For many collectors, provenance is the vital factor in their attraction to a given auction lot. A pair of Nikes worn by Michael Jordan while torching the Knicks in the playoffs is part of NBA history; a pair of Air Jordans worn by some guy while playing h-o-r-s-e in the high school gym are just sweaty sneakers.

For the intrepid collector who prefers history shrouded in ambiguity, however, consider the auction of abandoned safe deposit boxes at Doyle New York on June 27 (viewing from June 23-26). Calling upon their relationship with various banks, Doyle has acquired unclaimed or undesired goods that have come to light when banks have merged with another or liquidated their own inventory. Despite the fact that most of the findings at such auctions aren't overly rarified -- coins, jewelry (like the gold bangle pictured here), and other disjecta -- the overwhelming sentiment in the air is one of speculation. What could be so important in someone's life that it had to be locked in a bank -- and why was it then simply left there? Then again, the mystery of why something once considered worthy of safekeeping suddenly or gradually becomes the object of indifference, or is simply forgotten, is probably better left to psychologists or poets to unravel.

In the end, imaginatively reconstructing the lives behind some of the lots, from the grandiose to the mundane, is perhaps the real source of enjoyment at these auctions. Elaborate reflections and intricately spun familial yarns can make bidders feel as if, for a short while, they've become entangled in a Paul Auster novel.

Such musings can be a welcome respite after the excess of the summer auctions at the big houses, where it's easy to feel that one has been trapped, with no way out, on Page Six.

-- DAVID COGGINS