Paris Art Market Buzz: Crisis, What Crisis?

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By columnist Paul Paradis, Art Historian, Specialist Consultant in French Furniture and Decorative Arts

19. May. 2010

As I write this, the Euro is plummeting to a four-year low as an aftermath to the bailout of the Greek economy last week, and a close friend’s brother working in banking in New York keeps calling to sound the alarm bells about markets crashing.  It is difficult to imagine that there is a crisis when looking at recent results in the auction world.  In early May a rare Picasso from 1932 entitled nu au plateau de sculpteur attained $106.5 million at Christie’s New York, a new world record for a work of art at auction. This result dethroned the same record set three months earlier at Sotheby’s London of £65 million for Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture l’homme qui marche I, rumored to have been acquired by Lily Safra, widow of the banking magnate Edmond Safra.   Jasper John’s iconic Flag from the Michael Crichton collection attained $28 642 500 at Christie’s New York a few days later.  It won’t be long before one of the two auction giants holds another sale which will undoubtedly set another outlandish record.  So where is the crisis? These all happen to be modern and contemporary works of impeccable provenance or rarity, however the question does merit reflection.

Nu au plateau de sculpteur, Christie’s New York (Photo: Wikipedia)  

Here in France, a similar phenomenon seems to be taking place, albeit on a smaller scale and in different areas.  In April an imperial seal in jade, nephrite and sculpted celadon from the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1795) reached a breathtaking € 3 386 000 at auction in Toulouse by the auctioneers Chassaing-Marambat.  The buyer was, not-surprisingly, Chinese.  The exquisite piece was used to place the royal stamp on official documents, poetry and paintings.  The handle presents a delicately sculpted imperial dragon evoking the Emperor’s role as representative of Heaven on earth. The script on the underside is in an antique style derived from ancient pictograms and represents the name used by Emperor Qianlong from 1759: Xiantian zhuren.  The original estimate of the royal treasure was set at 400 000 - 600 000 €, quite a heavenly ascent.  This result is a record for the French art market as of May 2010.

A Chinese Imperial seal (Photo: La Gazette Drouot)        

Side view of the Imperial seal (Photo: La Gazette Drouot)

Decorative Arts Holding Their Own

During the pre-sale exhibitions for the spring furniture and decorative arts auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in Paris last April, I was stunned at how many beautiful and important lots were on offer.  The usual logic is that the financial crisis has caused fear on both the seller and buyer sides of the equation and that consequently important items are being held away from the market.  These sales seemed to contradict that logic.  The three front rooms of the Christie’s expo space were elegantly laden with a treasure trove of 18^th century seat and veneered furniture, precious hard-stone and porcelain vases mounted in chased and gilt bronze, as well as highlights from the upcoming old master drawings sale on the walls.   A bold and handsome commode in mahogany immediately caught my attention and, before long, I found myself on my knees doing the official “specialist” thing: pulling out drawers, shining a mini flashlight inside for details and running my fingers over the ormolu mounts for tell-tale signs in the texture.

 

Commode stamped by Adam Weisweiler, Christie’s Paris

The rare model is stamped by Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820), an illustrious cabinet-maker (ébéniste) of the late 18^th century.  From German origin and (surprisingly) not from a family of ébénistes, Weisweiler immigrated to France, trained in master workshops, and was received master in Paris in 1778.  He worked exclusively for marchands merciers (luxury goods dealers) and specifically Dominique Daguerre, who acted as his intermediary to a Royal and princely clientele.  Weisweiler is known for his production of delicate and exquisite pieces of furniture using rich materials, such as porcelain and Japanese lacquer supplied by Daguerre.  His small scale creations, such as a writing table for Marie Antoinette in Japanese lacquer, gilt-bronze and steel (now conserved at the Louvre) illustrate his work at its most refined.

Secrétaire by A. Weisweiler, delivered to the château de Saint Cloud in 1784 for Marie-Antoinette (Photo: RMN) 

   

The commode offered at Christie’s is in a more masculine and bold style typical of the late Louis XVI (c. 1780) period when intricate geometric and flower marquetry veneers fell out of fashion in favor of more somber mahogany, evidence of the influence of English furniture.  Most of Weisweiler’s similar commodes are designed with two cupboard doors, one opening in a double hinged-panel, while this version has drawers.  The ébéniste maintained the same tripartite division of the façade as that for the model with doors as can be seen in comparison to a commode stamped by Weisweiler now conserved in the Louvre.  Only one other example of a similar commode with drawers is known to have been executed by Weisweiler, which was delivered in 1788 for the bedroom of the comtesse de Provence (1753-1810) at Versailles.

Despite the severity of the design, the commode dazzles through its architectural structure (detached columns, bold frieze) and the use of contrasting registers of gilt-bronze decorations.  For example, the gadrooned molding surrounding the marble top over a twisted ribbon motif, itself above rows of pearls.  The swirled fluting of the capitals crowning the columns adds another level of complexity to the design.   

Detail of commode stamped by Weisweiler

The commode obtained € 697 000 at the auction, purchased by an Asian collector. Are we seeing a pattern here?   

At Sotheby’s , the main large expo room of the Galerie Charpentier is always a bit cold and pieces seem to get lost when placed in the huge space.  The natural lighting filtering through the glass ceiling is often insufficient to closely examine the objects.  Nevertheless, the offer at the April furniture and decorative arts auction was impressive enough to make me forget my usual complaints.   I observed a pair of boldly carved early Louis XV (my favorite) armchairs as one of the members of the department approached me and began to chat.  Obviously on a high from a recent coffee break, he described the attributes of the armchairs (of which I was already aware) and I politely listened. 

Armchair from a pair,  by René Cresson, Sotheby’s Paris

They were stamped CRESSON LAINE, the signature of René Cresson (1705-1749), the eldest son of Jean Cresson, from a dynasty of skilled menuisiers (carved furniture makers) who worked throughout the Louis XV period.  The asymmetrical cartouches decorating the crest rails and the protruding cabochon motifs on the shoulders are all remnants of the early Louis XV style period, or rocaille, which lasted from approximately 1730-1745. 

Detail of the carved motif on the crest rail

However, the use of a simple molding on the majority of the surface of the crest rails and back are characteristic of a later more subdued version of rocaille which evolved from around 1745.   The pair made € 90 750 at the auction.  This impressive result is precisely the reason why I don’t own a similar pair.  Maybe one day.

The star lot of the sale was undoubtedly a sumptuous Russian guéridon in gilt and patinated bronze, with a specimen hard-stone top from the Urals. The little gem belonged to the great Count Stroganov who ordered it in the late 18^th century for his Palace in Saint Petersburg where it was displayed in his cabinet de minérologie.  It was designed by architect Alexander Voronikhine (1759-1814) and executed by the bronze manufactory created by Stroganov himself.  I was struck by the audacity of the design, the density and refinement of the gilding.  Such a rich décor incorporating allegorical figures of fame and chimeras on a small table could appear heavy, but in this case, the balance seemed perfect.  A lucky collector obviously shared my enthusiasm and forked out € 660 750 for precious little table.

Guéridon from the Stroganov Palace, Saint Petersburg

The princely provenance and sheer beauty of the piece clearly made their impact.