Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor Redux

The Duchess wearing her Flamingo pin in 1945. Photo: ©Topfoto via Sotheby's

This sale has been on my mind for weeks but I simply must do a short post since the sale is tomorrow!! The love story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is legendary... a king giving up his throne to be with the woman that he loved. Wallis and Edward showered each other with gifts and built an epic jewelry collection in the process. When the Duchess died in 1986 she ordered her jewels sold to benefit the Pasteur Institute in Paris which is exactly what took place on April 2, 1987 at Sotheby's Geneva. Well if you missed that sale (as I did) now is your chance. Twenty lots from that stellar auction have been reconsigned and will sell at Sotheby's London November 30, 2010. One of the key lots is this fanciful flamingo pin from Cartier. It is surprisingly large ( I was able to preview it in person).

Photo: Sotheby's

My sentimental nature would love to see the newly engaged Prince William purchase a token for his Kate, but that is highly unlikely as Edward's abdication was the first in a string of 20th century dilemmas to befall the house of Windsor. View the rest of the delicious offerings here.

UPDATE: The sale achieved an astounding $12.4 million. Get the full results here.

Object Lesson: Tiffany's Wisteria, The Bluer The Better

I know that I have rattled on in the past about the treasures produced by Tiffany Studios. In decorative arts circles people are sharply divided when it comes to these artful commodities. One camp appreciates their mastery as genius...the other camp sees them as gaudy, Victorian holdovers and would prefer that they were part of a man-made reef system for an eroding coastline. Harsh, but I have heard the arguments trust me on this. Among the various models the monumental Wisteria is about the most iconic and a serious Tiffany collector would be remiss not to have a "good" example in their collection. Now when it comes to what is considered "good", opinions vary, but financially there is a striking trend that shows where tastes lie...the bluer the better. Louis C. Tiffany prided himself on faithfully capturing the subtle tonalities of the Wisteria in bloom, a bloom that ranges in tones from soft blue, pink and peachy white. So it begs the question: how many saturated cobalt blue Wisteria have you seen in nature?

Christie's New York, December 15, 2010, lot 218 (est. $400,000-600,000) Sold: $842,500

This example currently on the block at Christie's is truly what collectors are seeking, a rich, deep and saturated blue...so much for nature. It is striking and pleasing to the eye for sure. Similar examples in recent years have reached over the $800,000 mark at auction so this estimate would seem conservative. One will have to wait for the exhibition to see if the image is more juicy than the reality and of course mull over the condition report. If it is as sexy as pictured expect to see a very high price.

Christie's New York, December 15, 2010, lot 241, (est. $350,000-550,000) Sold: $482,500

The next example as you slide down the desirability scale are what people in the "biz" call the "striped" variety. There is a bit more of an attempt to capture the variety of nature with its subtle parchment-pinks, greens, lilac-creams and STRIPES of saturated blue. These examples vary wildly and I have seen them striped in deep pink, mint green and even yellow tones...but again blue is the pinnacle.

Sotheby's New York, December 18, 2008, lot 182 ($182,500)

Now as we move further away from the "best" you will note an increasing adherence to the more subtle tones found in nature. This example while soft and muted was a stunner but from the sale price you can clearly see where it falls in the hierarchy.

Christie's New York, June 13, 2006, lot 34 ($156,000)

This final example while masterly crafted is beyond subtle with its mostly parchment hued tones. I have actually seen examples of this category in nearly pure white and while visually striking they transmit too much light and and must be dimmed to subdue a harsh glare akin to an exposed bulb. The model itself takes four bulbs so finding the balance is always tricky even in the "best" examples. I always tell clients to "buy what you like" as decorative arts are generally lived with and lets face it even a drab Tiffany lamp (in good condition) will at the very least hold its value and accrue over time. With Christie's offering two Wisteria this season we will have to wait a few more weeks to see what Sotheby's has in store. Hopefully the Wisteria market won't be too flooded which could split the pool of prospective bidders as I would love to see the saturated example at Christie's go the distance.

