MADE IN ITALY
Design from Alessi to Zanotta. A Private Collection

We are very pleased to present a private collection of about 250 design objects on June 27!

The exceptional auction is all about 'Made in Italy' and includes a comprehensive range of illustrious names. From Ettore Sottsass to Achille Castiglioni and Gio Ponti - look forward to a trip to Mediterranean Italy!

The furniture, lighting and objects offered in this auction come from a marvelous private collection. Already in his teens, the collector was fascinated by shapes, spaces and colors. The passion for design objects was awakened and has been intensively cultivated over the next 45 years with unwavering dedication.

At the age of 14, he found his first Thonet chairs in the bulky waste of a South-German town and was motivated to further his theoretical knowledge of furniture design. A year later, at the age of 15, he was secretly working at night in a print shop near his school to earn money, because, against all odds, he had set his mind on prettying his boarding school room with an original 'Plia' chair designed by Giancarlo Piretti for Anonima Castelli in 1967.

After graduating from high school, the passionate collector began to spend every free minute traveling across Europe - and especially Italy, in particular to Milan. There he cultivated his love for design and beautiful things and expanded his knowledge as well as his collection. In the process, he became more familiar with Milan's funky, colorful, thriving, design scene. It was the time when Elio Fiorucci became known for his colorful designs and unconventional, rebellious style in fashion. At the age of just 20, the collector decided to focus his passion for collecting primarily on Italian design, which he had already been deeply impressed and fascinated by as a young teenager.

To this day, the collector is still unreservedly passionate about beautiful objects! Decades of collecting, however, also taught him that taking care of and maintaining an extensive collection on one’s own, can be debilitating. So the decision was made - with a bleeding heart - to part with some of the objects. The result is the present catalog with around 230 objects MADE IN ITALY, which are waiting to get into other passionate collectors' hands.

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.