Design

We will open the 2026 auction year on March 24 with the Design auction. The offering, comprising just over 500 lots, covers a wide range of 20th-century international design and combines iconic items with collector's pieces and an extensive private collection.

The Dr. Bernhard Serr Collection (cat. nos. 1-62), featuring around 60 items, will kick off our auction. On offer is a selection of influential international design objects from the 20th century, including predominantly rare lights and objects from everyday culture. This private collection has been built up over decades. Since its inception in the late 1970s, it has been characterized by an interdisciplinary interest in technology, music, and art. Trips to museums and architecturally significant locations in Europe and the USA led to the continuous expansion of this exciting collection and inspired the collector to engage in an in-depth examination of various design trends of the 20th century. The collection focuses on designs from the 1960s to the 1990s. It includes key examples of post-war modernism, radical design, postmodernism, and the Memphis movement. Iconic designs such as the ‘Toio’ floor lamp by Achille and Pier Castiglioni, Superstudio's sculptural ‘Gherpe’ lamp, the experimental Alchimia lamps ‘Paramount’ (cat. no. 10) and 'MGM' (cat. no. 11), and the rare ‘Sfera’ lamp by Patrizia Innocenti and Sergio Gobbi (cat. no. 13) illustrate Bernhard Serr's interest in technical innovation combined with extraordinary aesthetics and pop culture. The famous and classic lamps by Ettore Sottsass play a particularly important role in this context. The lighting collection is complemented by intriguing objects from everyday and home culture. Some of these objects were in daily use, creating a direct link between the collection and the living space. The Serr Collection documents key designs in 20th-century international design and thus reflects an extraordinary and knowledgeable collecting activity. With the presentation of the Serr Collection at the auction on March 24, we invite you to discover this important testimony.

Following intense bidding battles in our previous highlight auction ‘Schools of Design’, we are delighted to once again be able to offer an extraordinary object by Dutch architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) in this auction. The children's wheelbarrow ‘Kruiwagen’ (cat. no. 157) will be up for auction, the prototype of which Rietveld designed in 1923 for the son of architect and member of the De Stijl group J.J.P. Oud (1890-1963). A drawing of the wheelbarrow can be found in a letter from Rietveld to Oud dated October 5, 1923. The model shown here, made in the 1970s by Gerard A. van de Groenekan, combines beech wood sticks and plywood in the colors yellow, red, blue, black, and white—a combination in which function, form, and play merge in pure geometry. The wheelbarrow comes from the collection of a German architect who was a close friend of van de Groenekan and was able to acquire several objects directly from the carpenter's estate. The wheelbarrow is valued at €12,000 to €15,000.

A separate chapter is devoted to the works of Piero Fornasetti, the iconic designer with an unmistakable design signature. Fornasetti's works move masterfully between art and craftsmanship. Whether umbrella stands, wastebaskets, or plates—everyday objects are transformed into stories through Fornasetti's imagery. The ‘Leopardo’ chest of drawers (cat. no. 336) and the impressive ‘Archittetura’ secretary cabinet (cat. no. 339) add special accents. The prototype of this model was created in 1951 in collaboration between Piero Fornasetti, Gio Ponti, and Fratelli Radice. The version offered here has an estimate of €20,000.

Inspired by the first moon mission, the growing enthusiasm for space travel and outer space also became noticeable in private life in the 1960s – Space Age design moved into living rooms around the world. Catalog numbers 217-267 are examples of this new design language, which was characterized by organic lines, spherical shapes, and the use of materials such as plastic, fiberglass, and chrome-plated metal. In addition to three modular seating elements from the ‘Corbi’ series by German manufacturer COR (SP €9,000–12,000) and the rare ‘Star Trek’ table lamp by Jeannot Cerutti (cat. no. 217), our auction also includes pioneering objects from the field of hi-fi technology. Cassette recorders, record players, and loudspeakers were no longer thought of as functional devices, but rather as objects to be displayed in the home. The eye-catcher is undoubtedly the spherical ‘Vision 2000’ stereo system (estimated price €3,000–4,000). Designed by Thilo Oerke in 1970, the music system became the epitome of space-age design with its round, transparent cover and chrome frame.

In addition, the console and side table ‘Rising Sun’ by Italian designer Gabriela Crespi (cat. no. 421) and an armchair ‘37/400’ by Alvar Aalto (cat. no. 202) are sure to make collectors' hearts beat faster.

You are cordially invited to discover the objects from March 19 to 23 at our premises at Theresienstraße 60.