"A rare bar in the shape of a hippopotamus by François-Xavier Lalanne sold for $31.4m (with fees) at a Sotheby's design auction in New York on Wednesday (10 December), breaking the artist's secondary-market record and becoming the most valuable design object ever sold at auction. Like many of the whimsical-yet-practical designs created by Lalanne (and in collaboration with his wife and design partner Claude Lalanne), the hippo is a fully functioning bar."
"The bar was estimated to sell for between $7m and $10m, but after a 26-minute contest between 7 bidders, the price climbed to $31.4m (including fees). Not only did Hippopotame Bar smash its estimate, it also exceeded Lalanne's previous auction record by more than $10m. That work, Rhinocrétaire I (1964), held a desk, safe, bar and wine storage in a brass rhinoceros. It sold for €18.3m (with fees) at Christie's Paris in 2023."
A hippo-shaped bar by François-Xavier Lalanne sold for $31.4m (with fees) at a Sotheby's design auction in New York, becoming the most valuable design object sold at auction. The copper work opens to reveal a revolving bottle rack, storage for glasses, an ice bucket and a serving tray, functioning as a practical bar. The lot was estimated at $7m–$10m but rose to $31.4m after a 26-minute contest between seven bidders, surpassing Lalanne's previous record by over $10m. The piece, commissioned in 1976 by oil heiress Anne Schlumberger, is the artist's only copper bar. Schlumberger was sister to Dominique de Menil.
#franccedilois-xavier-lalanne #design-auction-record #sothebys-new-york #anne-schlumberger-provenance
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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