LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams announced its auction of Fine European Furniture & Decorative Arts including the Collection of William M. Keck II achieved more than $3.3 million and was over 90 percent sold by value on December 8 and 9 in Los Angeles.

The 788 lot sale saw strong bidding all around in the auction room, online and over the phones with participants from 31 countries around the globe.

Leading the auction, from the Warner Bros. Studio Collection, was a magnificent pair of French life-size bronze figural torcheres, “Deux Femmes, Indienne et Persane,” after Émile Guillemin (1841-1907), cast by the famous Ferdinand Barbedienne Foundry in Paris, circa 1872. The pair flew far past its $50,000-70,000 estimate to bring $131,000. Guillemin is best known for his Orientalist works that were inspired by the Middle East and its exoticism. Also notable from the Warner Bros. Studio Collection was a pair of French gilt bronze mounted and Vernis Martin decorated mahogany vitrines, circa 1900, which achieved $37,500 (est. $15,000-20,000).

On offer from famed “Casablanca” director Michael Curtiz was a circa 1900 Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted marquetry and parquetry inlaid kingwood table de milieu by François Linke that achieved $27,500 (est. $15,000-20,000).

Property from the Collection of William M. Keck II included more than 300 lots of furniture, decorative arts, Asian art and fine art from their Coalinga Corp. southern California head offices, offered without reserve. Highlights included a mid-18th century Italian rococo chinoiserie decorated chest that sold for $92,500 (est. $8,000-12,000); a 19th century English mahogany concentric extension dining table that brought $81,250 (est. $12,000-15,000); a set of four, mid-18th century George II carved walnut armchairs that took in $52,500 (est. $10,000-15,000); a Chinese 12 panel dark brown lacquer ground coromandel screen from the 18th/19th century that achieved $50,000 (est. $25,000-35,000); an American sterling silver flatware service for 36 by Old Newbury Crafters of Newburyport, Mass., that claimed $40,000 (est. $2,500-3,500); and a mid-18th century Dutch walnut secretary cabinet that fetched $40,000 (est. $20,000-30,000).

Additional stand-out lots from the William M. Keck II Collection included a 17th century Flemish baroque historical tapestry, depicting a king and queen seated on a throne receiving a sultan with gifts, that realized $37,500 (est. $20,000-30,000); a George I featherbanded walnut 'pepys' bookcase that drew in $35,000 (est. $5,000-7,000); a set of 12 regency carved mahogany elbow chairs from the first quarter of the 19th century that sold for $31,250 (est. $8,000-12,000); an Italian renaissance carved marble wellhead, likely from the 15th/16th century, that brought $30,000 (est. $10,000-15,000); a pair of 18th century continental rococo carved giltwood mirrors that achieved $27,500 (est. $10,000-15,000); a 20th century Kashan rug that took in $20,000 (est. $4,000-6,000); and a pair of mid-18th century Italian rococo carved giltwood mirrors that realized $20,000 (est. $12,000-15,000).

A highlight of particular note in the sale was from the Edwards Family Trust: an exhibition quality Italian marquetry inlaid cabinet, circa 1891, that was made for the Palermo exhibition of 1891-1892. It brought $47,500, ahead of its estimate of $20,000-30,000.

Property from the Stephen Wallace Estate also performed well. A late 19th century English Renaissance revival silvered bronze and carved mahogany side cabinet by Hindley and Wilkinson of London brought $31,250 (est. $10,000-15,000) and a Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted regulateur after a model by Jean-Henri Riesener, circa 1900, took in $23,750.

From the Estate of Onnalee Olson Doheny, a regency inlaid mahogany triple pedestal dining table from the early 19th century sold for $21,250 (est. $7,000-9,000).

Additional noteworthy items included an early 20th century Chinese jadeite covered vase that sold for $35,000 (est. $800-1,200); a late 19th century Italian micromosaic panel that brought $26,250 (est. $10,000-15,000); and a pair of late 19th century régence style gilt bronze mounted ebonized pedestals that took in $25,000 (est. $8,000-12,000).

Bonhams’ Director of the Furniture and Decorative Arts Department in Los Angeles, Andrew Jones, commented of the sale, “It was wonderful to see a packed auction room on both days, bidding with huge enthusiasm against a bank of telephone bidders, and strong activity from the online bidders. The auction was the perfect mix of property to attract the international clientele.”