A French giltwood day bed was the top-priced piece in the 409-lot sell-out auction titled Doha/Paris un Décor Princier held by Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) in the French capital on June 30.
The sale comprised works from the collection of Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani that furnished and decorated his residence in Doha and encompassed furniture, paintings and works of art from Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
The daybed, described as a veilleuse à la turque, measures 6ft 1½in (1.87m) in width dates from c.1780 and is stamped G Jacob.
A type of piece that was fashionable during the reign of Louis XVI, this example features a wealth of detailed carving that includes bouquets of flowers, cornucopia, a ram’s head and a winged figure to the armrests and a band of lotus around the base.
It overturned a €60,000-80,000 estimate to take a hammer price of €370,000 (£316,240).
(Another daybed in the auction, of Regency period with crocodile legs, which was previewed in ATG No 2498, realised €30,000/£25,640.)
Buoyant boulle
Close behind the top-seller at €360,000 (£307,690), again outstripping its guide, this time of €70,000-100,000, was a pair of late 19th century boulle side cabinets in Louis XVI style by the French cabinetmaker Henry Dasson (1825-96). One of them was stamped with his name three times and dated to c.1875; the other stamped twice and dated 1878.
A pair of Meissen pot pourri vases that made €200,000 (£170,940) at Sotheby’s Paris. Image: Sotheby’s / ArtDigital Studio.
Another major contributor to the hammer total of €3.38m was a pair of elaborate floral encrusted Meissen pot pourri vases which sold for €200,000 (£170,940) against a guide of €20,000-30,000.
These measured no less than 2ft 4in (72cm) in height, were dated to c.1880 and were based on models by JJ Kändler.
They were painted with Watteauesque panels and bouquets of deutscheblumen had the blue crossed swords mark and were incised BC.
£1 = €1.17/$1.39
