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Auction No.082: Art Nouveau - Art Déco - 28.04.2009

Auction No.082, 28 April 2009
Art Nouveau - Art Déco

Post auction sale until 28.05.2009
 

Post auction report

With gross proceeds of €900,000, Quittenbaum has reason to be pleased with the results of this auction. Around 75 % of the estimated price total was grossed on the day, thanks to the keen interest of German collectors and buyers from neighbouring European countries. Just under 50 % of the lots were sold.

The current crisis has had no influence on our second spring sale. This auction has been one of the most successfull so far. The highest bids achieved in the packed auction room were for the highlights of the Art Nouveau offering – glass objects and furniture from Lorraine, above all Emile Gallé’s rare 1903 'Ecume de Mer' vase which went to a German collector for €29,000 after a fierce bidding battle. Pierre Selmersheim’s grandiose double bed made its estimated price of €24,000 and will soon grace a Monte Carlo residence. Demètre Chiparus’ 1925 dancer 'Empreintes de pied' was secured by a British collector for €20,000.

Lalique glassware proved popular all round, especially the cobalt blue 'Penthièvre' with a fish decoration, bid up by a young German collector to €20,000. Just as great was the enthusiasm of dealers, in particular, for Daum Frères vases – an 'Ancolies' sold for €9,500 to Switzerland, a vase with poppies 'Pavot d' orient' went for €9,000 to a German dealer and two vases featuring marguerites fetched just under their estimates at €8,000 and €8,500. An impressive €10,500 was achieved by one of the coveted intercalaire vases by the Burgun & Schverer manufactory of Meisenthal with a cranesbill design. In contrast, French and Japanese dealers were particularly active bidding for French glass items in a price range of between €2,000 and €4,000.

Louis Majorelle’s furniture attracted a great deal of interest, with one of the auction’s best prices paid for the 1910 collectors’ cabinet from his Salon Clématine, which almost doubled its estimate of €9,000 at a hammer price of €17,000. International dealers pushed the stakes yet higher bidding for a sofa table with inlaid tiles by Adolf Loos, which climbed from an estimated €2,000 to €17,500.

The numerous dancers in the sculptures section appeared to exercise an irresistible charm. The majority of Chiparus’ danseuses made or exceeded their estimates, such as the 'Danseuse du Liban' estimated at €7,000 and which sold for €11,000. A German enthusiast met the estimated €9,500 for Ferdinand Preiss’ dancer with tambourine. In the case of Theo Vos’ bronze dancer with a starting price of €1,000, an English private collector trumped several other bidders at €15,600.

The auction closed on a high note when a ceramic vase by Galileo Chini, protagonist of the Liberty style in Italy, and featuring two girls’ heads, went under the hammer for €13,000, compared with its estimate of €1,500.