A wealth of French furniture features in the first Hôtel Lambert auction at Sotheby's but the sale also includes a group of English pieces from the celebrated suite of giltwood seat furniture created for Sir Lawrence Dundas (1710-81) which was designed by Robert Adam, made by Thomas Chippendale and supplied in 1765. Three lots are on offer: the pair of armchairs pictured here estimated at €600,000-1m; a giltwood sofa (estimate €500,000-1m); a single armchair (estimate €200,000-400,000).
The furniture, paintings and works of art that were housed in the 61 rooms will be offered in a series of five live auctions running from October 11-14 and one online sale from October 5-17.
The house was built in the early 1640s, designed by the architect Louis Le Vau, for the financier Jean-Baptiste Lambert. In 2007 it was acquired by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani and his immediate family, who subsequently restored and furnished it with a collection of works from the 17th and 18th century that were sympathetic to the style of the house.
Proceeds from the sale will support The Al Thani Collection Foundation.
This pair of 17¼in (44cm) three light candelabra are made from late 17th-early 18th century Chinese blanc de chine porcelain figures of storks with Louis XV gilt bronze mounts of c.1750. The candelabra are thought possibly to have been supplied on February 14, 1752, by the marchandmercier Lazare Duveau to Jean Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour. In the early 20th century they re-emerged in the collection of Consuelo Vanderbilt, 9th Duchess of Marlborough after she had married the aviator, Lt Col Jacques Balsan. They have an estimate of €200,000-400,000 at Sotheby's.
Notable provenances
The first session of the series on October 11 is devoted to the highlight pieces from the collection. The 87 lots range from Old Masters to Savonnerie carpets, Gobelins tapestries, gilt bronze-mounted porcelain, Italian maiolica and silverware to examples of French and other furniture, many of them with notable provenances.
This is followed by an auction dedicated to Kunstkammer objects ranging from early French Limoges enamels, rock crystal items, German silver gilt and other objets d’art.
Furniture, paintings and other examples of furnishing from the hotel make up a third sale, while Les Arts de la table features predominantly French and English silverware, plus some ceramics and glass related to the art of dining. The fifth auction offers jewellery, gold boxes and other objects of vertu.
