LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams highlights a stunning group of ceramics by Austrian duo artists Otto and Gertrud Natzler in its upcoming 20th Century Decorative Arts auction on October 27 in Los Angeles. The top valued item being offered in this impressive group is a rare 1960 Volcanic Blue Ceramic Cylinder (est. $30,000-40,000), measuring at more than a foot tall and six inches in diameter.

Since the late 1930s the husband and wife team, mostly self-taught in ceramics, produced fine vessels through a distinctive division of labor. Gertrud excelled at her talent for "throwing clay" and Otto accentuated the pieces through a mastery of glazing. The result was the creation of works of art that were interconnected and complemented each other's talents. In March of 1938, the Natzlers were awarded a silver medal at the World Exhibition in Paris, the same time that Germany took over Austria during the Anschluss. They then fled to escape the Nazi threat and settled in California, where they also achieved great international success over more than four decades that includes approximately 25,000 works and 2,500 glazing techniques. Numerous exhibitions and awards followed such as retrospectives at the Los Angeles County Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.

Bonhams Director of 20th Century Decorative Arts in Los Angeles, Dan Tolson, commented, "We are thrilled to be offering such an expertly curated private collection whose range and breadth perfectly articulates the immense talents of arguably two of the greatest ceramic artists of the 20th century."

The auction also features glass, metalware, sculptures, ceramics and furniture from the late 19th century to the present day. Top highlights include Dale Chihuly's Postrio Persian Installation (est. $70,000-100,000), made of 13 bright colored glass disks on a bronze framework. An important and unique glazed stoneware bowl in the "budding style," from the 1940s by Danish artist Axel Johann Salto is being offered (est. $15,000-25,000). Also offered are ceramics by Beatrice Wood (who at the beginning of her potting career was under the tutelage of the Natzlers), George Nakashima furniture as well as a striking group of Serge Mouille light fixtures and lamps.

Also noteworthy is a set piece interior of 1970s luxurious opulence collected by the late Larry Harmon for his apartment on the Wilshire Corridor. Harmon, who popularized the beloved children's character Bozo the Clown, brought it to television in the 1950s after buying the rights from Capitol Records. The highlight of the group is a Paul Evans walnut burl and brass wall-mounted Faceted credenza, designed circa 1975 (est. $30,000-50,000).