PARIS.- From a million-euro Vietnamese painting and a rare Ferrari to a Michael Jackson stage glove and a 21-carat Colombian emerald, Aguttes has taken stock of some of the strongest results achieved across its departments during the first half of 2026.
The Paris auction house’s six-month review reflects the breadth of its specialties, ranging from fine jewelry, watches and classic cars to Asian art, Old Masters, modern and contemporary art, design, sports memorabilia and pop culture.
Among the most significant results of the season was a work by Vietnamese painter Nguyễn Văn Thọ, known as Nam Sơn, which crossed the €1 million mark and established a new world auction record for the artist.
Jewelry, watches and luxury collectibles
The Luxury & Art de vivre departments produced several notable results during the opening months of the year.
A transformable 18th-century jewelry ensemble featuring a Colombian emerald with a central stone weighing 21 carats sold for €498,000. The emerald was certified by the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF.
Watch collectors turned their attention to one of the market’s most recognizable models, a Patek Philippe Nautilus, which sold for €111,000. The result comes as the Nautilus celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026.
Luxury fashion was represented by a Herms Birkin 35 in blue alligator with palladium hardware, which brought €23,500, while a case of six magnums of Chteau Haut-Brion 1989 sold for €26,000, underscoring continuing demand for exceptional Bordeaux vintages.
Ferrari 599 GTO leads the classic car results
Aguttes’ Collector Cars department offered vehicles and memorabilia associated with some of the most recognizable names in automotive history.
Leading the category was a 2010 Ferrari 599 GTO, which sold for €849,000. Only 599 examples of the model were produced, and the car offered by Aguttes had remained with the same owner since 2010.
Motorsport memorabilia also drew competitive bidding. An officially numbered replica of the helmet worn by Ayrton Senna during his first Formula One World Championship-winning season with McLaren-Honda in 1988 sold for €32,500.
Nam Sơn sets new world auction record
Asian art provided one of the defining results of the semester.
Vtement sacr de la pagode by Nguyễn Văn Thọ, known as Nam Sơn, sold for €1,062,720, setting a new world auction record for the artist. According to Aguttes, the house now holds the three highest auction results achieved by Nam Sơn.
Chinese imperial art was represented by a porcelain jar from the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing mark and period, 1796–1820, decorated with dragons pursuing the sacred pearl. The jar sold for €57,500.
Medieval art, Old Masters and Mir
The Classical Art department ranged from medieval decorative arts to 20th-century works on paper.
A late 12th-century Limoges gilt-copper and champlev enamel Gospel-book binding plaque brought €104,000, while a painting attributed to Matthias Stom, Man Lighting a Candle with a Burning Ember, sold for €54,500. The work is distinguished by the dramatic chiaroscuro associated with the Caravaggesque tradition.
Another highlight was the rediscovery of a work by Lyon sculptor Joseph Chinard. His Bust of a Child, Portrait of Franois Alexis Guiffrey sold for €78,000.
In rare books and manuscripts, an exceptional copy of Joan Mir and Andr Breton’s Constellations, published in 1959 and enhanced with an original drawing, realized €54,000.
Chagall, Ado Chale and Franoise Gilot
Modern and contemporary art also delivered several strong results.
Marc Chagall’s Hommage l’Arc de Triomphe fleuri, dated 1970–1976, sold for €396,000. The work combines Chagall’s dreamlike imagery with the vivid chromatic language that defined much of his mature production.
In 20th-century decorative arts and design, Ado Chale’s circa-1975 “Goutte d’eau” dining table reached €100,000, reflecting sustained demand for collectible postwar design.
A 1983 painting by Franoise Gilot, Enigma, sold for €52,000. The work belongs to a period in which Gilot increasingly explored a pictorial vocabulary built around symbols, signs and emblematic forms.
Michael Jackson glove and Pokmon cards draw collectors
Aguttes’ growing collectibles categories brought together sports, music, trading cards and pop-culture memorabilia.
The house’s inaugural Pop Culture & Memorabilia sale devoted to Michael Jackson attracted particular attention. A stage glove worn by Jackson sold for €113,000.
In sports memorabilia, a football jersey worn by Kylian Mbapp during the 2020 UEFA Champions League final realized €13,500.
A rare Pokmon Neo Destiny booster display achieved €137,000, demonstrating the continued strength of the high-end trading-card market.
Musical instruments produced another six-figure result when a rare violin made in Bologna by Ansaldo Poggi sold for €170,000.
Taken together, the results illustrate the increasingly broad definition of collecting at auction, where museum-quality works of art now appear alongside historic automobiles, luxury objects, sports artifacts and pop-culture material.
Aguttes is preparing a further series of auctions for the second half of 2026, with upcoming sales expected to span the full range of the house’s specialties.
