Sotheby’s and Christie’s multiplied the vacations. Behind these two heavyweights, all the actors displays two-digit growth.
by
Patrick Drahi must rub his hands. Sotheby’s, the house of sale that the Franco-Israeli businessman bought in 2019, took the ascendant on the Paris market, with a record balance of nearly 500 million euros in 2021, of which 424 million. Public sales. At its credit, several manes: the set of sculptures of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne sold by their daughter, who alone represents nearly 20% of his balance sheet, such as the succession of the Karl Lagerfeld couturier, whose two scattered shutters In Monaco and Paris have garnered more than 18 million euros. Sotheby’s even managed the unthinkable, namely to blow to Christie’s the sale of the hospices of Beaune, of which she had the monopoly for fifteen years.
François Pinault’s stable, nevertheless ends the year on Elbow, with 420.7 million euros for public sales and an 88% increase compared to 2020. “This is our best Year since selling Bergé-Saint Laurent in 2009 “, welcomes Cécile Verdier, president of Christie’s France. In its palmaresis includes the Mirific Collection of African Art by Michel Périnet, awarded for 66 million euros in June.
Growth is significantly more modest at Artcurial, which loops the season with 169 million euros, an increase of 13%. “We lost 30 million to 40 million euros because of the cancellation of Retromobile in February and the classical Le Mans following the pandemic”, justifies its CEO, Nicolas Orlowski.
blow d ‘Accelerator
Behind the mastodontes, all sales houses have two-digit growth. Thus aguttes, who, with 77.2 million euros, picks up his best result since … 1974. “I really did not think I could realize such a score as quickly”, surprised on his side Alexander Millon, who totals 81.7 million euros, including 6 million in its subsidiary in Belgium. Tajan aligns, for his part, 46.2 million euros, nearly double 2020, while Piasa wins 43 million euros, up 65%. Adder, finally, continues on his momentum, with a record balance of 40 million.
The Parisian potential is such that the British house Bonhams has set up its European headquarters in the French capital. Specialized in an intermediate range of objects from 1,000 to 1 million euros, the establishment held by the Epiris Investment Fund, usually only organized an annual sale of collectors. There was an accelerator stroke in 2021 with nineteen vacations, in various specialties, who totaled 22 million euros. “Our goal is to organize thirty in 2022,” says his managing director, Patrick Masson.
You have 44.37% of this article to be read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.