Welcome to “On the Block”: ELLE Decor’s new series where we spotlight one spectacular piece going up for auction. Get your paddles ready.
Most of us are lying when we say we don’t like to play games. Risk is a thrill, and every game involves it. So when perusing the lots in the upcoming Christie’s auction of ambassador James Zellerbach’s Frances Elkins-designed home, a certain games table will stick out as the most relatable object in the sale. Designed around 1937, the cerused oak table carries a glass top over suede upholstery: perfect for messy nights of liqueur and losses. The four armchairs paired with the table fit comfortably around each 33-inch side. Their painted wood arms and buttery, leather upholstery perfectly suit several hours of whist (or Uno, depending on what century you’re in). The table legs curve out in a hoof-like shape, common in Queen Anne furniture. In fact, in the 17th century, when this style of table was most prevalent, each corner’s rounded extension might have held a candle.
In the 1930’s, however, we can imagine a cocktail balanced on each outcrop. Mixed alcoholic beverages had just gained popularity during Prohibition, and Zellerbach was, after all, an American. In the San Francisco house Elkins designed for him and his wife Hannah, extremely rare Alberto Giacometti sculptures (one of which has been shown at TEFAF) mingled with furniture by Jean-Michel Frank and Emilio Terry, who Elkins considered friends. Elkins was a devotee of European modernism, but her interiors were never one note. Christie’s refers to the Zellerbach residence as avant-garde. Indeed it was, with hallways crowned in haunting plaster foliage straight out of Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast, and minimal rooms covered in a single material. Shell sconces emit soft lights, zebra hides cover the floors, and sofas with curlicued backs dominate whole walls.
In the card room where the table was used, tufted leather banquettes snuggle into two corners under the plaster shell sconces, also designed by Elkins. With its warm honey hue, the games table makes sense here, reflecting the soft glow of the objects surrounding it. But the paired-back volumes of its Queen Anne-style form would make it a perfect fit in a period 17th -century palace, as much as a spare city apartment. Our bet is that decorative range and the table’s rarity will prove appealing enough to exceed the sets $30,000 — $50,000 estimate. Come June 12 we will know for sure.
American Avant-Garde: The James D. Zellerbach Residence by Frances Elkins will head to auction at Christie’s on June 12, 2025.
