Sotheby’s to auction Marie-Antoinette’s armchairs, amid other regal lots, in aid of French château
Sotheby’s Paris will auction works from the collection of interior designer Jacques Garcia in aid of Château du Champ de Bataille
Sotheby’s will auction 75 pieces from French interior designer Jacques Garcia’s collection of historic furniture and porcelain, marking his 75th birthday and raising funds to maintain the 17th-century Château du Champ de Bataille in Normandy. The sale will take place on 16 May 2023 at Sotheby’s Paris.
Jacques Garcia’s Château du Champ de Bataille opulence in Sotheby’s auction
The Château du Champ de Bataille was acquired in 1992 by Garcia, whose portfolio as an interior designer spans lavish hotels, from La Mamounia in Marrakech to Hotel Costes in Paris, and historic spaces including at the Paris Louvre and the Palace of Versailles. His own property in Sicily featured as the Villa Elena in the recent TV series The White Lotus.
Over the decades, he has restored and revived the Château du Champ de Bataille, now a lovingly curated showcase for his collected treasures that is open to the public.
Estimates for items in the Sotheby’s auction span from €100,000 to €2,000,000. The lots include pieces by prominent makers of 16th- and 17th-century Paris. Largely made for French royalty, the collection is a time capsule of high-society luxury.
Take your pick from armchairs by Georges Jacob made for Marie-Antoinette, and cabinetry by Adam Weisweiler. There are pieces traced to Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, Queen Marie Leszczynska, and King William III and Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, among others.
Look out for Sèvres porcelain, including a pair of 1797 ‘Lagrenée’ vases, and table services decorated with 400 different types of bird.
When Garcia began work on the château, only two rooms had retained their original decor. Breathing new life into the grand residence, he restored spaces to their original opulence, adorning them with art and artfully crafted objects along the way.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
As part of the renovation, Garcia worked with landscaper Patrick Pottier to reimagine the gardens, again drawing on their historical context to deliver the largest private garden in Europe, complete with architectural structures such as the Temple of Leda and Pavilion of Dreams.
75 pieces from Jacques Garcia’s collection from Château du Champ de Bataille in Normandy will go to auction on 16 May 2023 at Sotheby’s Paris.
Martha Elliott is the Junior Digital News Editor at Wallpaper*. After graduating from university she worked in arts-based behavioural therapy, then embarked on a career in journalism, joining Wallpaper* at the start of 2022. She reports on art, design and architecture, as well as covering regular news stories across all channels.
-
At The Manner, New York has a highly fashionable new living room
The Manner, a new hopsitality experience by Standard International in the heart of SoHo, triples up as a hotel, private residence, and members’ club
By Hannah Walhout Published
-
First look – Bottega Veneta and Flos release a special edition of the Model 600
Gino Sarfatti’s fan favourite from 1966 is born again with Bottega Veneta’s signature treatments gracing its leather base
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
We stepped inside the Stedelijk Museum's newest addition in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum has unveiled its latest addition, the brand-new Don Quixote Sculpture Hall by Paul Cournet of Rotterdam creative agency Cloud
By Yoko Choy Published
-
First look: ‘Christofle, A Brilliant Story’ is a glittering celebration of silver across two centuries
A landmark Christofle exhibition opens today at Paris’ Musées Des Arts Décoratifs and is the first monographic show dedicated to French silverware house
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Mosaic Factory and Zyva Studio’s new furniture collection is inspired by cartoons
The Mosaic Factory x Zyva furniture collection is an ode to cartoons and the 1980s, its terrazzo tiles’ confetti-like detail nodding to the Memphis design movement
By Dominic Lutyens Published
-
A new exhibition looks at preparing for a post-apocalyptic landscape (and other catastrophes)
‘We Will Survive' at Mudac in Lausanne, introduces us to the ‘prepper movement’, and demonstrates that we are a resilient species. Or we are doing our utmost to be as prepared as is humanly possible for disasters of all scales
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Politics, oil crises and abortion rights infiltrate the optimistic 1970s interiors of Villa Benkemoun
For the 50th anniversary of Villa Benkemoun in Arles, a new exhibition critically explores the year of 1974 through contemporary and historic artworks that antagonise the optimism of its design
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Marion Vignal on curating sensation-oriented experiences in 20th century French interiors at Maison Bernard
Marion Vignal's non-profit Genius Loci seeks to discover new insights and reflections on heritage through artistic site specific experiences
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Ora ïto expresses his design language in an artistic alphabet he calls Grammatology
Abstraction and functionalism inform two exhibitions from the maverick multidisciplinary French designer Ora ïto at St-Paul de Vence and Marseille
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Design Parade is the South of France's annual design extravaganza
If you're heading to the South of France this summer, don't miss Design Parade Hyeres & Toulon 2024, the annual creative extravaganza spotlighting emerging talent in historical locations
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Rare Carlo Scarpa Venini vase found in a thrift store fetches over $100K at auction
Inside the story of Carlo Scarpa’s ‘Pennellate’ vase for Venetian glass brand Venini, which recently emerged from the most unlikely of places
By Adrian Madlener Published