Other important works from the collection demonstrate Giacometti’s interest in the arts of Africa and Oceania. The “Égyptienne” Lamp (estimate $250/350,000), designed circa 1934, is a stylistic homage to the highly artistic alabaster oil lamps discovered in 1922 in the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. Giacometti’s “Grande Feuille” Floor Lamp (estimate $250/350,000), designed around the same period, possibly owes its organic design to the Polynesian offering-bearers that he likely encountered at the Musée d'Ethnographie in Paris.
MARCEL COARD

A Cubist sentiment is clearly visible in the interlocking volumes of this extraordinary Armchair (estimate $400/600,000), designed by Marcel Coard circa 1920 for Jacques Doucet. The piece further builds tension through the juxtaposition of rosewood and vellum, and the addition of mother-of-pearl inlay to the arms. Originally upholstered in a fabric embroidered with silver thread to a design by Gustave Miklos, it is the two designers’ only collaboration known to date, and marked the acceptance of Marcel Coard into the influential group of designers who counted Doucet as their patron. Notably, this important work is one of the last Coard pieces realized for Doucet that is held in private hands today.

JOSEPH CSAKY

Executed by Hungarian-born, Paris-based artist Joseph Csaky at the beginning of the 1920s, Tête de Lionne (estimate $100/150,000) is a superlative work within the sculptor’s esteemed career. This abstract sculpture imbued with Cubist influences counts among the artist’s very first pieces with an abstract animal motif and displays tremendous mastery over granite. It also stands as one of the few surviving testaments to an important yet unrealized project commissioned by the couturier and arts patron Jacques Doucet for a house in the Parisian suburb of Marly. Csaky and Doucet collaborated on other important commissions, which include the design for the staircase of Doucet’s hôtel particulier in Neuilly, designed circa 1927, for which Marcel Coard created the unique Cubist armchair represented in this collection.

JEAN DUNAND

The impressive and wide-ranging selection of masterworks by Jean Dunand illustrate his mastery in artistry and craftsmanship. The presence of many rare and important pieces in lacquer inlaid with eggshell constitutes one of the most significant offerings by the artist to appear at auction. The ensemble is led by an Important Low Table (estimate $200/300,000), a rare “Ailette” Vase (estimate $250/350,000) and an outstanding collection of lacquer and eggshell vases (estimates ranging from $30/90,000).

JEAN-MICHEL FRANK

An extraordinary work of craftsmanship embodying the essence of Jean-Michel Frank’s restrained and luxurious style, this two-piece vellum suite – comprising a Desk (estimate $300/500,000) and Paper Basket (estimate $10/15,000) circa 1931 – has remained together since its time of production, a testament to its stature as a masterful and complete work of design.

The suite inhabited the Château de la Croë, a sumptuous castle built in 1928 by Armand-Albert Rateau in Antibes that was originally built for a British aristocratic couple, the press magnate Sir William Pomeroy Burton and his wife Lady Barbara. A few years following its completion, the couple leased La Croë to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, for a period of over ten years ending in 1949. The distinguished owners were temporary guardians of these masterful and exceptionally rare pieces by Frank, whose presence in the collection is complemented by a Side Chair (estimate $25/35,000) with equally illustrious provenance, having been commissioned for Templeton Crocker’s San Francisco penthouse.

PAUL JOUVE

In 1922, Paul Jouve left his native France to embark on a journey that would profoundly impact his life and artistic career. The four months that he spent in Angkor between October 1922 and January 1923 resulted in extraordinary artistic achievements best exemplified by Moine Bouddhiste Méditant (estimate $100/150,000) – one of the very few monumental works that Paul Jouve painted during his short stay in Angkor between October 1922 and January 1923. Jouve is best known as one of the most successful animalier and Orientalist artists of his generation, having exhibited alongside established artists like Jacques Nam and Édouard-Marcel Sandoz, and closely worked with such craftsmen as Jean Dunand and Jean Goulden, with whom he regularly exhibited at the Galerie Georges Petit throughout the 1920s. One of Jouve’s famous panthers constitutes the centerpiece of a Coffret by Jean Dunand which is offered in the December auction (estimate $100/150,000) and provides a particularly striking example of a successful collaboration between the two artists.

DESIGN WEEK AT SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK
Exhibitions Open 7 December

Modern Masters: Chefs-d’œuvre d’une Collection Privée
Auction 11 December at 6pm EST

Marc Jacobs: A Life of Design
Auction 12 December at 10am EST

Important Design
Auction 12 December at 1pm EST

Dreaming in Glass: Masterworks by Tiffany Studios
Auction 12 December at 5pm EST