PARIS.- Art Deco was put under the limelight on Tuesday 24th May 2016. The auction led by François Tajan reached a total sum of 1 308 971€ / 1 466 047 $. The collectors did not miss out on the much-awaited event, marked by the sale of a prestigious private collection (lots 1-53) and also the furniture from the Parisian offices of the Port Autonome de Marseille by Maxime Old in 1970/71 (lots 140-164.)

A creation by René Lalique from 1913 clearly dominated the auction – a white glass blown vase made from a wax mould called, Trois figures d’hommes (lot 75), was sold for 282 000 € / 315 840 $ including premium. After a long battle, a collector present on the phone finally won the bid. The piece attained the third highest price for a vase by the artist sold at auction.

The auction started at 7pm with the sale of the interior of a Parisian collector’s apartment (lots 1-53) and this part alone totalled 338 260 € / 378 851 $ and was marked by the success of the silverware by Jean Puiforcat including a covered pot with a lid (lot 28) which went for roughly six times its estimate at 15 000 € / 16 800 $.

To close the auction, Artcurial sold the furniture from the Parisian offices of the Port Autonome de Marseille by Maxime Old in 1970. The President desk (lot 140) designed by Maxime Old was sold for 26 000 € / 29 120 $. This desk carefully marries 1970s design with Art Deco techniques such as lacquer varnish.

The meeting room ceiling lights by Max Ingrand and Fontana Arte (lot 155), went well above the estimation and reached 6 500 € / 7 280 $. The Airborne furniture met a similar success.

“The key figures of the Art Deco scene still appeal to discerning French and international collectors. The strong results obtained for
René Lalique and Eugène Printz prove this. The lacquered boxes by Jean Goulden (lot 116) were in high demand and furniture by Pierre Chareau is sought after today by leading collectors from the fashion world.”

Sabrina Dolla and Cécile Tajan,
Art Deco department, Artcurial