PARIS.- The Design sale has, this season again, attracted international collectors achieving a total of €5,395,000 with sell-through rates of 88% by value and 83% by lot.

Leading the sale was a section dedicated to Jean Dunand (1877-1942) composed of 24 lots which combined a total of €2,435,250. Estimates have more than tripled such as for the Vase à Ailettes which sold for €415,500 against a presale estimate of €150,000-200,000 and for the panel Femme et mouton acquired for €367,500 (estimated at €100,000-150,000).

Flavien Gaillard, Head of Sale commented : “The strong results realised tonight demonstrate that global collectors are continuously eager to acquire fresh to the market works of art. We are especially delighted about the results achieved by the section dedicated to Jean Dunand. The collectors payed a beautiful tribute to this talented artist with a combined total of €2,4M for the 24 lots offered, including the remarkable by size Conquête du Cheval which was offered to auction for the first time and which sold for €631,500.

This season again, collectors have been attracted by iconic artworks of the mythical couple, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, with their wonderful poetic and animal repertory. The Fauteuil ‘Crocodile’, realised in bronze by Claude Lalanne (born in 1925), has been sold for €667,500 against a presale estimate of €300,000-500,000, the Miroir ‘Ginkgo’ realised by the same artist sold for €187,500 while the ‘Egg’ ice bucket, created by François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008) in 1968 for the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, estimated at €5,000-7,000 was sold for €87,500.

The collectors were also competing for sculptures by Mateo Hernandez (1885-1949), where numerous lots have doubled their estimates, such as La grue couronnée agenouillée which sold for €60,000 against a presale estimate of €20,000-30,000, establishing a new world auction record for a work of art by the artist.

Further highlights of the sale included a “Ménagère ‘Bayonne’ Puiforcat” which raised a bidding battle bidding between several collectors and which was finally acquired for €35,000 against a pre-sale estimate of €7,000-9,000.