Mid Century Modern in Paris

Margaret Studer writing for the Wall Street Journal has a preview of the upcoming Christie's Paris sale of fine and decorative arts from the collection of German designer Wolfgang Joop.  The sale is scheduled for November 26th and has 323 lots of both highly regarded works as well as excellent secondary examples. There are some Noll pieces in the sale whom Joop once held a retrospective on as well as other mid century modern and contemporary designer works, such as Diego Giacometti, André Dubreui, and Korean artist Gimhongsok (see image).

Studer reports

Mr. Joop has a particular regard for Noll, so much so that he organized a Noll retrospective exhibition at Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin in 2000. Noll reflects Mr. Joop's fascination with creating utilitarian, sculptural objects out of wood.

In next week's sale is a rare cabinet from 1947 designed by Noll that is carved from black African ebony wood, stands on two legs and has a striking effect similar to tribal sculptures (estimate: €250,000-€350,000).

Another striking object made from wood is an elm burr and oak coffee table by Nakashima, circa 1950-1960, that resembles a piece of abandoned driftwood (estimate: €40,000-€60,000).

A star lot will be a unique lacquered sideboard decorated with wondrous animals that was created around 1930 by Printz, Switzerland's lacquer master Jean Dunand and French artist Jean Lambert-Rucki (estimate: €300,000-€500,000). The animals on the cabinet were used in some accessories' patterns for the autumn/winter 2009 collection for the Wunderkind fashion label, Mr. Joop's womenswear collection.

For comfort, it would be hard to beat Royére's plush, sink-down chairs in red-purple colors from the 1940s. In the sale, a cozy sofa and matching armchair is estimated at €150,000-€200,000; and a pair of armchairs, at €80,000-€120,000.

To read the full WSJ article, click HERE.