Going, going ...

This is the first installment of an occasional feature that will highlight offerings at selected auction houses.

Over the past several years, Southern California’s auction houses have become so diverse in their offerings that it is now possible to purchase, often at bargain prices, antiques and collectibles such as Pop Art prints and paintings, centuries-old Etruscan sculpture or a full T. rex skeleton. Searching for Buccellati silver or a vintage MG roadster? Chances are you can find it or take a look at it without having to leave Los Angeles.

Getting started

To begin, contact local and national auction houses and ask to be placed on mailing lists that will notify you of upcoming sales and events. Specify areas of collecting that interest you. Most auction houses publish glossy catalogs available for sale (which are often complimentary to previous buyers) and offer previews on their websites within two weeks before a scheduled sale.

Although catalogs and websites generally offer detailed descriptions, you can also request reports on the condition of “lots” (an item or group of items numbered and tagged for auction).

Whenever possible, examine them in person. Only you can determine whether the phrase “slight wear to finish” means a tabletop you can live with or have to take somewhere for restoration.

Generally, lots go on exhibit at an auction preview a few days before the sale. Previews are free, open to the general public and often travel to Los Angeles even if the auction is being held elsewhere. They are normally staffed with knowledgeable experts who can answer your questions.

Unlike a museum or gallery show, a preview provides a more intimate viewing experience; even if you have no intention of spending a year’s salary on an Edward Weston photograph, you can still have the thrill of holding it in your hand. For that reason, previews are the best opportunity to make a thorough inspection of goods to be auctioned.

This is frequently a hands-on experience and it is not uncommon to see potential buyers -- armed with flashlights, magnifying glasses and jewelers’ loupes -- examining the backs of paintings, turning over chairs, and kneeling to look under tables.

Knowing your limits

Auctions can be fast-paced and intoxicating, making it is easy to get swept up in the excitement and suffer buyer’s remorse as bad as any hangover. Therefore, it is always advisable to set a limit for your purchases. Remember that in addition to delivery or shipping charges you also will be required to pay an additional 10% to 15% commission to the gallery (known as the buyer’s premium) above the winning bid (also referred to as the “hammer price”).

It is always helpful to research the items you are interested in and learn how much they usually fetch. Online art and auction sites such as www.artnet.com; www.askart.com; www.artfact.com; www.ebay.com also can be invaluable resource tools.

Catalogs and online auction previews always list estimates of the expected hammer price. Remember, these are only estimates. Most sellers set a “reserve price,” which is the lowest bid they will accept. Auctioneers are not allowed to reveal that price, but it is often 10% to 15% lower than the estimated sales price. Often it is much lower and sometimes there are no reserves.

Your game face

You don’t need to sit through a whole auction to bid on that candelabrum that caught your eye. If you see an item during preview that you wish to bid on, ask a staff member the approximate time that your lot could be expected to come up for sale. Auction house staffers can generally gauge how many lots will be sold per hour and can give you a fairly accurate range of time.

When attending a live auction, find a location where the auctioneer can see you and you can see the other bidders. (The far back of the salesroom is always advantageous.) It never hurts to appear nonchalant, so that the bidding doesn’t escalate needlessly, but the most important thing is to make clear eye contact with the auctioneer. When you bid, hold your paddle up and be certain that it is not obstructed and that the staff can read your paddle number.

Phoning it in

If you cannot attend the actual sale, you can still participate in the live proceedings by phone. Auction houses vary on phone bidding minimums, usually starting with lots more than $1,500. Having established your phone connection, a member of the auction house staff will call you within 15 minutes of the predicted lot time. It is always best to discuss with your phone bidder what your limits will be. Although you can change your mind as you go along, bidding happens rapidly. Your phone bidder cannot hold up the auction while you are considering your next bid.

You may also leave an absentee order bid by phone or at the preview. The auctioneer will place your bid in his book and when your lot comes up he will auction your bid against the “live” bids in the room or on the phones.

Cleaning up

It is not unusual for 10% to 20% of the goods posted for auction to become “passed lots,” which are items that failed to draw the seller’s reserve price. Since auctioneers depend on commissions and want to move merchandise, “aftersale bidding” (known in the trade as “bottom feeding”) can help you snag great bargains. Directly after the sale, review the results and the list of passed lots that are posted on the auction houses’ websites. (Many enter results as the auction is in progress; the notation “B.I.” is auctioneer shorthand for items that haven’t sold.)

