Sothebys : Sotheby's Unveils Highlights from the Paris Design Sale

Press release

| 33 (0)1 53 05 53 66 | Sophie Dufresne |sophie.dufresne@sothebys.com | 33 (0)1 53 05 52 32 | Claire Jehl |claire.jehl@sothebys.com

SOTHEBY'S UNVEILS HIGHLIGHTS FROM

THE PARIS DESIGN SALE

Unique drawing table designed by François-Xavier Lalanne for Karl Lagerfeld, 1964- 1966

An exciting rediscovery designed for the renowned fashion designer

Rare 6x6 demountable house by Jean Prouvé, 1944-1946

A veritable architectural feat

Works from the former collection of the Maharajah of Indore

Furniture by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand and Eckart Muthesius

Paris, 16 April 2018 - Following the strong results for design masterpieces in 2017,

Sotheby's is excited to announce its upcoming Design sale on 3 May. With a wide selection of iconic pieces, this will be an opportunity to rediscover some lesser known major works.

Registration no. 2001 - 002 of 25 October 2001

Sale conducted by Cecile Verdier

Drawing table designed by François-Xavier Lalanne for Karl Lagerfeld

One of the most remarkable items in the sale is a drawing table that Karl Lagerfeld commissioned François-Xavier Lalanne to make (estimate: € 500,000 - 700,000) for his apartment in rue de l'Université, Paris in 1964. In the mid-1970s, the table entered the collection of another aesthete: the interior designer Jacques Grange, who kept it until the 1980s.

Known only to a few enthusiasts, the table was designed to meet the requirements of the man who commissioned it, and illustrates the close relationship between two great designers. Both practical and imaginative, it reflects François-Xavier Lalanne's characteristic desire to give sculpture a more familiar feel.

A remarkable group of works from the former collection of the Maharajah of Indore

A long way from Paris, in India, the Manik Bagh Palace, a modernist masterpiece, was designed for the Maharajah of Indore by Eckart Muthesius. Crowned in 1930, the Prince was highly versed in Western culture. He had studied in England and travelled in France and Germany at a time when Modernism was on the rise. It was in this context that Eckart Muthesius was asked to build the Maharajah's palace.

The Palace harboured a magnificent set of furniture (eight items will feature in the sale) designed by Eckart Muthesius and other artists of the time. The young Maharajah acquired art works and furniture for his palace, including a chaise longue basculante (estimate: €120,000 - 180,000) typical of the work of Charlotte Perriand, Pierre

Jeanneret and Le Corbusier. The "Rest Machine", as its designers liked to call it, has since become an icon of 20th Century furniture.

Pieces by the British furniture manufacturer PEL, including the D2 dressing table (estimate: €10,000 - 15,000) were selected for the guest rooms. Most of the furniture (Storage Unit,estimate: € 60,000 - 80,000) and lighting (Floor Lamp, estimate: €80,000 - 120,000), as well as the interior design itself, was the work of Eckart Muthesius. Everything was perfectly in keeping with the architecture of the Palace, aiming to create a complete work of art.

Jean Prouvé: 6x6 Demountable House

The highlights of the sale include a 6x6 demountable house by Jean Prouvé (estimate: €450,000 - 550,000). Rarely seen at auction, there are very few examples of these houses, which the Nancy architect began to build in the 1940s to rehouse war victims in the Lorraine and Franche-Comté regions.

After the Liberation, the Minister for

Reconstruction, Raoul Dautry, commissioned several of these from Prouvé's workshops. While most were destroyed to make way for post-war reconstructions, this one, set up in a remote spot in the Doubs region, is one of the few that has come down to us in its original condition. It illustrates its designer's genius in a challenging historical context.

Rediscovery of an ebony cabinet by Marcel Coard

The sale will also feature a selection from a private collection of major Art Deco works, such as this ebony cabinet created by Marcel Coard circa 1925 (estimate: €450,000 - 550,000). The cabinet is one of only two known today and is an exciting rediscovery. Its quasi geometrical form is inspired by Cubism, mingling lines, colours and materials. A piece of furniture with an unprecedented design, simultaneously modern, precious and luxurious, it would later serve as a foundational design for the bedroom furniture designed for Marcelle Cocteau, Jean Cocteau's sister-in-law.

Unprecedented group of ceramics by Henri Simmen and Eugénie O'Kin

Part of the Jules Dormeuil collection, this group of ceramics by Henri Simmen and Eugénie O'Kin is making its first appearance at auction (estimate: between €4,000 and €30,000). Fascinated by Asian ceramics, Henri Simmen travelled to Asia after the war, including to Japan, where he met his future wife, Eugénie O'Kin. Their collaboration, with Henri creatingceramic pieces and Eugénie giving them ornamental lids, stoppers and bases, resulted in sublime creations half-way between East and West.

These pieces appealed to Jules Dormeuil; he bought eleven for his family home in Aisne, which he rebuilt in a classic Art Deco style after the war.

Two museum-quality screens by Eileen Gray

This remarkable pair of screens by Eileen Gray (estimate: €400,000-600,000) will also be up for sale. They come from an edition of five, in two different sizes, produced in 1973. These are the only two still in private hands; the other three are now in American museums.

The sale will feature creations by Pierre Chareau, Jean Dunand, Emile Gallé, Alberto Giacometti, Diego Giacometti, Claude Lalanne, Serge Mouille, Alexandre Noll, Eugène Printz, Jean Royère, Jacques Ruhlmann and Henri Van de Velde, together with a collection of mirrors by Line Vautrin. The auction will conclude with sixteen pieces which pay tribute to the work of François-Xavier Lalanne.

Design

Auction: 3 May 2018

Exhibition: 27, 28, 30 April and 2 May

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*Estimates do not include the buyer's premium, and prices consist of the hammer price and the buyer's premium

Images are available on request

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