CHRISTIE’S

– PARIS – 6 April 2023

DESIGN 26 05 23

PARIS – Christie’s presents its 26 May Design sale featuring nearly 200 lots from several private collections with a global estimate of between €5 and 7 million. Spotlighting Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé, the Paris auction will showcase the creativity and diversity of French designers and will be followed by a New York sale in June highlighting Jean Royère. About thirty lots designed by Charlotte Perriand for different locations in the French mountain resort Les Arcs will provide the Paris auction with a unique flair. These pieces, celebrating a crucial period in the designer and architect’s work, come in the wake of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s great retrospective recognising Perriand’s tremendous influence on the history of design. In the same spirit, Christie’s sale is largely devoted to women designers, bringing together many lots by Janette Laverrière, Line Vautrin, Denyse Gatard and Claude Lalanne.

By offering both Charlotte Perriand’s ‘forme libre‘ desk (estimate: €200,000 – €300,000) and a rare ‘Présidence’ desk by Jean Prouvé (estimate: €250,000 – €350,000), the auction also pays tribute to the mutual influence, inspiration and admiration between two iconic designers and their intricately linked works. The around twenty lots by Jean Prouvé are rounded out by a magnificent Paul Dupré-Lafon set commissioned in 1947; a selection of Georges Jouve ceramics; and several works by Diego Giacometti with estimates ranging from €200,000 to €600,000.

Les Arcs were one of Charlotte Perriand’s greatest adventures. With roots in the Savoie region, she had a significant role in making winter sports more accessible, devoting herself to mountain accommodation from the 1930s onwards. On 26 May, around thirty lots from Les Arcs gathered by several collectors will headline the sale. This group allows the depth and breadth of Charlotte Perriand’s work from 1967 to 1989 to shine through. Whether revisiting her free-forms in a variety of objects (table from the Aiguille Grive building, console bench from the Cascade block), adapting materials traditionally used in chalets such as pine, finding innovative solutions for small spaces (Alternating tread stair) or creating in her trademark colour palette of blue (Medicine cabinet), red and green, Charlotte Perriand ceaselessly reinvented herself, designing what would eventually become her masterpiece. These designs for Les Arcs, officially labelled Outstanding contemporary architecture by the French Ministry of Culture, epitomise the human and environmental values founding Perriand’s legacy and interests. On 26 May, Perriand’s work for Les Arcs will be presented alongside some of her defining designs, such as the ‘Mexique’ bookcase (estimate: €100,000 – €200,000), the ‘Forme Libre’ coffee table (estimate: €70,000 – €90,000) or the ‘Maison du Brésil’ daybed (estimate: €15,000 – €20,000).

Alongside Charlotte Perriand, the sale will also feature a number of outstanding and pioneering women designers, notably Janette Laverrière. The French-Swiss designer’s work combines Modernism and Art Deco, as embodied by the sideboard and bookcase set (estimate: €8,000 – €12,000 and €7,000 – €9 000, respectively) from a special commission  previously unseen on the market. The sale also includes works by Claude Lalanne, Line Vautrin — with about fifteen lots, including a rare mirror (estimate: €100,000 – €150,000) — and Denyse Gatard, a ceramicist active from the 1950s to 1970s and the sister of Georges Jouve.

On 26 May, some of Jean Prouvé’s most celebrated designs, such as an exceptional ‘Présidence’ desk (estimate: €250,000 – €350,000) and a ‘Direction‘ armchair (estimate: €70,000 – €100,000) — both from a major private collection- will be offered for sale. A global icon of 20^th century design, Jean Prouvé was recently honoured in a large retrospective at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art, at which the ‘Présidence’ desk had centre-stage. It is also a sale highlight among the fifteen Prouvé works available at auction. Other highlights will include several iconic pieces by the legendary designer, coming directly from the Saint-Dié-des-Vosges home of Françoise Gauthier, Jean Prouvé’s daughter, such as two Visiteur Métropole N.350 armchairs (estimate: €150,000 – €200,000 each) and a sideboard with sliding doors (estimate: €80,000 – €120,000). Finally, several architectural elements by Prouvé will be offered to collectors from around the world, such as a stairway (estimate: €250,000 – €350,000) and porthole panels (estimate: €60,000 – €80,000 each).

The sale will also feature works by Paul Dupré-Lafon, an interior designer best known for his impeccable elegance, his choice of natural materials like leather, and most especially for his collaborations with Hermès. Much sought-after by celebrities, the designer realised a number of projects for mansions and prestigious homes. Until now, the eight lots for sale, dating from around 1947, had never left the interiors for which they were commissioned. The group notably features a bar (estimate: €5,000 – €7,000), a set of chairs (estimate: €20,000 – €30,000), and even wall sconces (estimate: €15,000 – €20,000).

Georges Jouve will be represented with a group of figurative works from a private collection in Marseille. The objects for sale truly exemplify the range in his creations and aesthetic researches from the mid-1940s to 1950s. Highly praised by collectors, vases by Georges Jouve fuse decorative and sculptural approaches, as can be seen in this La grande femme à nichons pitcher (estimate: €20,000 – €30,000). Other excellent examples of Georges Jouve’s spirit include the pairs of Cerf candleholders and Sirènes wall lights (estimate: €10,000 – €15,000 each).

Unquestionably successful, Les Lalannes are nowadays among the most sought-after artists the world over. Following New York’s wildly successful sale, Sculpting Paradise: the Collection of Madame Marie Lalanne last December, the 26 May auction features two dozen more specimens from the couple’s distinctive bestiary. These include François-Xavier Lalanne’s La Chouette Perchée (estimate: €200,000 – €300,000), his Trois Oies de Sarlat (estimate: €300,000 – €500,000), and Claude Lalanne’s Lotus et Singe Table (estimate: €300,000 – €500,000).

EXHIBITION:    9, Avenue Matignon 75008 PARIS from 22 to 26 May
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* Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price – see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium.