Its French Art Deco, and its Tiffany," says Jodi Pollack, senior vice president and head of the Department of 20th - century Design at Sothebys. "Those are the two markets in which weve really been proactive in trying to get fresh, top - caliber material." As collectors continue to be both selective and unpredictable in their purchases, all the major houses are pinning their hopes on those and other proven blue - chip sectors in this months 20th - century design and decorative - arts auctions in New York and Chicago.

The December 15 sale at Sothebys, estimated to earn between $6 million and $8 million, leads with two spectacular works by renowned Art Deco ebeniste Emile - Jacques Ruhlmann: a dressing table and chair made of Macassar ebony, shagreen, and ivory and a burled - walnut cabinet with a central silvered - bronze mount depicting a dancing woman, similar to a piece that brought $917,037 in the Chateau de Gourdon sale at Christies Paris earlier this year. Another standout is a rare Gustav Stickley china cabinet, featured in the retrospective of the American Arts S Crafts master that wrapped up a nationwide tour in September. .

For its December 17 sale, expected to bring in between $5 million and $7 million, Christies too has rounded up a strong selection of Art Deco, notably Jean Dunands black - lacquer paneling emblazoned with stylized goldfish from the breakfast room of the San Francisco penthouse he designed in 1928 for Templeton Crocker. Among postwar objects, Christies has high hopes for a flock of 10 Claude Lalanne sheep created in 1977 of epoxy stone and bronze. Other top lots include a pair of Eileen Gray end tables designed for her Lota sofa and two rare plaster table lamps by Alberto Giacometti. .

Both houses will follow their 20th - century design sales with specialized Tiffany sessions. "The Tiffany market really never suffered from the economic crisis," says Carina Villinger, specialist in 20th - century decorative arts and design at Christies. "Pretty much everything else took a dip, but Tiffany just keeps on going." The house is looking to earn upwards of $4 million on approximately 160 lots, which include a Pond Lily table lamp, a white Wisteria table lamp, and a floral Bouquet chandelier, all from an Ohio estate. For its part, Sothebys has assembled about 50 lots in a tightly curated sale, expected to gross between $4 million and $6 million, that is headlined by a three - panel Magnolia window, exhibited in the landmark 1989 "Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany" exhibition, and a circa 1905 Wisteria table lamp. .

Phillips de Ригу S Company, always more focused on postwar and contemporary, will kick off its design auctions on December 13 with its second Design Masters evening session, boasting such highlights as Jean Royeres Oeuf chest of drawers, a giant acrylic console designed by Shiro Kuramata for a Tokyo restaurant, and a 1987 walnut conference table with 10 low Conoid chairs by George Nakashima. "It has all the bells and whistles," specialist Meaghan Roddy says of the Nakashima set. "The top is excellent, very figured, and the chairs are distinctive, with one solid plank of wood for each seat." .

In Chicago, Wright will close its year with a December 15 sale expected to take in $4 million. Among the 250 lots are more than two dozen sculptures by Harry Bertoia and a strong lineup of pieces by Gio Ponti, including a coffee table and items he created for a residential commission in Venezuela. A group of 1980s glass works by Ettore Sottsass will test the market for postmodern design, the subject of a major show now at Londons VSA. "The historical importance of postmodernism is going to continue to become clearer," says Richard Wright. "Whats so wonderful about collecting the recent past is that you can get the best of the best." .

LOS ANGELES One of a Kind An exceedingly rare 1906 Greene ? Greene linen press, below, holds pride of place in a December 11 sale that Los Angeles Modern Auctions is billing as the most important in its nearly 20 - year history. Through details such as square ebony pegs and delicately rounded corners, the Japanese - inflected piece conveys a lightness despite its emphatically horizontal lines. Its estimate is unpublished, but lama founder Peter Loughrey notes that "since it last traded hands, in the mid 1990s, the market for rare design has consistently reached seven figures for the most sought - after works." Loughrey expects diverse bidders. "Contemporary - art collectors increasingly are looking for exceptional works of classic modern design, even if they do not collect Arts ? Crafts or Art Deco," he says. Also in the eclectic sale are an 18 - inch - tall glazed vase from 1957 by Gertrud and Otto Natzler and a 1963 Studebaker Avanti with an impeccable pedigree, having been specially outfitted for designer Raymond Loewy. .

