Paris – On 7 March 2017, Christie’s Boniface de Castellane and Anna Gould ‘A way of Life’ auction realised a total of €14,266,563 / £12,342,004 / $15,155,370. These exceptional results reflect the relevant choices Boni had made when furbishing his legendary Palais Rose with the most exquisite works of art.

Lionel Gosset, Head of Collection sales, Christie’s France: “Continuing Christie’s long history of offering prestigious collections at auction, we are honoured to have paid such a beautiful tribute to this important collection. Its celebrated provenance and the pristine quality of its works have attracted bidders from 19 countries across five continents, establishing once again Christie’s France’s leadership in selling collections with success”.

Connoisseurs, collectors and institutions, such as the Sèvres museum (lot 145) and the Lyndhurst museum – Anna Gould’s childhood home in the state of New York (lots 2, 6, 10 and 16) – have acquired 96% of the sale, demonstrating continued interest in high quality 18th century pieces. The Palais Rose’s famous Boulle furniture achieved strong prices, as illustrated by the Louis XVI pair of meubles-à-hauteur-d’appui by Etienne Levasseur and Adam Weisweiler which sold for €818,500 (lot 132) and the Louis XIV console attributed to André-Charles Boulle sold for €506,500 (lot 140). Important decorative art from the period also performed very well, as shown by the Sèvres porcelain “vases” which realised €206,500 against a presale estimate of €80,000-120,000 (lot 52) and a George III clock attributed to James Cox achieved €290,500 (lot 89).

Art Déco works by Cartier where among the highlights of the sale, as the Mystery Clock achieved €686,500 against a presale estimate of €150,000-200,000 (lot 18) and the ‘Jardin Japonais’ desk set achieved €1.118.500 (lot 19), a new record for an object by Cartier sold at auction.

Finally, leading the sale was the magnificent view of the Piazza San Marco, with the basilica and the campanile by Francesco Guardi (lot 46), for which determined bidding resulted in a total of €6,738,500 / £5,829,476 / $7,158,309, making it the highest price achieved by far for an old master painting sold at auction in France over the past two decades.