LONDON.- On the 5 March Christie’s South Kensington will offer for sale the inspiring collection of ‘Les Trois Garçons’, Michel Lasserre, Hassan Abdullah, and Stefan Karlsson, who are best known for their Shoreditch restaurant of the same name. The restaurant has long been a celebrity destination, for stars such as Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Grace Jones, Kate Moss, Damien Hirst, Tom Ford, Gilbert & George, Ronnie Wood, and Yoko Ono. The trio are also the proprietors of the glamorous cocktail bar Loungelover, café-come-design shop Maison Trois Garçons and the successful interior design practice L3G Design. The auction comprises 380 lots which come predominantly from their chateâu in the Vendée, The Chateâu de la Goujonnerie, but also includes items from their London home, as well as a small number of iconic objects selected from their thriving restaurant, estimates range from £500 to £80,000. The colorful interiors of the trio’s private homes are just as magnificent as the well-known interiors of their restaurant, cocktail bar and café-shop. Their daring juxtapositions and use of colour create a powerful and decadent mise-en-scène for the 21st century, which will inspire new and established collectors and interior designers. The collection includes: Post War and Contemporary Art, 20th century design, sculpture, lighting, ceramics, soft furnishings, and garden furniture. The sale is expected to realise in excess of £700,000.

Adrian Hume-Sayer, Specialist, House Sales: “Les Trois Garçons‟ inimitable style is instantly recognisable to many through the rich interiors of their London restaurant, what is less well known are the striking spaces the trio created in their French home, the Chateâu de la Goujeonnerie. The daring mix of objects with which they decorated the fairytale chateâu enabled them to skillfully create a unified series of rooms and yet to evoke a different atmosphere in each. We are confident that this unique and extremely colourful collection will hold a broad appeal both to those already familiar with the restaurant and those who have yet to discover the decadent world of Les Trois Garçons alike.”

‘Les Trois Garçons’, Michel Lasserre, Hassan Abdullah, and Stefan Karlsson: “Design is both a passion and a business for us; collecting is a compulsion, it always has been – we love beautiful things. We bought the chateau as a retreat but in recent years our Shoreditch businesses have grown, our interior design practice has really taken off, and we have just launched a range of furniture designed by Hassan as well, so we have little spare time to spend there. We have now realized that we need to simplify our lives, so have decided to sell some of our collection and hope that others will enjoy these wonderful objects as much as we have.”

20TH + 21ST CENTURY ART
The sale is led by Jonathan Wateridges’ (b. 1972) Constitution (estimate: £50,000-80,000). Executed circa 2005, it was acquired by Les Trois Garçons shortly before the landmark exhibition of Wateridge’s work at the David Risley Gallery, London. Constitution is a work of monumental proportions, reminiscent of 19th century grande Salon History painting. The meticulous layering of paint on perspex sheets lends the work a heightened sense of perspective and depth, which draws the viewer in to the scene. Wateridge has utilised this technique to create a contemporary depiction of a traditional subject.

Further highlights span the 20th century, ranging from an Art Deco society portrait by George Spencer Watson, Cynthia (estimate: £7,000-10,000), to a Russian work entitled Three Sailors, dated 1968 by Petrova Utishev (estimate: £2,500-4,000) and two light sculptures by James Rivière, 1960s (estimate: £2,000-3,000).

WILD THINGS
Highlights from left to right: a French plaster model of a chimpanzee, late 19th /early 20th century, after H.L. Poncet (estimate: £2,500-4,000); two Japanese bronze models of cranes late 19th century, Meiji period, (estimate: £4,000-6,000); a gold and brown-painted fibreglass model of a roman eagle „Aquila‟, circa 1963, almost certainly a prop from the 1963 Twentieth Century Fox production 'Cleopatra' (estimate: £700-1,000); a pair of papier-mache covered models of bulls heads, mid-20th century (estimate: £2,000-4,000); A Venetian polychrome beaded glass parrot table lamp, 1960s-80s (estimate: £1,000-1,500).

FURNITURE
Highlights from left to right: A pair of Balinese hardwood „elephant‟ armchairs, 20th century (estimate: £3,000-5,000); a mirror mosaic dining table, 1980s, by Eugene C. (estimate: £4,000-6,000); a set of twenty Louis XV-style silver-painted dining chairs, covered in green Lelievre mohair velvet, 20th century, (estimate: £8,000-12,000); a painted bronze „panda‟ coffee table, 1970s (estimate: £2,000-3,000).

LIGHTING
Highlights from left to right: A large beaded glass floor-lamp in the form of the Eiffel Tower, second half 20th century (estimate: £2,000-3,000); an unusual gilt metal and iron „stag beetle‟ wall light, attributed to François Melin, 1970s (estimate: £1,500-2,500); a French beaded-glass and wrought-iron ten-light chandelier, 1960s-70s (estimate: £5,000-8,000); an Italian gilt brass standard lamp, circa 1970, by Hans Kogl (estimate: £4,000-6,000); A pair of „One Minute‟ lampshades, 2004, by Marcel Wanders (estimate: £4,000-6,000).

WORKS OF ART
Highlights from left to right: Maison Deyrolle, a French polychrome anatomical model of the human body, early 20th century (estimate: £7,000-10,000); a collection of twenty-one pineapple ornaments, late 20th century (estimate: £800-1,200); a French beaded glass model of a ship, circa 1940, attributed to Maison Baguès (estimate: £4,000-6,000); a life size paste „jewel‟ mounted half-model of a pouncing sabre-toothed tiger, late 20th century, commissioned as part of a window display designed by Les Trois Garçons for Selfridge’s department store, London (estimate: £2,500-4,000).