The Spirit of Paris: An Important Private Collection of 1920s & 1930s Design Totals $11.5 Million
New York – Today, a selection of rare furniture and objets d’art in Christie’s live auction The Spirit of Paris: An Important Private Collection of 1920s & 1930s Design saw excellent results from start to finish, realizing a total of $11,510,070. Assembled with great discernment, the collection of 73 lots saw lively bidding from buyers globally. In total, the collection was sold 93% by lot, 94% by value, and 171% hammer above low estimate.
An important 1925 straw marquetry cabinet by Jean-Michel Frank was the top lot of the sale. Estimated at $500,000 – 700,000, it sold for $1,500,000 – more than double its high estimate. An Alberto Giacometti ‘Grecque’ Table Lamp from 1937 closely followed as the sale’s second lot, soaring past its estimate of $200,000 – 300,000 to achieve $1,184,000. The third highest price of the sale came from another Jean-Michel Frank work, a pair of club armchairs, circa 1939, which sold for $882,000, far surpassing the high estimate of $300,000.
Sonja Ganne, Chairman, Design, Christie’s Paris, comments: “The collection of works offered in today’s sale was representative of the finest in French Art Deco across the 1920s and 1930s. We were especially pleased to see exceptional results for a number of pieces of furniture by legendary designer Jean-Michel Frank. Known for his exquisite designs executed in luxurious materials, he achieved three of the auction’s four top prices with the sale of a marquetry cabinet, a pair of armchairs, and a side table—all of which tripled their high estimate.”
