Items once owned by billionaire Kawamoto go to auction block

Photo gallery: Kawamoto collection

From fierce, life-sized bronze lion sculptures to dainty porcelain figurines, the art collection of Japanese real estate tycoon Genshiro Kawamoto is vast and varied.

Passers-by might have caught a glimpse of what Kawamoto collected for gardens on properties he owned along prestigious Kahala Avenue, but there was plenty more inside the multimillion-dollar oceanfront homes.

Now there’s an opportunity to not only see, but bid, on the billionaire’s belongings.

More than 500 pieces of Kawamoto’s global art collection, furnishings and decor will go up for bid Saturday at one of his former Kahala properties.

Oahu Auctions has sorted the items into lots and is selling it all, with no reserves or upset pricing, meaning no minimum.

"Because of the large volume of items we have, it will be an all-day event," said Alicia Brandt of Oahu Auctions. "We have a diverse collection of objects and furniture. Regardless of one’s budget or taste in decor, there’s something for everyone. There will be extraordinary deals."

Oahu Auctions is offering all of the items as is, with no official verifications or appraisals.

Kawamoto sold his portfolio of 27 Kahala properties and four other Hawaii parcels to Alexander & Baldwin Inc. in a $98 million deal in September.

The items being auctioned came from several of the Kahala homes sold to A&B, and the auction is being held at one of the properties. A&B declined to comment for this story.

On auction day, interested bidders will be able to peruse the items as lot numbers are called throughout the sprawling, two-story oceanside estate.

Brandt said items are randomly grouped, so a long, bamboo-top dining table may be paired with a Japanese art screen, for instance, along with European-style tapestry and teak benches.

In previous interviews, Kawamoto had said he would transform the oceanside estates into museums to house both Asian and European art collections, as well as create a "garden museum" at the former Hemmeter estate he acquired.

Whether he ever reached his goal is unclear, but based on the volume of items up for auction one can surmise he poured thousands of dollars into amassing an eclectic collection of furnishings, arts and objects for those homes over the past 10 years.

Outdoors, in the garden, on auction day, bidders will see Buddha statues, stupas (decorative Buddhist monuments), and bronze life-sized lions in various poses. Passersby have likely seen the marble replicas of angels, maidens and three ladies similar to "Les Trois Graces" (The Three Graces).

The garden sculptures for sale are similar to the ones that are visible at the blue tile-roofed property next door to the auction site at 4635 Kahala Ave. But those actual sculptures are not included in the sale.

Paul Lavy, art history graduate program director at University of Hawaii at Manoa , looked at several images of the pieces on a casual basis.

"To me, it mostly looks like high-end, assembly-line kitsch," said Lavy. "But as we know, one person’s kitsch is another person’s treasure. … It all does appear to be fairly recent material and replica-type sculpture."

Most of the items would not belong in a traditional art museum, he said, but would perhaps fit well in a Las Vegas context or a showroom for "expensive, instant home-decorating."

Still, the eccentric Japanese tycoon’s selection of furnishings appears to include many unique pieces in everything from mahogany to rosewood, teak and bamboo.

A broad palette of styles is represented — from a contemporary rattan chair to dozens of European-style curio cabinets, console tables with gilded legs, as well as marble pedestals and Italian mirrors.

Besides a Victorian-style show-frame sofa, there is a French-style couch in green and gold as well as a leopard-print chair and ottoman.

But there are also modern leather sofachairs, a contemporary bedroom set and Versace pillow cushions. Several lanai sets are available.

Kawamoto collected bronze figurines of everything from hula dancers to ballerinas and Greco-Roman figures.

He also appeared to enjoy mermaids, tigers and dolphins as a recurring theme. There are several mermaid sculptures as well as a mermaid glass top coffee table.

Somewhere along the way, Kawamoto purchased a tiger bust, entitled "Eyes of the Tiger" by artist Joe Slockbower of Mill Creek Studios in California.

There’s also a pair of large, brass-cast, striped tigers with price tags still attached, at $12,400 apiece. Another mermaid sculpture’s price tag says $4,950.

Few of the bronze or marble life-sized sculptures appear to have an artist’s signature, but some of the framed art pieces do.

Scattered among the offerings are a few Lladro porcelain figurines from Spain, as well as Jeff Chang pottery creations and Nancy Daum art deco French art glass lamps.

Household goods include Oriental-style vases, lamps and Wedgwood china. There are also dozens of porcelain figurines and a bust of Beethoven plus tribal masks made from monkeypod.

Brandt says she’s never held an auction of this magnitude, with such a large variety of items to select from. Bidders simply need to register with a name, address and phone number.