PARIS.- With a total of nearly €5 million ($6,5m) (€4,914,500 / $6,526,358) and 78% of lots sold by value, the sale of the collection of antiques dealer Adriano Ribolzi enjoyed tremendous success at Sotheby’s Paris. The auction was preceded by a special five-day viewing full of 18th century spirit, orchestrated by Patrick Hourcade at the Galerie Charpentier, and inspired by the interiors of the Hôtel de Guînes – a listed monument dating from 1782.

Brice Foisil, Head of the Furniture & Objets d’Art Department at Sotheby’s France who conducted the auction for the first time, said : "I’m delighted with the results we obtained tonight. Connoisseurs appreciated the quality of this homogenous ensemble – with sustained bidding throughout the auction, and 13 lots selling for over €100,000 ($133,600)."

The exquisite collection provided an extensive overview of French creativity from the late 17th and 18th centuries, with key examples of cabinet-making, furniture, gilt-bronzes, carpets and precious textiles from the era.

Highlight was an important ormolu-mounted brass and ebony Régence marquetry bureau plat (c.1720), from a landmark period in the evolution of taste and style, that fetched €336,750 ($447,200) (lot 43). The first such bureaus had been designed by A.C. Boulle just a few years before; the refined version here points the way towards the Louis XV style while retaining Louis XIV marquetry motifs with ormolu mounts, and is typical of the intervening Régence period.

Other outstanding lots included two Georges Jacob fauteuils (c.1780) with a prestigious provenance – they were made for the Comte d’Artois at the Palais du Temple – which cleared their €300,000 top-estimate on €336,750 ($447,200) (lot 69). A gilt-bronze mounted Louis XVI table stamped A. Weisweiler, in ebony with pewter inlay, sold over its €250,000 low-estimate for €312,750 ($415,300) (lot 78). This type of Weisweiler table was commercialized by Dominique Daguerre towards the end of Louis XVI's reign.

The most eagerly disputed lot from among the collection's sculpture was a pair of highly important gilt-bronze Tritons holding horns of plenty (Rome c.1700), based on designs by Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), which flared to €288,750 ($383,450) (lot 14). The elaborate subject and composition, and the exceptional chasing and finish of these magnificent bronzes, forming candlesticks, recall Bernini's marble sculptures for two Roman fountains – the Fontano del Moro on Piazza Navona, and the Fontane del Tritone on Piazza Barberini.

Other rare sculpture to enthuse the saleroom included a pair of lacquered wooden horses by a follower of Giambologna (Florence, 17th century) which galloped to €120,750 ($160,650) (lot 18, est. €100,000-150,000). With their precise, naturalistic modelling and meticulous detailing, the horses provide a thoroughbred example of Italian Renaissance craftsmanship.