Design Auction at Sotheby's Paris

18 May '17

The Design sale will offer a wide selection of French creations, representing different periods: from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, the 40-50s, and the 70s to contemporary design. These include Émile Gallé, Claude Lalanne, Jean Prouvé, Jean-Michel Frank, Serge Manzon, Louis Majorelle, André Arbus, Serge Mouille and Charlotte Perriand.

The auction continues with the sale of a collection from a Venetian palace, which was completely redesigned by Pucci de Rossi. He remodeled the pieces in a Venetian neo-baroque style with postmodern design from the 80s and 90s; his creations, sometimes unique, coexist with unique pieces of André Dubreuil or Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. This fantastic and unusual ensemble integrates Carlo Bugatti's furniture and combines works of contemporary art by Alain Jacquet, Tetsumi Kudo or Robert Combas.

Philippe Hiquily
DINING TABLE, DESIGNED CIRCA 1968, REALISED IN 2012
Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 EUR

Charlotte Perriand
MAISON DU MEXIQUE BOOKCASE, 1953
Estimate 70,000 — 100,000 EUR

François-Xavier Lalanne
MOUTON DE LAINE, DESIGNED IN 1965
Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 EUR

André Dubreuil
UNIQUE CABINET ORIENTAL, CIRCA 1990
Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 EUR

Louis Majorelle
LA CASCADE CABINET, 1898
Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 EUR

Three different versions of La Cascade are known to exist.

A first version was created for the Salon de Nancy in 1898. A second version, with a carved vegetal motif on the base, was then conceived the same year for the Salon des Artistes Français in 1899. The exhibited cabinet, most likely the offered lot, is signed and dated on the base, a strong indication that Louis Majorelle considered this cabinet design to be completed. It is this version, with the signature moved within the marquetry, which would later be commercialised. Finally, Majorelle would create a third and final version with a thicker and more carved base.

This episode in a new Design series by Sotheby's features a fantastic and unique collection from a Venetian palace redesigned by Pucci de Rossi. Sotheby’s specialist Elie Massaoutis describes it as theatrical and like being in a cartoon, and explains what it takes to become a great design collector. Creations by Pucci de Rossi coexist with unique pieces of Andre Dubreuil, and contemporary art by Alain Jacquet and Robert Combas. The sale of the collection forms part of their Design sale in Paris on 17 May.