MARRAKECH.- Artcurial will be selling the Islamic art collection of Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent, on 31 October in the salons of the Palace Es Saadi in Marrakech. The sale « A Moroccan Passion » will be held in aid of the Jardin Majorelle Foundation.

«As soon as we arrived in Morocco, both Yves Saint Laurent and I were fascinated by Islamic art and so decided to collect it. (…) The Jardin Majorelle Foundation, which I chair, will be selling all these carefully chosen pieces. The proceeds from this sale will enable us to continue improving the garden and to welcome, in the best possible fashion, the numerous visitors which last year amounted to almost 800,000. They will also help finance the Yves Saint Laurent museum that will open in 2017, in the new cultural centre near the garden and to pursue the various cultural, educational and social activities that the Jardin Majorelle Foundation has been supporting in Morocco since its creation in 2011 » explained Pierre Bergé in the preface to the sale catalogue.

The collection will bring together almost 180 items of Moroccan art – weapons, embroidery, cloth, ceramics, jewellery, carpets, architectural components – which were exhibited in the Jardin Majorelle Museum, before its focus turned exclusively to Berber art during its renovation in 2011. The sale will also include all the furniture by Bill Willis, star architect of the Marrakech jet set, designed for the museum by Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent. The couple will add more than 50 pieces of furniture and paintings from their own personal collection to the 180 lots from the museum.

«As well as being a great tribute to Morocco, this sale is, significantly, a perfect combination of beautiful things, with legendary provenance, and a wise and generous use of the proceeds. We couldn’t have wished for more from our first sale in Morocco. » said François Tajan, Artcurial Co-Chairman and auctioneer.

«We are pleased to organise this first Moroccan sale in the Palace Es Saadi, run by Elisabeth Bauchet-Bouhlal, artist and woman of letters, and the person behind numerous cultural events. The forty or so Orientalist works and the twenty pieces of furniture from the personal collection of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, to be added to the museum pieces, reveal not only something of their keen and avant-garde tastes but also their passion for Morocco, which so inspired the fashion designer. » added Olivier Berman, Associate Director of Artcurial, in charge of the Orientalist department.

Artcurial’s sale in Morocco will take place at the same time as an exhibition of works from the African Spirit collection, which will be auctioned on 9 November 2015 in Paris.

THE COLLECTION
The collection reflects the personal taste of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent for Islamic art and Oriental civilisation. Across all departments, the chosen pieces have been carefully selected and, with estimates of 300 to 30 000 €, should appeal to a great many amateurs.

All the museum furniture, created by the designer architect Bill Willis, will also be auctioned. This aesthete, fascinated by Islamic art and the Spanish Moorish style, who inspired bohemian chic in the late 60s, designed windows, libraries and decorative elements for museums. These will appear in the auction catalogue. Similarly, some fifty pieces of furniture and paintings from the personal collection of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent will also be sold.

A particularly interesting set of ceramics includes some very rare, 17th and 18th century pieces from Fez, such as this conical mokhfia dish, Fez, late 17th century, used for serving couscous (estimate 5 000 – 6 000 €). Dating from the 19th century, also from Fez, is a pair of fine ceramic khabia jars with lids, for keeping preserved meats, estimated at 5 000 – 7 000 €.

Wooden and architectural components which were part of the decor of the Jardin Majorelle Museum, will also be much in demand. Among them is an exceptional 17th century double door from a mosque, estimated at 20 000 – 30 000 €.

Among the embroidery and cloth, about twenty belts from Fez, more than 2 metres long and made from silk lampas and gold thread, are estimated between 700 and 4 000 € ; a realistic price for a belt dating from the late 17th century.

Jewellery from India, Turkestan, Tibet and Morocco will feature in the collection. Among them, a gold bird tiara, set with diamonds and emeralds (Fez 20th century), estimated at 8 000 – 10 000 €.

Several manuscripts complete this collection, including a Koran, an incomplete manuscript of 27 pages on paper dating from the 14th/15th centuries, estimated at 6 000 – 8 000 €.

Among the glassware, a mosque lamp, Austrian School, Lobmeyer, late 19th century, worth between 8 000 and 10 000 €.