Schools of Design
Anniversary auction

For our 25th anniversary auction, we were able again to acquire almost 200 very interesting, extremely rare, particularly beautiful and truly exceptional objects under the title 'Schools of Design'

In the field of Art Nouveau, the elegantly curved designs by universal genius Henry van de Velde are particularly captivating: his 'Havana' armchair from 1897, which took its name from the cigar store of the same name on Mohrenstraße in Berlin, is hardly ever found on the international auction market. It was acquired in the early 1970s at the famous Galerie L'Ecuyer in Brussels and now comes to auction at an estimate of € 15,000 - 25,000. Only two copies of van de Velde's document folder are known: the one offered here and one in which the congratulatory address of the Chamber of Crafts of the Grand Duchy of Saxony was presented at the event of the marriage of Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst to Caroline von Reuss. Its estimate of € 6,000 - 9,000 seems completely appropriate.

The greatest sensation, however, can be inspected directly in the Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe: Peter Behrens' pianino with serial number 48068 was part of a living room ensemble created by the famous designer for the Berlin department store Wertheim in 1905. You can find the whole ensemble illustrated in the magazine Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, vol. XVI. Our research revealed that there were only three versions of the model in existence. Made of different kinds of wood, these were all considered lost until our specimen was temporarily made available by the owner to the Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne, on the occasion of an exhibition celebrating the 150th birthday of all-round genius Peter Behrens.

Iconic design can also be discovered in the chapter Bauhaus and German post-war design. Two beautifully aged Weissenhof armchairs 'MR10' by world famous architect Mies van der Rohe are still from a very early production period. They are very rare, with red colored tubular steel and wicker and accompanied by an equally beautiful side table by an unknown hand. The group is favorably valued with an estimate range of € 15.000 - 20.000.

Creations by legendary Munich lighting designer Ingo Maurer are highly popular. In addition to a small, fine selection of table, wall and ceiling lights priced between € 200 and € 2,000, the two more-than-head high fan-shaped 'Uchiwa I' wall lights stand out; nowadays very rare to find, they are estimated as a pair at € 14,000 - 18,000.

Czech design is often undervalued and does not receive proper recognition in international auctions. An exceptional piece of furniture from the Czech Cubist period opens the chapter: constructed of dark-stained blockboard and solid wood, with expressive carvings and ornamentation, it appears significant, but unfortunately cannot be attributed to any artist. It is offered at a good price for € 2,000 - 3,000. Jindřich Halabala's designs, on the other hand, are well known and sought after. His pair of 'H 269' armchairs is estimated at € 3.800 - 4.000. Glass and ceramic objects by Bořek Šípek have enchanted fans worldwide since the 1980s. We were able to gather twenty surrealistic-looking objects by the artist from two collections: prototypes, small-series objects and never-used objects in original packaging will be called up at reasonable prices between € 100 and 500. The first-class glass object 'The Kiss', designed by Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, in the late 1950s (€ 4.000 - 5.000), perfectly rounds off the selection in this chapter.

Designs by world-renowned designers Osvaldo Borsani, Gio Ponti, Achille Castiglioni, Vico Magistretti, Ettore Sottsass, Angelo Lelli, Gino Sarfatti and Alessandro Mendini dominate the offer of Italian design. Restrained elegance characterizes Borsani's large sideboard from 1945 (€ 6.000 - 8.000) as well as the side table from the 1940s (€ 4.000 - 5.000). In 1965, he designed his comfortable ‚Canada' armchair, estimated at € 2.800 - 3.200. From the 1950s comes Gio Ponti's side table with its beautiful original glass top (estimate € 2.200 - 2.800; with: certificate of the Ponti archive).

Italian Radical Design at its finest can be seen in the armchair 'Joe'. This is a design by the designer trio DePas, D'Urbino, Lomazzi from the early 1970s. An oversized baseball glove as a seat! - revolutionary at the time (with ottoman, favorably estimated at € 7.000 - 9.000). Also uncompromising is the loop-shaped seat 'Dondolo' from 1975, reduced only to the essentials. Designed by Franca Stagi and Cesare Leonardi and produced only in small numbers, the plastic icon was discovered by the consignor in a garden in Veneto and restored perfectly. The estimate is at a reasonable € 12.000 - 18.000.

