Kamelot Auctions will go into its third season tomorrow with a sale of more than 500 lots of furniture, statuary, lighting and artwork at its gallery in the 4700 Wissahickon Ave. complex. More than two dozen lots come from the Parisian furniture-maker Jansen, including a consignment from a descendant of the company’s founder, Jean-Henri Jansen.

Jansen went out of business in the 1970s, Jeff Kamel, head of the auction company (affiliated with Susanin of Chicago), said this week. But for the preceding 100 years, it included European royalty and the Kennedy White House among its clients. “If you were wealthy, they were the place to go,” he said.

Along with those consigned by Jean-Henri Jansen’s descendant, a Philadelphia antiques dealer who is moving back to her native France, the 30 Jansen items include a consignment from a New York collector. Most are expected to sell for modest four-figure prices, although a set of 18 dining-room chairs are expected to bring $8,000 to $12,000.

While Kamel does not doubt their authenticity, he lists most as “attributed to” in the online auction catalog at www.kamelotauctions.com.

“Unfortunately, Jansen did not sign most of their work, and to reduce our exposure, we do attributions,” Kamel said.

Two of the lots are signed, however, including a pair of gilt-and-polychrome open arm chairs in the Louis XVI style expected to sell for $2,000 to $4,000; and two others are documented.

The auction also features more than 100 lots of mid-20th-century modern furniture, including works by Nakashima, Wegner, and a rare midcentury Brazilian rosewood and mahogany butterfly-shape console with chrome accents that is expected to bring $1,500 to $2,500.

Kamel calls midcentury modern “the hottest thing in the market.”

“We list our auctions on eBay, and out of our top 20 clocked on eBay, 18 have been modern.”

The auction also has its share of unusual items. Among the 100 lots of lighting and accessories is a pair of cast and gilded “Green Man” sconces from the Plaza Hotel in New York City expected to bring $600 to $900.

(Nowadays, the Green Man is a popular garden mask, but anyone who remembers the Kingsley Amis novel of that name recalls that in early times he was a mythical and ill-tempered giant in England about the size of a tree, who occasionally came out of the forest to wreak havoc.)

The two dozen or so lots of statuary include a shepherdess and female bust on a pedestal, which came out of a South Philadelphia funeral parlor, according to Kamel. The shepherdess should bring $5,000 to $8,000.

And among the porcelains is a three-piece Royal Bayreuth tea service with the pieces in the shapes of tomatoes expected to bring a modest $150 to $250; and a pair of monumental Rookwood architectural vases expected to sell for $1,500 to $2,500.

The vases were found in a garage hidden among lawn mowers and other yard equipment, Kamel said. “We were amazed that they were in perfect condition.”

Preview is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the sale site. For further information call 215-438-6990. By the way, at 11 a.m. Wednesday Kamelot will have a noncatalog, nonreserve, non-eBay warehouse sale.

Suburban sale

At 3 p.m. Wednesday in Chester Heights, Wilson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers will offer a large collection of British lead soldiers in original boxes and other collectibles, followed by furniture, including items acquired from the Philadelphia dealer Alfred Bullard and the estate of W. Wesley Nagle.

Preview will be from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the gallery at 344 Valleybrook Rd. For further information call 610-358-9515 or go to www.wbauction.com.

And at 9 a.m. Thursday in Hatfield, the Alderfer Auction Co. will offer more than 200 lots of advertising memorabilia, including 20 advertising signs for such delicacies as Kickapoo Joy Juice; more than two dozen electric advertising clocks, including one for Haydu griddle franks (remember them?); and trays and containers.

Previews will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and from 7 a.m. to sale time at Alderfer’s, 501 Fairgrounds Rd. For more information call 315-393-3000 or go to www.alderferauction.com.

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