Light and Space Alyson Shotzs sculptures, which seem to be made of evanescent light effects, are ideally suited to the towering glass - walled Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo. The Brooklyn - based artist is presenting five new works there, but Geometry of Light, above, which lends its name to the show, soars above the others. Strung across the space are waves of plastic Fresnel lenses that capture and transform views of the surrounding city as the visitor walks among them. The exhibition, on the Omotesando - district buildings seventh floor, above the luxury - goods companys store, runs through December 25. .

LOS ANGELES Essential Accessories "My eyes lit up when I first saw a Judith Leiber pillbox in an Omaha jewelry store," says Susan Maier. Noting her enchantment, her husband, Robert, bought it for her, not realizing his innocent gesture would lead them down a slippery slope. Over the years the couples collection of Leibers signature rhinestone - encrusted accessories in whimsical shapes has swelled into the hundreds, including glittering dogs, cats, penguins, tigers, dolphins, and vegetables. On December 12, Bonhams S Butterfields will auction 450 members of their menagerie, grouped into 266 lots with prices from $200 to $4,000 and offered without reserve. For Susan the appeal of Leibers idiosyncratic designs is clear: "They bring such incredible feelings of joy when you carry them." .

Books of the Season Bernini: His Life and His Rome By Franco Morando UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, $35 Like Leonardo and Michelangelo before him, Bernini, the artist who defines the Italian Baroque aesthetic, had a long and productive life filled with equal measures of professional triumph and personal turmoil. This detailed biography seeks to present a holistic view of his undertakings and the larger Roman culture in which he thrived, with special emphasis on the familial and political relationships that animated the great sculptor, painter, and architect. .

Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design Edited by Jeannine Falino ABRAMS, $65 The midcentury modern design movement is often thought of as defined by its embrace of industrial materials, like fiberglass and plywood. But as demonstrated by the curators of the Museum of Arts and Design exhibition that this volume accompanied, an artisanal approach was central to many great designers of the day, from Isamu Noguchi to such unexpected practitioners as Richard Artschwager. .

The Digital Wunderkammer By Hubert Burda petrarca/d.a.r, $45 Burda, who is an art historian as well as the head of a German media company, applies all his interests to this analysis of visual culture through the ages. In essays that are both deeply informed and provocative, he lays out how the use of iconography has evolved in parallel with developments in media - and the changes we can expect as digital technology becomes more pervasive. Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence Edited by Jane Katcher, et al. yale, $95 Folk art and Americana seldom get so lush a treatment. In this hefty tome, a follow - up to the comprehensive 2006 catalogue of Katchers collection, extended essays are devoted to individual masterpieces and their creators, from a copper weathervane in the shape of an allegorical figure of Fame and a Shaker revolving chair to a group of family portraits by Ammi Phillips and baskets by the Native American Dat So La Lee. .

Gerhard Richter: Panorama Edited by Mark Godfrey, et al. d.a.p., $65 Richters comprehensive retrospective, currently at the Tate Modern whence it travels to the Neue Nationalgalerie, in Berlin, and the Pompidou, in Paris, is a landmark event. This exhibition catalogue - from its opening 0 and A between Tate director Nicholas Serota and the laconic painter through half a dozen chronological essays - is indispensable. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul Photographs by Laziz Hamani assouline, $250.

