PARIS.- Christie’s announced The Exceptional, its annual sale dedicated to outstanding pieces with unique provenances and stories to take place live at Christie’s Paris on 23 November 2021. It will feature 37 lots with a variety of backgrounds and origins. Spanning disciplines and travelling from the Forbidden City in Beijing to the Château de Versailles, the sale includes precious scientific memorabilia as well as masterpieces. Each lot of the sale is a rare historical testimony of its own time and culture, such as a rare Imperial throne carpet woven to adorn the Ming emperors’ palace (Estimate €3,500,000 - 4,500,000) or a unique manuscript by Einstein and Michele Besso (Estimate €2,000,000 - 3,000,000). A superb selection of French decorative arts will be led by a sumptuous commode designed for the private apartment of the King’s son in Versailles (Estimate €400,000 - 600,000). The overall estimate for the sale ranges from €8.7 to €13 million euros.
Simon de Monicault, Vice President of Christie's France comments: “The 2021 edition of The Exceptional Sale in Paris offers a unique immersion into centuries of artistic creation, in contact with the greatest artists and creators. Work after work, the genius of the human hand is illustrated with medieval ivories, royal furniture from the 18th century or emblematic creations from the time of the of the International Exhibitions”
Top lot of the sale is a rare survivor from the original carpets woven to adorn the halls of the Imperial Palace within the Forbidden City (estimate €3,500,000 - 4,500,000). Flanked with two five-clawed dragons, it would have been placed on a raised platform upon which the throne of the emperor would have been positioned. In a pristine condition, this extraordinary carpet will transport visitors of Christie’s exhibitions back to the impressive palace interiors of the Ming Emperors.
A journey of another kind is awaiting collectors from all over the world with an exceptional scientific archive as Christie's is delighted to welcome Aguttes, judicial auctioneer in Paris, for the sale of a unique manuscript by Albert Einstein and Michele Besso (estimate €2,000,000 - 3,000,000). These seminal 54 pages documents a crucial stage in the development of the theory of general relativity, which reshaped modern understanding of how the universe works. A fascinating insight into the mind of the greatest scientist of the 20th century.
At the crossroads of artistic and scientific heritage, a rare Louis XV ormulu microscope is also definitely worth mentioning. It is attributed to bronziers Philippe and Jacques Caffieri and Claude Siméon Passemant, famously renowned for designing scientific instruments for the King (estimate €300,000-500,000). Truly a work of art in itself, this rare artefact reflects the cutting edge technology of its time. It personifies in its own way a cheerful mix of scientific and artistic ideals quintessential to the 18th century’s spirit. Instruments of this kind were the privilege of high ranking members of the royal Court, a scientific elite including the King himself. Needless to say that such a rarity in a public auction is always a sensation. It is even more true of this microscope featuring many similarities with another one currently preserved in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The Old Master paintings and 19th century department will present an undisclosed 19th century replica of the Mona Lisa. Unknown to the market till today, the first public appearance of this painting on 23 November could therefore be as sensational as its incredible and almost miraculous rediscovering in the attic of a Nancy property in the mid-19th century. Forgotten and covered with dust, the canvas was used to block the window of the attic where it was kept. Acquired there by William de Noé, the work had never left the Isle de Noé castle by Toulouse until the family sold it to an art collector in 1983 (estimate €60,000-100,000).
A portrait of Sabina Poppæa, Nero's second wife (dated ca 1570 - estimate €100,000-150,000) attributed to the Fontainebleau school is contemporaneous with a painting of the Geneva Art and History Museum. These nude portraits of one of the most fascinating and malicious figures of antiquity, were very popular during the 16th century epitomizing the complex relationship of Renaissance times with the feminine nude. They were as much a celebration of beauty as a warning against the dangers of seduction an sensuality. Voluptuous but modest, our Sabina Poppæa has only been seen once in public during a 1956 exhibition at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. This portrait was the only old painting kept by a major contemporary art collector, a woman with confident taste for bold artworks, whose collection, L’Art à fleur de peau, has just been sold by Christie's between London and Paris achieving a total amount of €12,594,568.
Another major section of The Exceptional sale is devoted to French decorative arts in general and 18th century furniture in particular. The highlight of this segment is a Louis XV royal commode made for Versailles by Antoine-Robert Gaudreaus in December 1745 (estimate €400,000-600,000). With its exceptional size and sumptuous luxury, this piece is a technical tour de force and a landmark in French furniture history, designed to adorn the Dauphin’s apartment in Versailles shortly after his marriage with the Infante of Spain. Between 1730 and 1745, Antoine-Robert Gaudreaus produced over 850 pieces for the royal furniture collection. One of them, the present is similar to another commode placed in Louis XV’s bedroom in Versailles, currently preserved in the Wallace collection. Another model designed for Compiegne is currently in Versailles.
Amongst other fine French 18th century decorative arts pieces, the sale will also include a set of Pompadour style Chinese porcelain dishes (estimate €80,000-120,000) and a gold and enamel snuffbox from 1753-1754 (estimate €250,000-350,000), attributed to Jean Fremin. Established in the Pont au Change, the Paris epicenter for precious material, Jean Fremin is with Jean Ducrollay, one of the greatest manufacturers of snuff boxes. Following his most prestigious colleagues, he mainly decorates his productions in full enamel directly applied on gold. Hunting scene and gallant scene inspired by Boucher and Natoire after Louis XV’s favorite activities, adorn these delicate everyday life objects. Emblematic to the preciosity and refinement of the 18th century art de vivre, Fremin or Ducrollay’s snuff boxes are part of prestigious museums’ collections such as the Wallace collection, Le Louvre or the Victoria & Albert Museum. The model to be auctioned on 23 November has been part of various Rothschild family collections.
The Stroganov vases, a set of two beautiful neoclassical vases (estimate €100,000-200,000) are directly inspired by a Sèvres porcelain named Vase Lacrymal held in Le Louvre. These vases belong to a small group made in St. Petersburg attributed to the most celebrated of Russian bronziers, Friedrich Bergenfeldt after the design executed in 1801 by Andrei Voronikhin. Count Stroganov was one of Voronikhin’s most important patrons. He commissioned him the interiors of the Stroganoff Palace on the Nevsky prospect.
A rare and magnificent example of Millefleurs tapestry will showcase the poetry, delicacy and symbolic fascinations of the 16th century. Of great visual power, the tapestry offered for sale (estimate €100,000-200,000) is emblematic of the 15th century production in the Netherlands whose fame spread to the court of Burgundy. Examples adorned with an exquisitely rich and refined flora and fauna, such as this tapestry, are extremely rare. These masterpieces offer great opportunities to dive into a world of poetry and symbols the secret of which haven’t been yet revealed by the most recent research. Dated approximately 1510, the tapestry to be sold on 23 November has many similarities with other sumptuous fragments kept at the national Musée de Cluny in Paris.
