The recent design sale at Phillips de Pury & Company confirmed the lasting interest in major French and Italian designers of the Twentieth Century. Pieces by Gio Ponti, Franco Campo and Carlo Graffi, Jean Prouve, Line Vautrin, Charlotte Perriand and La Maison Desny sold far beyond their estimates. The top lot for the sale was a pair of armchairs, circa 1948 by Ponti ($35/45,000), which sold after heavy bidding for $84,000. Highlights of the sale include: La Maison Desny’s, adjustable desk lamp, circa 1930, $38,400; Perriand’s free-form table, circa 1953, $54,000; Sonia Delaunay’s rug, circa 1928, $54,000; and Campo’s and Graffi’s pair of chairs, circa 1953, $60,000. Two mirrors by Vautrin were clearly of interest to bidders. The large “Roi Soleil” mirror sold for $78,000 and the large “Butterfly” mirror made $54,000. An occasional table by Jules Leleu realized $43,200. Most of the pieces by Jean Royere fetched prices above expectation. A coat rack from the 1950s sold for $15,600. A pair of “Wave” wall lights fetched $28,800 and the low back “deuf” chair went out at $34,800. A table by Jules Wabbes sold for $19,200, the highest price paid at auction for this Belgian designer. The stars of the design art evening were Ron Arad’s “Tinker” chair, 1988 which sold for $102,000, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s, “Lit Clos,” $96,000, and Marc Newson’s “Orgone Stretch Lounge,” $520,000, all major world records for these artists. Alexander Payne, director of the design department, said, “The fact that these unique pieces by designers fresh to the market are being bought by major private collectors attests to the strong demand for work in this new category.” Other important pieces included a prototype Steel Furniture chair, 1978, by Scott Burton, which sold for $66,000 and the signature Verner Panton piece, S-Chair, model 275, which sold for $8,500. “Major designers are being regarded at the same level as contemporary artists, which has fueled a new marked for Twentieth Century and contemporary design,” Payne stated. All four lots of Serge Mouille lamps sold for robust sums that reinforce the healthy market for the sophistication of French Modernism. The Cocotte desk lamp sold for $24,000; the set of five adjustable ceiling lamps, $50,400; the three-arm wall light, $60,000; and the pair of Saturne sconces brought $15,600. The total value of the sales for the design department was $3,445,020, of which 61 percent was sold by value and 56 percent was sold by lot. Prices reported include buyer’s premium. For information, 212-940-1200 or www.phillipsdepury.com. 
01 Aug 2006 / 0 Comment
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