By columnist Paul Paradis,
Art Historian, Specialist Consultant in French Furniture and Decorative Arts
The week-end before last, I
panicked, realizing that the following week would be heavy in important
auctions at all of the major houses plus Drouot. As I would be absent from the next day for a trip to Burgundy,
that Saturday would be my only chance to see the presale viewings. Not really having planned to be so
ambitious that day, I found myself running from the exhibition of an important sale of Old Master Paintings at Tajan held in one
of the Drouot salerooms (featuring a newly-rediscovered Massacre of the
Innocents by Jean-Baptiste
Marie Pierre from 1763), to Christie’s where 15 important works from the Veil-Picard
collection were on display, then on to Artcurial where, to my delight
they were organizing an important auction of 18th century furniture
and decorative arts.
Previously the Paris auction calendar featured prestigious 18th century furniture and decorative arts sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in April and June respectively, but recently the two houses seem to have coordinated these high-end events in April (See Paris Art Market Buzz May 19th). Apparently Artcurial has opted to remain independent and hold the prestigious sale in June. This seems to have been a wise choice.
The Auction House Artcurial, Paris
Continue reading "Paris Art Market Buzz: Chinoiserie With Literary Provenance" »