Design and Deco were one of the strongest features at the fair. Autegarden–Rapin, majoring on Italian design, sold most of their stand within two days; Yves Macaux of Brussels sold a Wiener Werkstätte cabinet; Yves Gastou a pair of steel and brass day-beds by Poillerat (c.1960); and Clara Scremini sold ten pieces of contemporary glass by Perrin-Perrin, Tim Edwards and Tessa Clegg, whose pâte de verre White Bead vase made €7000 (£4900).
Juliet Burrows of Scandinavian design specialists Antik New York reported consistent sales, noting that: “The fair gathers dealers who have vision. Collectors love it and so do we.”
Tribal art also fared well, with Paris dealers Bernard Dulon and Roland Flak both posting significant sales. Modern art met a brisk response at some stands; several Schiele watercolours sold at Richard Nagy, one of three participating London dealers (along with Pelham Galleries and Edmondo di Robilant) after Richard Green’s late withdrawal; and Hopkins-Custot sold a dozen modern pictures, some to American buyers. Babylone International did find Canadian and American private buyers for their 19th and 20th century central European furniture, but generally business was slow for dealers in 18th century French furniture, and transatlantic buyers were few and far between.
Saudi and Chinese buying was reported in the jewellery section, while Oriental dealer Flavie Sibourg Baudry said: “all our huang-huali pieces were gone within two days.”
Chief organiser Patrick Perrin
acknowledged that sales overall had been “mixed” but thought his first autumn fair had enjoyed a succès d’estime, reflected in a gate of more than 30,000.
He said: “There is clearly a space in the international calendar for a fair of this kind. Important dealers are seeking an opportunity to exhibit in Paris during the year’s most important gathering of international clients. “I am convinced the fair has a strong future.”
The next Pavillon in the Tuileries runs from March 27 to April 4. Next autumn’s event is slated for September 18-26 and will overlap with the Paris Biennale.
£35,000 buys a holiday home with a difference in Paris
THE 36 sq.metre habitation module, pictured right, one of a series designed for a holiday village by Jean Manevel in 1965, was by far the biggest item on offer at the Pavillon des Antiquaires staged in Paris from September 20-28. It occupied one end of the Pavillon’s 200m marquee in the Tuileries Gardens, and was sold by Jousse Entreprise to a Paris private buyer for €50,000 (£35,000).
