NEW YORK CITY – Christie’s sale, titled “Dalva Brothers: Parisian Taste In New York,” achieved a total of $5,855,500 and was 81 percent sold by lot and 85 percent sold by value. The top lot of the sale was the late Louis XVI pietra dura and ormolu-mounted ebony secrétaire en cabinet by Adam Weisweiler circa 1785-1790, which sold for $1,134,000, exceeding its estimate of $600,000-$1,000,000. Competition for the piece took place exclusively on two phone lines, with a private collector prevailing in the end. The cabinet featured ormolu probably cast by Francois Remond while the pietra dura plaques were attributed to the Grand Ducal workshops in Florence, dating to the late Seventeenth Century (in the case of the floral and landscape plaques) and the figural plaques dating to the second half of the Eighteenth Century. The provenance for the piece possibly included Dominique Daguerre; his sale, Christie’s, March 25, 1791, lot 42, and subsequently possibly in the inventory of the dealer Rocheux (active 1790-1820) and described in his July 1820 estate inventory as item 163.

According to Will Strafford, senior international specialist, European Furniture & Decorative Arts, “(The) sale ‘Dalva Brothers Parisian Taste in New York’ was met with tremendous enthusiasm from buyers all over the world who competed for the many treasures on offer. The sale demonstrated the continued strength of the masterpiece market for Eighteenth Century French furniture.” Other top lots in the sale included a Charles X bird’s-eye maple, amaranth, colored strass and silver exhibition panel, made for the Exposition des Produits de L’Industrie of 1827, which totaled $187,500 and a matched pair of Louis XVI ormolu-mounted citronnier, fruitwood and marquetry secretaries by Roger Vandercruse, known as Lacroix, circa 1775, which realized $162,500.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, www.christies.com.