An extraordinary series of mirrors by Claude Lalanne, commissioned by Yves Saint Laurent, returns to the market in a sale that could redefine the valuations of collectible design.
How did Yves Saint Laurent’s commission to Claude Lalanne come about?
In 1974, Yves Saint Laurent asked his favorite artist, Claude Lalanne, to create two mirrors for the Salon de Musique of his Paris apartment. The initial idea quickly grew: by 1985, the pieces had become 15, all framed in gilded bronze and animated by electroplated leaves taken directly from her garden.
This commission helped transform the mirror into a true stylistic trademark of Lalanne, taking her botanical fantasies beyond the scale of jewelry and silverware. In this context, the series immediately appeared as a turning point both for the artist and for late 20th-century design collecting.
Why did the de Gunzburgs decide to sell the mirrors?
For the last 15 years, the monumental size of the ensemble has been a problem for the second owners, Jean and Terry de Gunzburg. The couple purchased the composition in 2009 during the legendary three-day auction of $443 million dedicated to the Yves Saint Laurent collection, but they never managed to display all the pieces.
Despite owning residences in New York, Paris, London, and the south of France, they did not find a space that fully showcased Lalanne’s mirrors. That said, the decision to sell them today taps into a significantly more mature and receptive market compared to the late 2000s.
How will the Sotheby’s sale be structured in 2024?
The ensemble of mirrors will be offered with an estimate between $10 million and $15 million when it arrives at Sotheby’s Breuer Building on April 22. The auction is part of the design collection sale of the de Gunzburgs and is presented by the auction house as the most valuable single-owner sale of design ever organized.
The sale includes 123 lots and could exceed $40 million, testifying to over four decades of omnivorous collecting in 20th-century design. Additionally, the catalog ranges from Art Deco to post-war avant-gardes, outlining a coherent yet unconventional historical path. Additional information on the schedule is available on the Sotheby’s website.
Why do Les Lalanne dominate the auction estimates?
A large part of this valuation is linked to Les Lalanne, the French couple formed by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, whose playful and surreal sculptures have seen prices soar in the last three years. In December, a famous hippo-shaped bar was sold by Sotheby’s for $31.4 million, a new record for a Lalanne work.
Previously, a Végétale mirror by Claude was auctioned by Sotheby’s, in the sale of Paul Karpidas’s collection, for $3.5 million, its second-best auction result. However, the core of Saint Laurent’s mirrors stands out for scale, provenance, and coherence, factors contributing to the particularly high current estimate.
How much did the de Gunzburgs originally pay for the mirrors?
To understand the market evolution, it is enough to remember that in 2009 the de Gunzburgs paid 1.9 million euros for the mirrors, equivalent at the time to about $2.4 million. The comparison with today’s estimate highlights a multiple increase over just over a decade.
Besides the mirrors, the auction offers 16 lots signed by Lalanne. Among these, a pair of serene and very woolly sheep, part of François-Xavier’s 1965 flock and previously owned by Saint Laurent, stand out, offered separately with an estimate between $700,000 and $1 million each.
What are the other Lalanne masterpieces in the catalog?
Among the most monumental pieces is the golden apple Pomme d’Hiver (2009), about two meters tall (six feet and eight inches), valued between $3 million and $5 million. It is an iconic work for scale and sculptural power, destined to capture the attention of international collectors.
Alongside this appears a ten-light chandelier, of decidedly traditional taste, entirely composed of elements reminiscent of the crocodile, with an estimate between $500,000 and $700,000. Overall, the section dedicated to Lalanne translates into numbers the rise of the market trend on their works, fueled by rarity and strong collector demand.
How did the de Gunzburgs build their “New York outside, Paris inside” interior?
The de Gunzburgs described their pied-à-terre on the Upper East Side as “New York outside, Paris inside,” a definition that guided the arrangement of pieces by leading French designers. This setup made the apartment a meticulously curated environment, where every object interacted with the architectural context.
A prominent role is given to a pair of imposing mahogany cabinets by Alexandre Noll, a self-taught carpenter who considered wood a material to reveal rather than work. The two structures are estimated between $700,000 and $1 million and synthesize his sculptural and organic vision of furniture.
Which other 20th-century French designers will be auctioned?
Among the most anticipated lots is a sofa by Jean Royère, the warm shrimp-colored model Ours Polaire (1952). Designed for his mother’s Paris apartment and named for the softness and mass reminiscent of a polar bear, it could reach $600,000 – $800,000 at auction.
The pair of coordinated armchairs, in a caramel tone, presents the same estimate, creating a coherent ensemble for mid-century French design collectors. Moreover, the presence of these furnishings highlights the de Gunzburgs’ interest in projects born from family and personal ties, not just museum-iconized icons.
What works by Giacometti and Ruhlmann complete the design collection?
The sale also includes an elegant patinated bronze floor lamp by Alberto Giacometti, one of four lamps by the famous Swiss sculptor featured in the catalog. The piece is estimated between $250,000 and $350,000 and represents the ideal bridge between sculpture and functional object.
Around this core of lighting revolves the purple and blue spiral carpet by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, a work that constituted the fulcrum from which the couple developed the entire collection. The carpet is offered with an estimate of $150,000 – $200,000 and testifies to the attention to decorative detail typical of Art Deco. Further insights on the designer are available on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
Who are Jean and Terry de Gunzburg and how did they form their collection?
After leaving the Yves Saint Laurent maison, where she contributed to the creation of the famous concealer Touche Éclat, Terry de Gunzburg founded the luxury cosmetics brand By Terry. Her husband, Jean de Gunzburg, was the scientific director of the French biopharmaceutical company Da Volterra, bringing an analytical approach to collecting as well.
Together they formed a collection of design and art of exceptional quality. According to Florent Jeanniard, co-worldwide head of Sotheby’s design department, over time “Jean and Terry de Gunzburg have shaped one of the most intellectually rigorous and aesthetically coherent design collections of our time.” Moreover, Jeanniard emphasizes how their New York home was a complete artistic environment, where fundamental creations by major 20th-century artists and designers coexisted in extraordinary harmony.
What will happen to the de Gunzburgs’ art collection?
A second auction, scheduled for May, will also bring the couple’s art collection to the market, which includes works by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, and Agnes Martin. Compared to the design-focused core, this segment will offer a further picture of their choices, extending the dialogue from applied arts to modern and contemporary art.
Overall, the double sale consecrates the de Gunzburgs as long-standing protagonists in international collecting, combining intellectual rigor, French taste, and New York roots.
For the market, the auction of these cores represents a testing ground for the current valuations of historical design and 20th-century art blue chips, as also indicated by market analyses published by Artprice.
image: The present lot, shown in the residence of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, Paris Photograph by Pascal Chevallier
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