Rare lamps by Angelo Lelli (‚Triennale' floor lamp, 1947 for € 6.000 - 7.000 and 'Cobra', circa 1962 for € 3.000 - 4.000), Gino Sarfatti (‚2047B' ceiling light, 1952 for € 2.800 - 3.200) Vico Magistretti ('Impiccato', € 1.800 - 2. 200 and 'Melilla 470', € 900 -1.200) and Max Ingrand (three ceiling lights, circa 1960, € 5.500 - 6.000) as well as Gaetano Pesce's extraordinary 'Canovacci' wall light in the shape of a glass tea towel (€ 4.000 - 5.000) complete the offer.

Very rare items can also be found in French design: two armchairs and a sofa 'Elliptiques', designed by Bernard Govin in the mid-1960s, are each estimated at € 4.000 - 5.000. Also represented with six items are the design superstars of the 1980s/90s, Garouste & Bonetti. The charming designs (for example the carpet 'Fougères beige' and the sofa 'Mars') are available at estimates between € 400 and € 6,000). Always captivating is the elegance of Serge Mouille's designs. On offer is an early example of his 'Trépied' table light from an Austrian private collector; designed in 1954, it has an estimate between € 6.000 - 7.000.

Probably the most important contemporary designer in France - already being honored in Paris this year with three exhibitions! - gets dedicated an extra chapter by us: Philippe Starck! Flatware, wall candle holders, stools, chairs and tables, motorcycles, hotels and much, much more stem from his pen. 16 lots are at hand, at estimates between € 250 and 25.000. Absolute highlight from German private ownership: two ‚WW' stools, offered as a pair for € 6.000 - 7.000 and the iconic 'Illusion' glass table in sea blue, one of very few still existing (estimate € 15.000 - 25.000).

The man of a thousand chairs, Hans Wegner, tops the Scandinavian design chapter. His designs 'Ox chair' with ottoman, 'Shell chair' and 'W2' chairs are estimated at prices between € 2.000 and 8.000. Poul Kjaerholm's minimalist, elegant 'PK24' couch is available at € 7.000 - 8.000.

International contemporary design concludes our journey through the decades. Particularly noteworthy here are the timeless designs by Shiro Kuramata (two sofas 'with arms', 1982 - € 4.800 - 5.500), Gaetano Pesce's material experiment 'Pratt chair', 1984 (€ 10.000 - 12.000) as well as new German design of the 1980s and 1990s. Stiletto's 'Consumer's Rest', the unique bookcase 'Owl' by Berghof / Landes / Rang, the Pentagon stool by Reinhard Müller as well as Anna Golin's couch 'Xenia' excellently describe this shrill-creative period in Germany; the estimated prices range between € 2.000 and 8.000. Last but not least, under the motto opposites attract: we can very well imagine Bertjan Pot and Marcel Wanders eight, super light 'Carbon chairs' (2004 - € 4.000 - 5.000) together with Bodo Sperlein's prototype statement dining table 'Silva' in beautiful Estremoz marble (2022 - € 16.000 - 20.000).

Despite the hot summer weather, customers did not miss the opportunity to bid on special pieces in our three design auctions 169A, B and C this week.

The highlight was one of the rare 'Illusion' tables by Philippe Starck, which doubled its limit eagerly fought over on several sides and was finally knocked down at EUR 30.000 (147). Before that, the rare armchair 'Havana' by Henry van de Velde had already been bid up from EUR 14.000 to 28.000. A German collector prevailed against an international gallery (3).

In the special collection "Made in Italy" it was the well-known glove armchair 'Joe' that fascinated the bidders. Covered in white leather, the seating object now makes its way to Switzerland for EUR 7,500 (315).

In Wednesday's International Design Auction, a lighting object made of ceramic by Georges Pelletier surprised the design community. Hotly contested, a Swiss collector only won the object at double its estimate at EUR 3,600 (727).

Many more beautiful objects can be found in our post auction sale, which will last until 28 July.