Saint-Germain-des-Prés : A taste for the 20 th century

Last September Sotheby's Paris, located in prestigious rue du Faubourg Saint-
Honoré facing the Elysée Palace, was delighted to organise the auction of a
truly wonderful collection.

Very “Parisian”, this private collection was devoted to twentieth century
design. Some 200 works which had previously graced a prestigious apartment
in historic Saint-Germain-des-Prés included some truly exceptional pieces. We
were lucky enough to see close up some beautiful sculptures by Claude &
François-Xavier Lalanne, by André Dubreuil, an IKB table by Yves Klein and even
examples of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s unique “Pumpkins.”

A magnificent example of Japanese armour dating from the Edo period was
also among the lots.

The sale was a resounding success, enthuses Florent Jeanniard, European
Design Director at Sotheby's: "Today’s auction pays tribute to the remarkable
taste of this collector whose eclectic collection has appealed to connoisseurs
from across the globe"

The highest bid was awarded to a brown-wool sheep sculpture by François-
Xavier Lalanne. This rare piece (lot 195) attained 708,500€ breaking the world
record for a model of this colour. Another coveted piece (lot 67) Olympe, a
fountain-sculpture (1994) by Claude Lalanne, sold for 408,500€.