PARIS.- Christies sale of Design achieved a total of 4,863,375 with 79% sold by lot and 93% sold by value.
This season again, the department presented a solid sale which was offering 107 lots covering all periods and categories from Art Deco with Armand Albert Rateau (1882-1938) and its pair of "Fennecs" lamps sold 466,000, Design with an exceptional jardinière by Jean Goulden (1878-1946) sold 175,000 or a nice Lampadaire 1050/2, realised in 1951 by Gino Sarfati (1912-1985) which more than tripled its pre-estimate, sold for 97,500, the animal bronzes with a remarkable Jaguar Accroupi by Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916) which sold for 826,000 against a presale estimate of 400,000-600,000.
International collectors also paid a beautiful tribute to Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne whose 8 lots offered realized a combined total of 1M. The top lot of this section, a pair of tables, Singe aux nénuphars, executed by both artists which sold for 490,000. The other highlights of this section included the Lanterne aux papillons realised by Claude sold for 370,000.
Among the highlights of the sale, collectors confirmed their interest for iconic artworks by Diego Giacometti (1902-1985). The last work he sculpted before his death in 1985, a unique piece referring to his fantastic bestiary, a bat, has been acquired for 137,500 whilst the Table-carcasse à la harpie executed in 1980-1982 has doubled the low pre-estimate, and sold for 718,000.
Flavien Gaillard, Head of Sale commented : The strong results realised tonight demonstrate that global collectors are continuously eager to acquire fresh to the market works of art. We are especially delighted about the results achieved by the section dedicated to the Lalanne with the Lanterne aux papillons and the pair of tables Singe aux nénuphars. The great results for the works of Diego Giacometti confirm the strong demand by the collectors for the sculptor such as for the animal bronzes signed by Rembrandt Bugatti.