstrand, Dino Martens, Mdina, Flavio Poli, Carlo Scarpa and Tapio Wirkkala. Among the Studio Glass artists with work in the sale: Deborah Fladgate, Bruce Marks, and Rachael Woodman.
An unusual twist to an Auction Atrium sale is that the deadline is not set in stone. A lot is scheduled to close every two minutes, but if a bid is received close to the hammer, the auction is extended another five minutes allowing competing bidders to continue raising their bids indefinitely.
For more information, visit the auction website, where registration is free. The glass auction ends on Wednesday, October 21.
(Editor’s Note: In our original posting on 10/16, we incorrectly stated that Auction Atrium initially offered items for sale through EBay’s Live Auctions. While Auction Atrium promoted themselves as an alternative to EBay’s Live Auctions when EBay withdrew this service in 2008, Auction Atrium never sold its auction items through EBay.)
Wow, that Dino Martens vase is simply stunning. It looks so thin.