PARIS.- On Tuesday 1st December, Artcurial will organise two Design sales. At 6pm, its second auction entirely dedicated to Scandinavian design will take place. Organised with the help of Aldric Speer, Artcurial ‘s Scandinavian design consultant, the sale will comprise 111 lots. Later in the evening at 8pm, the traditional Design sale headed by Emmanuel Berard, Director of the Design department at Artcurial will gather French and Italian works including 18 pieces of furniture from Le Corbusier’s Indian Utopia, Chandigarh.

“Following on from the international success of the Design Masterpieces sale which we organised during the FIAC and which boasted successful results including a new world record for a piece of Jean Prouvé furniture, we are now looking to honour Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier with this collection from Chandigarh. Since 2006, Artcurial has been a leading figure in championing such creations” explained Emmanuel Berard, Director of the Design department at Artcurial.

6PM- SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN
On December 1st, Artcurial will hold its second sale entirely dedicated to Scandinavian Design. The first auction took place last May and enabled Artcurial to set a new record in France for the sale of a piece by Finn Juhl, the work Chieftain chair was sold for 262 200 € / 291 042 $.

The 111 lots selected by Aldric Speer, collector and Artcurial Scandinavian design consultant, represent the diverse production of Nordic decorative arts.

The sale will commence with an enamelled stoneware vase by Axel Salto (estimate - 40 000 – 60 000 € / 44 000 – 66 000 $). One of the most prolific artists of his era, Axel Salto’s work is greatly inspired by nature and wildlife and this is reflected in his poetic and distinct sculptural pieces.

Another key figure of Danish Design, Hans J. Wegner will be featured with two important works including a long table made, in 1987 of ash and rosewood. This exceptional piece sums up the Hans J Wedner’s design approach and is estimated at 150 000 – 200 000 € / 165 000 – 220 000 $. A rare and comfortable armchair entitled Upholstered peacock from 1953-1955 is estimated at 50 000 – 80 000 € / 55 000 – 88 000 $ and represents the designer’s earlier creations. There were only ten versions of the armchair ever made. The quality craftsmanship and functional aspect of his work, makes Hans J. Wegner’s creations into symbols which contributed to raising the overall profile of Scandinavian Design in the second half of the 20th century. During his life, the designer produced over 500 types of different chairs of which roughly 100 became manufactured on an industrial scale.

For beautiful fabrics, look no further that Sweden. Artcurial will offer a large carpet by Marianne Richter dating from 1958 and entitled Rubirosa bleu (estimate: 40 000 – 60 000 € / 44 000 – 66 000 $). The artist began her career working alongside Marta Maas-Fjetterström, another key figure of the Swedish textile scene. Richter’s work witnessed a huge success in the 1950s and 1960s when Swedish houses were filled with colourful and geometric carpets. The artist also worked on several public commissions for official institutions, including a large tapestry for the UN headquarters in New York.

The final part of this Nordic adventure is the historic bar from the SAS Royal Hotel. The prestigious 5* hotel was entirely designed by Arne Jacobsen between 1956 and 1960. Several pieces of furniture designed for the hotel such as the copper bar stools covered in leather, have become iconic design objects. Artcurial is proud to offer four of them for auction, (estimate 20 000 – 30 000 € / 22 000 – 33 000 $).

8PM - DESIGN: CHANDIGARH PROJECT
In early October 2015, Artcurial presented 18 pieces of furniture from Chandigarh which will be auctioned on December 1st, at a preview in Tel-Aviv. The Bauhaus architecture of the city was a perfect setting for the modernist furniture designed by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret.

The Indian city of Chandigarh was built in the 1950s. The new capital of the state of Punjab was described by Jawaharlal Nehru as being “the symbol of India’s freedom and the expression of its future convictions.” It is within the context of this ‘new’ Indian that Le Corbusier, with the help of his cousin and collaborator, the architect Pierre Jeanneret, built the modern city of his dreams. For le Corbusier, it was the ideal opportunity to apply his visionary ideas and combine architecture and urban planning, environmental issues and interior design. Pierre Jeanneret oversaw the construction of the city for 15 years and designed all the furniture. Each piece of furniture from Chandigarh is a symbolic element of the major project. At a first glance, the difference in styles between the avant-garde modernist European and the English colonial and traditional Hindu styles appears to be quite obvious but when one looks closer, the ties between the cultures become apparent.

In 2006 and 2010, Artcurial organised three auctions devoted entirely to the city of Chandigarh. Entitled, The Chandigarh Project, the sale included furniture, photography, maps and drawings from the original plans and helped raise the profile of Pierre Jeanneret and publicise his work in the Punjab capital and established the sound reputation of his furniture creations on the international art market scene.

The Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris organised an exhibition called Chandigarh : 50 ans après Le Corbusier which ran from 11 November 2014 to 29 February 2015 to mark 50 years since the death of Le Corbusier.

Before the Chandigarh section, the Design sale will begin with the French Masters (Jean Prouvé, Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand) as well as a set of 12 ceramics by Georges Jouve including a large plant pot, Cylindre estimated at 12 000 – 15 000 € / 13 200 – 16 500 $. Several of the iconic ‘standard’ chairs by Jean Prouvé and a bookshelf called Maison de la Tunisie by Charlotte Perriand (estimate: 80 000 – 120 000 € / 88 000 – 132 000 $) will also be on sale. Last October, Artcurial reached an auction world record for a second bookshelf designed by Charlotte Perriand for the Cité Internationale de Paris. The bookshelf was called Maison du Mexique and sold for 156 800 € / 172 480 $.

The auction will then move on to a section dedicated to Italian Design. Highlights include a set of seven lights designed by Gino Sarfatti like le plafonnier mod. 326 from 1954 (estimate: 7 000 – 8 000 $ / 7 700 – 8 800 $). For Italian furniture, there will be two rare beds called Casa del Sole (estimate: 8 000 – 12 000 € / 8 800 – 13 200$) by Carlo Mollino (as well as two Polaroids). Only 25 versions of these beds were made for the Casa des Sole apartments. The smart design of the bunk beds incorporates a bedside table, shelves and a stand for clothes.

The sale will end with a selection of contemporary design items. Decorative arts will be represented by furniture from India Mahdavi, André Dubreuil and Hubert Le Gall with a large table from 2011 in black lacquered wood, chrome and glass (estimate: 25 000 – 30 000 € / 27 500 – 33 000 $). The final five lots will present works by French designer, Martin Szekely including a birch desk Satragno from 1994 (estimate: 5 000 – 7 000 / 5 500 – 7 700 $).