Roseberys' summer Design sale achieved several strong results across a diverse range of collecting fields. Leading the way in modern design was an important and rare coffee table designed by renowned Italian architect Gio Ponti. One of only a handful of examples ever produced, this diminutive piece packed a punch, selling for £14,432 inclusive of buyer’s premium.
LOT 13: Gio Ponti (1891-1979), executed by Giordano Chiesa, Important coffee table, circa 1953
Price Realised: £14,432
In Arts and Crafts, Roseberys were delighted to offer an incredibly scarce sundial designed by Archibold Knox, and produced by the Compton pottery for Liberty & Co. This stunning piece, decorated with medieval style roses and Celtic motifs, is seldom seen at auction and sold for an impressive £5,248 with buyer’s premium.
A further highlight was a museum quality glass vase by Sam Herman, a major figure in the rise of the studio art glass movement in the UK in the late 1960s. This vase featured in Herman’s very first show at the Victoria & Albert museum in 1971 and was also illustrated in the exhibition catalogue. This work surpassed its pre-sale estimate, finally selling for £3,936 with buyer’s premium.
LOT 221: Sam Herman (1936-2020), Asymmetric shouldered vase, 1970
Another highlight was a terracotta and enamelled plate designed by creative polymath Jean Cocteau in 1962. One from an edition of only 10, this rare and visually striking work, with stylised face set within bold geometric design, realised £10,496 with buyer’s premium.
In more contemporary Design, we were delighted to offer a scarce pair of Tito Lucifer Andirons by French designer Philippe Starck. Produced by O.W.O in 1986, these sculptural designs in cast iron saw very competitive bidding on the day, smashing their pre-sale estimate, and finally settling at £11,808 with buyer’s premium. 
LOT 343: Phillipe Starck (b.1949), andirons for O.W.O, Pair 'Tito Lucifer' andirons, circa 1986
Price Realised: £11,808
Another stand out lot from the Studio pottery section was a large and impressive vase by Ewen Hendersen. Created in his distinctive hand-built naturalistic style with the use of layered clays and stains, this powerful work realised £2,362 with buyer’s premium on the day.
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