If you are interested in an unsold lot, you should contact the department within the auction house that originally would have cataloged the piece. Although this takes a little more time and effort than a normal auction bid, it can be well worth your while. You can make an offer anywhere from 15% to 25% beneath the lowest listed estimate -- more if you are willing to risk being outbid -- and the auction house will contact the owner of the property with the offer. It’s a small gamble that can reap big rewards because after the auction, the consignor -- not the auction house -- has the final say.

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Leslie Trilling, an appraiser of fine and decorative arts, is a past director for Phillips Auctioneers, Western region, and a graduate of the Sotheby’s Institute in London.

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“Big Suckers”

Lot 425: by Wayne Thiebaud, 1970, aquatint on paper, Edition No. 15/50, 30 inches by 25 inches

Estimated sale price: $7,000-$9,000

This delectable work by a former cartoonist for Walt Disney and Rexall Drugs is part of Christie’s 23-piece collection “Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Prints,” which also features Degas, Cassatt, Matisse and Lichtenstein. It is one image in a set of eight pieces entitled “Seven Still Lifes and a Rabbit,” a portfolio that, according to Kelly Troester, head of Christie’s print department, has never come up for auction. This preview also will include about 30 photographs by such masters as Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray, Irving Penn and Diane Arbus.

One of the heroes of California Pop, Thiebaud’s portraits of pastries are alive with exuberant swirls of impasto color. “When I painted the first row of pies,” he once remarked. “I can remember sitting and laughing -- sort of a silly relief -- ‘Now I have flipped out!’ ”

As did New York critics, who anointed the San Francisco-based Thiebaud as the West Coast’s first Pop star. Though it is tempting to view his work as a sugar-coated metaphor for American consumerism, prints such as this 1970 work also demonstrate Thiebaud’s talent for graphic art and the formal concerns of composition and color.

-- David A. Keeps

Christie’s

Location: 360 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 385-2600

Preview dates: Wednesday to March 27, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sale date: April 28 at Christie’s New York, (212) 636 2000

Website: www.christies.com

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Three Etruscan votive heads

Lot 7038: 4th--3rd century BC, terra cotta on museum mounts, heights range from 7 inches to 11 1/2 inches

Estimated sale price: $1,200-$1,800

Made as gifts, these hollow, molded terra cotta heads unearthed in central Italy were usually crafted in the likeness of the recipient and often buried in sacred grounds as offerings. Along with a sculpture of a young boy, this lot contains two female figures, the tallest described as having a “melon curl coiffure.” According to Carolyn Mani of Bonhams & Butterfields, “Collectors of Etruscan art today look for women’s heads, which are more sought-after than men’s.”

These Etruscan heads will be offered for sale in the Sunset Estate Auction along with a select group of Italian pottery, Asian porcelain, European period furniture, and paintings and sculpture from the Estate of Tara Colburn, a former director of the Los Angeles Opera Society. Proceeds will benefit the Los Angeles Opera.

In addition to the lots in the Colburn estate, the auction will feature Asian art, books and manuscripts, 70 paintings and sculptures, more than 100 pieces of silver of all styles and periods, and 300 pieces of furniture.

-- David A. Keeps

Bonhams & Butterfields

Location: 7601 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 850-7500

Preview dates: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon.

Sale date: Sunday, 10 a.m.

Website: www.butterfields.com

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“Woman Bathing”

Lot 8: by Mary Cassatt, 1890-91, drypoint and aquatint, printed in colors, 10 3/8 inches by 14 1/4 inches.

Estimated sale price: $280,000-$350,000

One of only 10 large-format color works by the American painter Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), “Woman Bathing” is one of the prize pieces in Christie’s upcoming auction, “Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Prints,” which will be exhibited in Los Angeles next week.

The Pittsburgh-born daughter of a wealthy stockbroker, Cassatt relocated to Paris in 1874 and was the only American to be invited to exhibit with the Impressionists. Unmarried, she became extremely well known for her mother-and-child portraits. Influenced by an exhibition of Japanese woodblocks, Cassatt learned to ink and pull her own prints.

Only four prints of this image have come up for sale, the last fetching an impressive $375,000 in 1999. “It is one of her most famous prints,” notes Christie’s Kelly Troester, “particularly for its striking sense of pattern and vivid blues.” This impression was part of an edition of about 25 prints and was displayed at the National Gallery of Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Art in the 1989 exhibition “Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints.”

-- David A. Keeps

Christie’s

Location: 360 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 385-2600

Preview dates: Wednesday and next Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sale date: April 28 at Christie’s New York, (212) 636-2000

Website: www.christies.com