Artcurial’s Winter Auctions in Monaco
From the 19th to 21st of January, Artcurial will take up its Winter quarters in Monaco for sales dedicated to the most beautiful and deluxe pieces of jewelry, collectible watches and Hermes bags.
Monaco’s prestigious Yacht Club, designed by Norman Foster, has been chosen by Artcurial as the backdrop for its Winter auctions. After the success of last year’s first edition, which totaled 4.3 million euros, the auction house returns to the princely territory for three auctions dedicated to luxury: jewelery, watches and high-end leather goods by Hermès. Under the hammer of François Tajan, Auctioneer and Deputy Chairman of Artcurial, these sales have several promising highlights.
Princely Jewels
A collection of jewelry from a European Princely family should attract the attention of potential buyers. A collection of almost fifty remarkable lots including a dome ring signed by the Italian jeweler Buccellati. In gold and adorned with a magnificent 15.40 carat emerald-cut diamond, this delicately crafted piece has an estimated worth of between €240,000 and €260,000. “It has an exceptional setting quite characteristic of the Buccellati house. It was commissioned at the time by Gianmaria Buccellati himself,” says François Tajan. Other masterpieces include the Suzanne Belperron “Egyptian Necklace” in yellow gold, dating from the 1940’s (estimated at between €30,000 – €40,000). This avant-garde ornament, which is formed by a rigid, cicular arc underlined with diamonds, is as exclusive as the Belperron house creations are rare.
The elite of pocket watches
Five centuries of watchmaking history and 214 lots with the biggest brands will be represented at the sale on the 19th of January. Amateurs will particularly appreciate a large collection of old pocket watches, with rare examples ranging from 1620 to 1820. “We are amongst extremely refined art objects,” emphasizes François Tajan.
A watch, enameled with gold by the Huaut Les Jeunes brothers, dating from the end of the 17th century and exceptionally chiselled (estimated at €12,000-€18,000) or the “The Virgin and Child at the Column” by Estienne Chavanne, made in 1640, according to a painting by Simon Vouet (estimated at between €20,000 – €30,000).
Flâneur Bicycle from Hermès
Certainly, the Hermès Winter Collection for the 21st of January remains dedicated to the ultimate in leather goods. There are the must-have bags like “Kelly” and “Birkin” and the most classic to the most exceptional, like the Birkin Himalaya bag in mat crocodile estimated at between €60,000 and €80,000.
An original piece that should attract the curiosity of collectors: the Hermès Flâneur. This unusual bicycle was created by the workshops of the famous saddle-maker. A collectible piece with luxurious finishes and chic design, it conceals treasures of technicality and should delight the sharpest collectors.
Hubert de Givenchy sells his Giacometti in Paris
A series of works signed by Diego Giacometti (1902-1985) from Hubert de Givenchy’s collection will be for sale on the 6th of March at Christie’s in Paris. An item that the famous couturier comissioned in order to pay tribute to the Swiss sculptor, whom he always admired. “He was a man of great kindness, simple, welcoming, discreet and talented. He started to make furniture for my first country house in Jouy in the late sixties and then for the Jonchet manor in the early seventies,” said Hubert de Givenchy. Many pieces make up this rare collection, including a pair of caryatid octagonal tables in bronze patina made in 1983 (estimated at between €800,000 – €1,200,000) and a lanterne in white patina which was suspended in one of the Jonchet manor’s starways (estimated at between €300,000 – €400,000). The sale will be preceeded by an exhibition between the 28th of February and the 4th of March.
Photocredit : https://www.artcurial.com/fr/artcurial/monte-carlo/