Of Serpents and Sirens: Rare Eileen Gray Chair on the Block at Christie's

Months ago I heard that famed art deco dealer Tony Delorenzo had agreed to a single owner sale at Christie's. I was left to venture a guess as to what treasures he had left in order to entice the venerable auction house into offering him a coveted evening sale. This is of course the Tony Delorenzo who privately sold Ruhlmann's fabled "Donkey Cabinet" which was the centerpiece of the grand salon of the Hôtel d'un Collectionneur at the 1925 Paris exposition. I was more than pleased to hear that it would feature the Sirène armchair by Eileen Gray. The catalogue has not yet gone to press and no image has been released thus far, but you my dear readers shall benefit from my research.

Photo: Sotheby's

The lot can be none other than the Sirène armchair which last appeared on the auction block in 1989 at Sotheby's when it was part of the now famous "Philip Johnson Townhouse" sale. The sale was in-fact the amazing art deco collection of troubled antiquities dealer Robin Symes. At the time the chair was thought to be unique and with its stellar provenance sold for a then staggering price of $209,000. Stylistically the piece relates to Gray's exotic period prior to the first World War, a period where she experimented heavily with lacquers and claimed couturier Jacques Doucet as a client. With its seahorse clutching mermaid the chair is vaguely Asian and western with a dash of Egyptomania. The chair was recorded as being sold from Gray's Paris gallery Jean Desert in 1923 to the singer Damia who was also romantically linked to the artist. Damia kept the piece all her life and it was sold from the auction of her estate in 1978. Considering the resounding success of Gray's Serpent/Dragon chair from the estate of Yves Saint Laurent the current lot seems set to fly at an estimate of $2-3 million.

Photo: Christie's

In fact, the four Eileen Gray lots in the Saint Laurent sale each performed in the low millions except for the Serpent/Dragon chair (above) which brought an insane $28.2 million. I have had to explain this result endlessly and will not engage in that tired tirade here. As pointed out above, the Sirène armchair was (until very recently) thought to be unique...until six others appeared on the market and were sold as successive lots at Camard in Paris, June 1, 2005.

Photo: Camard

The lots were believed to be a suite of dining chairs, again for the songstress Damia and collectively brought in a staggering €8.9 million establishing a record for the artist to be smashed later at the YSL sale. The French press noted at the time that four chairs were purchased by Galerie Vallois and the remaining two went to a private collector. Their exact link to Damia is lost having been rediscovered via inheritance in 1997 with no apparent provenance left behind (its a wild story, read it here). It has been asserted that the specialist for the sale, Jean-Marcel Camard, based the provenance solely on that of the known example currently on the block at Christie's. Nonetheless they are undoubtedly the same model, perhaps more tarted-up, but essentially the same. I prefer the sleek black example as it has an austerity and refinement that are almost haunting. Now to the sordid topic of coin...given how well exceedingly rare works have been performing this season, I feel that the chair will sail past its $2-3 million estimate with the hammer settling somewhere between $5-7 million. We will have to wait until the evening of December 14th for our answer.

UPDATE:

I attended the Macallan Whiskey/ Lalique charity auction at Sotheby's this week and got some clarification from an industry insider. According to my source apparently the six chairs sold by Camard were later deemed to be fake. I have found nothing in the press to confirm this but it seems likely as they have never surfaced in the past five years and are not going to be listed in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne. The catalogue for the Delorenzo sale has come out and every indication is that this is the only example of the model...how exciting!

UPDATE II:

I attended the evening sale session and sadly this Eileen Gray masterwork failed to sell. It was devastating to say the least. Art professionals in attendance were in general agreement that the sale was a bit aggressively priced and unfortunately this chair was the major casualty of the day.

Carnavalet + Vuitton = Perfection

I had a nightcap yesterday with a friend recently arrived from Paris who alerted me to this Louis Vuitton retrospective. If you have never been to the Musée Carnavalet it is a MUST. It is situated in the Marais and housed within a distinguished hôtel particulier. The museum documents the history of Paris and among its holdings are an exquisite array of decorative arts. This exhibit, which runs though February 27th combines two of my favorite things. The video above captures the scope of the retrospective which ranges from the staid to the avant-garde (think Damien Hirst medical cabinets). One of my favorite oddities is the now iconic trunk-bed (Malle-Lit). The form was designed as a special request in 1875 for the famed explorer Savorgnan de Brazza for his expedition to the Congo. No matter how far one travels the desire for a familiar place to rest one's head reigns supreme. This trunk takes that concept to a whole new level.

