SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bonhams announced its fall Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts auction will be held October 27 in San Francisco during the week of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. The 400 lot sale will precede Bonhams' auction of The Connoisseur’s Eye: A Private Collection of European Furniture, Paintings and Decorative Arts on October 28.

The October 27 sale will feature a carefully-curated private Oregon collection, put together over decades, focusing on elegant and sophisticated 18th century French furniture crafted by some of the finest ebenistes of the period. Highlights will include a Louis XV gilt bronze mounted and floral marquetry bureau en pente by Mathieu Criaerd (est. $30,000-50,000); a set of 12 northern Italian neoclassical painted chairs (est. $25,000-35,000); a Regence parquetry bibliotheque by Pierre Migeon (est. $15,000-25,000); a very fine Louis XV marquetry table a ecrire by Jacques Bircklé (est. $15,000-25,000); and a Louis XV/XVI marquetry table ambulante by Nicolas Petit (est. $10,000-15,000).

On offer to benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will be a Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted mahogany bureau plat in the manner of David Roentgen (est. $20,000-30,000); a charming Louis XV chinoiserie decorated table (est. $3,000-5,000) and a pair of 18th century chaises a la reine stamped by Georges Jacob that are likely of royal provenance (est. $4,000-6,000). A set of chairs identical to these was made for Marie Antoinette for the chateau at Fontainebleau.

Of particular note in English and American section of the sale will be a marble bust of Madame Eliot (Frances Eliot Austin) by American sculptor Hiram Powers, dated 1848 (est. $8,000-10,000). Frances Eliot was married to Charles Lee Austin (1814-1866), the American minister to Florence. Mr. & Mrs. Austin were friends with Hiram Powers and his wife. The bust is being offered by the descendants of Frances Austin.

A pair of George III mahogany side chairs in the manner of William Linnell, from the third quarter of the 18th century (est. $20,000-30,000), will likely be of interest to bidders as Bonhams was pleased to sell a similar pair for $47,500 in March of this year.

There will be more than a dozen tapestries in the sale, including several from a private collection of Ross, Calif., dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Also on view from the Bay Area, from a private Napa, Calif., collection will be fantastic examples of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Baroque and Rococo furniture.

Notable highlights of decorative arts will include an American 14 karat gold and gold quartz headed cane and a 10 karat gold headed cane, both which were presented to the Dollar family of California (est. $4,000-6,000); a massive Austrian pewter Zunftkanne made for the locksmith, gunsmith and clock smith guild, dated 1630 (est. $2,000-3,000); and a French gilt bronze and Sevres style porcelain mounted triple singing bird automaton by Bontems of Paris, from the late 19th century (est. $5,000-7,000), from a private San Francisco collection.

Additional porcelain highlights will include a pair of Chinese Quingbai porcelain vases with French gilt bronze mounts, with porcelain from the 13th/14th century and bronze from the 18th/19th century (est. $1,200-1,800); and a Chinese apple green porcelain baluster vase with French gilt bronze mounts from the 19th century (est. $1,200-1,800).

Rounding out the sale will be a pair of Venetian Rococo style polychrome and parcel gilt figural torcheres on pedestals, from the fourth quarter of the 19th century (est. $20,000-30,000) and a very interesting French walnut center table depicting the Americas, from the late 19th century (est. $2,000-3,000).

The preview for this sale will take place October 24-26 in San Francisco.