Paris, September 2017 – With a total of €1.4 million, PIASA’s sale of Scandinavian Selected Design inaugurated the Autumn auction season in style.
These twice-yearly encounters with the masters of Scandinavian Design offer a selection of iconic items and in-demand furniture. This time, lots were showcased in a week-long viewing exhibition conceived by architect Fabrizio Casiraghi.
Top price was €163,920 for a perforated brass Snowflake chandelier by Denmark’s Paavo Tynell (1890-1973) from his Fantasia series. Tynell was a pre-eminent figure in Scandinavian lighting, deriving inspiration from surrounding nature (lot 46, est. 120,000-150,000).
PIASA’s Design sales always afford importance to ceramics, with works by the superlative Axel Salto (1889-1961) regularly generating excellent prices. He was represented by a score of pieces this time out, with his large, glazed stoneware Budding vase, nearly 50cm tall, soaring to €104,000 (lot 23, est. €60,000-90,000). It was designed in 1956 for Editions Royal Copenhagen, signed Salto and numbered 21380.
Finn Juhl’s 1953 Lounge Chair and Ottoman, edited by Niels Vodder, yielded a handsome €52,000 (lot 71, est. €40,000-60,000), while a pair of wool-upholstered wooden armchairs by Viggo Boesen, designed around 1940, doubled predictions on €36,400 (lot 5, est. €15,000-20,000).
*results prices include premium
