Translated by Bethszabee Garner

From October 11 to 14 2022 in Paris, a large-scale sale was held at Sotheby's. Over four days, Patrick Drahi's auction house sold part of the Al-Thani royal family's collection, which had previously been housed in the Hôtel Lambert, a 17th-century architectural gem and landmark of the Île Saint-Louis on the Seine, nicknamed by some as “the Versailles of Paris.” 95.3% of the lots were sold, including a pair of royal marquises by Jean-Baptiste II Tilliard, from the Louis XVI period, delivered to Mesdames Adélaïde and Victoire at the Château de Bellevue, which went for €3.6 million, a world record. In total, the auction raised €46.8 million, more than twice the low estimate.

A few days later, on October 25, also in Paris, Artcurial auctioned off the Paris apartment collection of Robert William Burke, an American collector and gallery owner who was close to Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Gilbert & George, for €1.6 million. Finally, on the same day but on the other side of the Atlantic in New York, it was the turn of Christie's, François Pinault's auction house, to complete the tenth installment of the sale of the collection of Ann and Gordon Getty (the son of the American oil magnate) for a total of more than $150 million, ranking the couple third in the list of historic auction sales of collections, behind Peggy and David Rockefeller (€702 million in 2018) and Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé (€373.5 million in 2009).

These huge sales that mark the end of an era and illustrate the desire, and sometimes even the necessity, of these glorious families and dynasties from France and elsewhere to turn to auctions to sell the contents of their prestigious homes, which have been adorned with collections that have remained within the same families for generations. These sales are highly sought after by collectors, "since most of the lots are appearing on the art market for the first time and come from stable provenances. The objects kept by the collectors themselves or their heirs are traceable, which greatly reassures buyers who purchase a kind of peace of mind and imagine themselves leaving with a piece of history that had sentimental value for illustrious figures," comments Pierre Mothes, Vice President France at Sotheby's.

A win-win system

Auction houses have, indeed, the advantage of offering their clients simplicity thanks to the clear and transparent distribution of their items. “This is a real boost for many members of these large families who don't want to be burdened with organizational and logistical concerns,” emphasizes Artcurial auctioneer Stéphane Aubert. Above all, going through an auction often allows you to get the best price for items appraised by these art market experts, more so than any other method. "Getting the market price is not easy. However, choosing to auction off part or all of a collection allows it to be sold transparently and at the best price," explains Simon de Monicault, director of the Decorative Arts department at Christie's. This view is shared by Stéphane Aubert. For him, auctioning "adds significant value to objects and heritage, as it is under the hammer that families get the most. And beyond the price factor, which is fundamental in sellers' decision-making, auctions are also an obvious means of publicity. Auction houses have been showcasing these collections to the public and giving them international prestige since the 18th century," explains Simon de Monicault.

The auctioning of large collections by noble families is nothing new. At the end of the 18th century, Christie's (founded in London in 1766 by James Christie) negotiated the sale of Sir Robert Walpole's collection of paintings to Catherine II of Russia, much of which is now kept at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. In 1794, Christie's was also commissioned to sell the contents of Sir Joshua Reynolds' studio and, the following year, dispersed the jewelry collection of Madame du Barry, a victim of the French Revolution. The same story unfolded at Sotheby's, somewhat later, with the historic sale in 1977 of the contents of Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, the country home of banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild, which fetched more than £6 million at the time. Also in 1995, the collection of the Dukes of Baden was sold, followed the next year by the Jacky Kennedy Onassis collection, with both auctions totaling some £34 million.

An essential confidentiality

In any case, in addition to the simplicity of going through an auction for sellers, many personal circumstances lead these prominent families to turn to an auctioneer. "First and foremost, our role is to advise families who come to us to disperse their collections. The sale is the tip of the iceberg, but before that, decisions must be made in a confidential setting," says Stéphane Aubert. Very often, families, whether the collector himself or his heirs, cannot keep everything because of the high maintenance costs. There is also the impossibility of passing on items due to complex inheritance arrangements between descendants, as was the case in 2015, when a dispute between members of the royal family of Orleans ended up at auction at Sotheby's, fetching €6.2 million and bringing to an end a decade of bitter legal proceedings that saw princes and princesses torn apart.

We also think of the famous rule of the 3 Ds (divorce, debt, and death) or the special case of inheritances involving judicial auctioneers, known as “commissaires de justice” since July 1, 2022. This was recently the case with the furniture belonging to Bernard Tapie, which adorned his Parisian residence, the Hôtel de Cavoye, and was put up for sale in July 2022 by Artus Enchères. The collection had been assembled over thirty years by the former businessman, who left behind nearly €600 million in debts. The family ultimately received only €4 million. Finally, “more and more collectors are deciding to put their collections up for auction themselves, as the Getty couple recently did. For them, there is an intellectually stimulating aspect to attending a kind of funeral tribute while they are still alive, as Pierre Bergé once said,” concludes Simon de Monicault.

Article written by Arthur Frydman to be found in issue n°2 of OniriQ Magazine.