38 30th June 2012 international events Paris’s fresh design ideas
■ From the Lalannes to Ruhlmann, the French capital takes centre stage in decorative arts market
Anne Crane reports
Exchange rate £1=€1.2
AS one of the leading centres of the decorative arts market, it was no surprise to see the Paris high summer season full of sales devoted to Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Design in
some combination. The major rooms all mounted big
league offerings that were small in size but fielded plenty of high-estimated lots. There was also no shortage of other sales at Drouot and around town with their own temps fort input. Here, as with most other centres for
such material, demand is selective and some of these events had quite a large proportion of goods left on the floor, but there were also very strong individual result. And, as in any field, ticking the right boxes meant quality, a well- regarded maker and, above all, a market- fresh provenance. Most of the May/ June high-flyers fell into this category. Nothing ticks the right boxes these days quite like the Lalannes. The works
of the designer couple Claude (b.1925) and Xavier-François (1927-2008) tickle the tastebuds on an international scale and prices appear to just keep on growing wherever they come up for auction as demonstrated by the selection pictured here. Elsewhere, there is still demand
for top Deco and selectively for inter-War modernism as well as post-War design favourites.
oak armchairs of c.1930 with the origina upholstery estimated at a more attractive €50,000-70,000. These ended up making €130,000 (£108,330). Volume take-up at these events was
78% (Christie’s) and 71% (Sotheby’s). The select 155-lot sale at Artcurial on
Outside the Lalanne creations discussed right, many of the other best-
sellers in Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales fell into the class of classic Deco de luxe – sleek creations making use of the most prized woods and other exotic materials favoured by the likes of Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Armand Albert Rateau and Eugène Printz. Sotheby’s June 6 decorative
arts sale featured Collectionneur 25, an amaranth veneered, ivory and shagreen bureau that made €400,000 (£330,330) and a smaller
Fuseaux dressing table in the same materials at €180,000 (£150,000), both low-estimate results. Of the nine pieces by Ruhlmann
featured in Christie’s May 31 sale, the most expensive were a 2ft 7in (79cm) high oval-outlined cabinet in burr amboyna with a mahogany interior and ivory mounts made c.1922-24 for M. and Mme. Simon, which realised €320,000 (£260,670) against expectations of €100,000-150,000; a 4ft (1.3m) wide ebony and burr walnut veneered bar of c.1930 made for M. Van Beuningen with a later provenance to the landmark Dray collection, that came in just under estimate at €180,000 (£150,000) and a Fontane occasional table that made the same price against the same guide. Christie’s also featured nine works
Above: Eileen Gray’s Aeroplane lamp made for her own apartment that realised €240,000 (£200,000) in Artcurial’s Art Deco sale on June 12.
by Armand-Albert Rateau which were offered direct by the family and had never been on the market before. All sold. These included a rare bronze standard lamp created by the designer in 1931 for his town house – probably a unique model. It came in at the lower end of the €120,000-180,000 estimate. Bidders were keen on a pair of Rateau
June 12 was titled Art Deco, reflecting the fact that much of the content came from big names from the inter- War period. However, alongside the sleeker works this also leaned towards the Modernist element of the period, featuring designers that focused more on utilitarian, non-exotic industrial material like steel, aluminium and glass. This was partly because the core
of the sale comprised 29 lots that had featured in the Christie’s sale of works from the Château de Gourdon in March 2011. Laurent Negro, who put together the Château’s collection, had a particular interest in Modernism and the works of the Union des Artistes Modernes and had assembled large quantities of their work but, with supply outstripping demand, clients were able to select their favourites and not everything at Christie’s found a buyer. The pieces making a speedy return
to the rostrum at Artcurial had failed to sell last year and all carried rather lower expectations than in the high-proflie 2011 auction. Not all got away this time either, but three of those that did provided Artcurial’s highest prices for this event. Two were lots created c.1930 by
Eckart Muthesius for the Palace of the Maharajah of Indore, a major patron of
continued on page 40
Above: this Collectionneur 25 bureau by Jacques Emile Ruhlmann fetched €400,000 (£330,330) at Sotheby’s on June 6.
Below: the bookcase made by Charlotte Perriand for Serge Mouille that fetched €230,000 (£191,670) in Artcurial’s design sale on May 15.
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