Sotheby's Design 20e Siècle Auction Totals €7 million

21 May '15

With a total of €7 million and a sell-through rate of 90%, Sotheby's Design 20e Siècle auction, on May 21st 2015, confirmed the attraction of works of art from original or private collections.

This Paris Design auction had been shaped by gathering together several private French and European collections. Included in the sale were a variety of select pieces ranging from Art Deco, represented by Clément Rousseau, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Armand-Albert Rateau and Pierre Chareau, moving on to the 1940s and 1950s with creations by André Arbus and Gilbert Poillerat, and to the more contemporary designs of Shiro Kuramata and Andrea Branzi.

An iconic pair of Boule armchairs by Jean Royère achieved € 543,000 against a €120,000-150,000 pre-sale estimate, a new world record for the artist.

The great interest for Art Nouveau glassware was illustrated by the sale of the Vase Sur Socle Grand Iris by Emile Gallé for € 435,000.

The Marc du Plantier collection reached a total of €919,750, exceeding its high estimate of €545,000. Included in the collection were a wooden desk covered with vellum acquired for €339,000 and a remarkable pair of candelabra decorated with hard stones which sold for €93,000.

Works by Alberto and Diego Giacometti were highly successful, with the sale of both a Greek lamp and two Tête de femme épaules relevées lamps, the first one created in 1933 and the other reissued in 1970.

Finally an incredible battle of bids for a patinated bronze coffee table by Claude Lalanne culminated in a result of €471,000, almost quadrupling its high estimate of € 120,000.