Lalanne Leads Sotheby's $50m Schlumberger Collection Auction

A work by François-Xavier Lalanne was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Important Design, Featuring Works from the Schlumberger Collection' auction on December 10 in New York.

• The sale totaled $50.22m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 142 works sold totaling $50.22m.
• Estimates totaled: $16.05m (low) and $22.99m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 93% of the original 152 lots announced.

The star lot was: François-Xavier Lalanne, Hippopotame Bar, pièce unique (1976), which sold for $31.43m, 349% above its $7m low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1220% above its low estimate. Mattia Bonetti, Bed (2016), sold for $66,000 ($5,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 94 works, or 66%, sold above their high estimate.
• 40 works, or 28%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 8 works, or 6%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Wendell Castle, A Unique Floor Lamp (1967). It sold for $152,400, 27% above its $120,000 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

10 works were bought-in, including: Jean Prouve, "S.A.M." Table for the Air France Headquarters in Brazzaville, Congo (1952), estimated at $400,000 (low) to $600,000 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.