Assouline knows how to produce a book that conveys a sense of place, and it has pulled out all the stops in this opulent 12 - by - 15 - inch slipcased volume. With minimal text, page after page of lavish photos capture the hallmarks of the centuries - old marketplace: shadowy alleyways and crowded eateries, ageless craftsmen and international bargain hunters, stunning jewels and vibrant fabrics. Magnum Contact Sheets Edited by Kristen Lubben thames ? hudson, $150 Magnum members have created some of the greatest photojournalism of the second half of the 20th century - from Robert Capas record of D - day landings to Stuart Franklins iconic picture of a single man facing down a row of tanks in Tiananmen Square - as well as less momentous but still captivating images, such as David Alan Harveys scene of Carnival revelers in Brazil. This 500 - page volume provides a peek at the process behind these photos, showing the shots taken before and after each standout and letting the photographers tell how they made their choices. Masterpieces of Classical Chinese Painting Edited by Zheng Xinmiao. abbeville, $190

Spanning the 4th through the 19th centuries, the 105 paintings presented here convey both the variety and the continuity of Chinas premodern tradition. Drawing from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shanghai Museum, the Palace Museum in Taipei, and other Chinese and Western institutions, the weighty book pairs full - scale reproductions of details with essays that place both the paintings and their creators in context. Its oversized folded sheets of silklike paper and exposed, hand - sewn binding suit the beauty of the subject. The Treasures of Vacheron Constantin. hazan/yale, $60

The history of the oldest continually operating watchmaker in the world, from its 1755 founding in Geneva through its breakthrough innovations to its ascendance to the rank of premier luxury brand, is laid out in this catalogue to an exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore. .

Vitamin P2: New Perspectives in Painting By Barry Schwabsky, et al. phaidon, $70 Almost a decade after the release of the first book in this popular series surveying trends in contemporary art, Vitamin P2 looks at 115 painters from 30 countries whose reputations have been established in recent years. Dozens of critics and curators nominated and wrote about such stars of the international gallery and biennial circuit as Tauba Auerbach, Wade Guyton, Li Sonsong, and Mickalene Thomas. .

DOHA, QATAR Silk and Stone The cultural influences linking Asia and the Arab world via the maritime Silk Road serve as the central motif of "Saraab", an exhibition of 50 new and recent works by Cai Guo - Qiang debuting at Mathaf: the Arab Museum of Modern Art, in Qatar, on the 5th of this month. "The shows themes evolved from a very personal journey Cai experienced while going between Doha and Quanzhou, his hometown," says the museums director and the shows curator, Wassan Al - Khudhairi. "Each visit to the petroglyphs of Al - Jassasiya, to the Al - Shaqab stables, and back to the porcelain workshops of southeastern China brought with it another revelation." For example, Homecoming, one of 16 new commissions in the exhibition, consists of 60 boulders from Cais hometown whose surfaces are inscribed with Arabic sayings found on the tombstones in the centuries - old Muslim cemeteries of Quanzhou. .

Watching the Detectives Matthew Brannons deadpan mashup of the languages of fine art, pop culture, and design never fails to intrigue and confound. The artist is best known for letterpress prints laced with cryptic wit that combine pared - down illustrations of everyday objects with short texts crafted to imply situations and relationships. His stock of recurring images - shoes, liquor bottles, and knives, as well as stylized birds and snakes - function as bit actors in the implied narratives. The scenarios "should feel as if youve heard them before," Brannon says. The vaguely old - fashioned - sounding dialogue snippets suit the vintage palette that results from Brannons delib - erate pitting of the decorative against loftier artistic domains. "I like the fact that colors can confuse," he explains. "You wouldnt expect a subject like divorce to be depicted in pink." The current theatrical installation, his first since moving to New Yorks Casey Kaplan Gallery, running through December 17, is a continuation of the deconstructed detective story presented in the gallerys booth at this years Frieze fair. In his prints, paintings, and sculptures - such as Once Inside, 2011, right - Brannon revels in our thorny reactions to a subliminally told tale: "Ive always been interested in finding a polite way of saying something terribly distressing." .