YSL Sale at Christie's

Although sale for the remaining items from the YSL estate happened last week, I thought it important to post on the event.  The sale produced results well above the estimates (as did the original sale), and continues to show that quality and provenance are of paramount importantce when it comes to value and price. As appraisers we should always be aware on what impacts value, be it provenance, quality, fads or market trends.  Yet the way high quality items of fine and decorative arts with strong provenance have performed when compared to the levels only slightly below is significant, especially with the struggling economy. It shows collectors in the upper market with money are more than willing to spend for exceptional items.

The YSL sale totaled $13.4 million with premiums, against pre sale estimates of $5.73 million.  The sale offered 1180 lots with 1156 selling for an excellent 98% sell through rate. The sale saw 85% of the buyers from Europe, 9% from the US, 5% from Asia, and 1.5 % from the Middle East.

Christies Head of Valuations Depsartment and Specialist in charge of the sale stated

Nine months after the sale at the Grand Palais, the magic of Saint Laurent was felt everywhere, from the kitchen lots to the objects in the attic. The sale of the contents of château Gabriel was an astounding success, but the works from rue de Babylone truly triumphed. This success was undoubtedly due to the great number of buyers who were unable to win lots in the first sale and were determined to not leave Marigny without a souvenir of the mythical designer.”

Scott Reyburn of Bloomberg reported on the sale

An even more spectacular performance against estimate was achieved by a 20th-century green enameled earthenware umbrella stand. Also offered on the final day of the sale, this climbed to 109,000 euros after being valued at 300 euros to 500 euros. The umbrella pot had been filled with walking sticks in the hall of Saint Laurent’s Paris home.

The most expensive of the small group of works of modern art on offer was Fernand Leger’s 1950 gouache-and-black-ink drawing, “Les travailleurs au repos” (“Workers at rest”), which sold for 181,000 euros against a high estimate of 70,000 euros.

A total of 1,200 clients registered to bid at the auction, said Christie’s. Many were attracted by some of the more personal items, such as Saint Laurent’s enamel-and-gilded-metal Cartier alarm clock. This sold for 3,500 euros, more than double the high estimate.

To read the Bloomberg article, click HERE.