Symbolist Lighting: Gallé's Elusive Chauve-Souris Lamp

In honor of Halloween I thought I would write about a personal macabre favorite from decorative art history. Most people familiar with the 19th century French glass artist Emile Gallé know him primarily for his floral cameo glass vases which appear season after season at auction seemingly without end. Most are part of his more commercial production however there are a small group of the artist's works that reflect his deep interest in the natural world and ties to the Symbolist Art movement.

Portrait of Emile Gallé by Victor Prouvé ca. 1892

Enter the Lampe Chauve Souris or bat Lamp.

Gallé Bat Lamp: sold Sotheby's NY, 12/6/02 ($77,625)

The look is at once decadent, perhaps sinister but captures the artistic sensibilities of fin-de-siecle France. Gallé was captivated by the natural world and his attachment to Symbolist poets like the notoriously eccentric Count Robert de Montesquiou is clearly evoked in this lamp. The work itself is not really about function but more about creating a mood, cloaking the scientific austerity of modern technology in the rich orange-amber glow of a night sky with occult overtones.

Gallé Bat Lamp: sold Christie's London, 5/4/07 ($119,160)

Very few of these lamps were produced owing to their subject matter and thus a scant handful are known to us today. This rarity of course affects the price. The two versions above are fairly similar and were on the market in the past decade. I for one am eager to see the larger version of this model in the flesh as the last known example has not been seen since it was on the block at Sotheby's in 1978 (see below).

The base is highly realized Art Nouveau without being excessive and is not as rigid as the other examples. The theme is essentially the same but the base adds another layer with its eerily creeping poppy pod. Gallé is clearly referencing the opium poppy's ancient associations with sleep, intoxication and death. The lamp is the perfect manifestation of late 19th century decadence but done in an intelligently fluid manner. Some may find it dark and creepy but it is an unabashed personal favorite... Happy haunting.

$3M Boldini Painting discovered in Parisian "Tomb"

I have neglected you dear readers for far too long but unfortunately life does tend to get in the way sometimes. This story was featured in the Telegraph earlier this month and was the subject of dinner party conversation the other night. Having been in the "biz" for some time I have had the privilege/ horror to enter this sort of crumbling domestic time capsule where a modern day Miss Havisham at one point opted to lock the door and stop time altogether. I love how they politely refer to the decedant as a "demimondaine" which is a rather 19th century way of saying mistress. It evokes the Moulin Rouge posters by Lautrec but one can venture that is was a far less romantic reality. Read the details here.

Auction Trophies: The Diana Vreeland Edition

I was away for a few weeks recharging and cannot believe the summer is rapidly drawing to a close. While on vacation I got the idea for this post over a dinner conversation about style icons and fabulous things...naturally. I recalled the extravagant former Harpers/Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. Now if for some reason this name escapes you please view this video and attempt to get up-to-speed. It was filmed on location in her Billy Baldwin decorated Manhattan apartment whose overriding red palette she insisted was based on a garden, "but a garden in hell." Like many women of high style she was not a natural beauty but through the subtle architecture of artifice, wit and social wisdom she became one of the preeminent arbiters of taste in the 20th century.

This imposing figure was the queen of the style one-liners such as "pink is the navy blue of India", "I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity", and "elegance is innate...it has nothing to do with being well dressed...elegance is refusal." After she passed in 1989 she had a small delicious Sotheby's sale crammed full of Beaton drawings, blackamoors and veritable bloodbath of red chintz furniture. If there was one offering in the catalogue that was too chic to pass up it had to be lots 62 & 63... her monogrammed Louis Vuitton luggage.

One imagines that fashionistas and editors out there would give their eye teeth to have one of these talismanic objects belonging to such an industry legend. The mind reels wondering where they are now, 21 years later...