On 5 December, the auction house Bonhams in London will sell a unique fantasy portrait executed by Jean-Honore Fragonard for the benefit of UNICEF.

 

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

 

Fragonard (1732-1802) is one of the greatest French painters of the eighteenth century. His paintings reflect the tastes of the time especially rococo ending included among his most famous paintings "The Swing" now preserved at the Wallace Collection in London. On the eve of the Revolution, he turned to portrait art and enjoyed considerable success with his portraits of fantasy.

 

Fantasy portraits

 

The portraits of fantasy are a specificity of our painter. 15 in total, they are characterized by a model representation of a theatrical way, the model is always painted bust turned looking to the right. These paintings are now the pride of the greatest museums in particular the Louvre and only three are still in private hands.

 

The duc d’Harcourt portrait

 

This extraordinary painting representing François-Henri d'Harcourt (1726-1802), was sold only once in 250 years, in 1971 by the Harcourt family to Dr. Rau who sells today for the benefit of UNICEF.

 

Francois-Henri d'Harcourt is from one of the major French noble families. General, elected to the French Academy in 1788, he was also in charge of the education of the young King Louis XVI.

 

Paintings of this quality and rarity are exceptional pass on the art market and emphasize that with only three in private collections i our painting is a rarest than portrait by Frans Hals, Rembrandt or Joshua Reynolds.

 

With an estimated around £30 million, we can bet that this old master painting will be the highlight of auctions for paintings in recent years. It should appeal to many museums and collectors of masterpieces.

 

 

Illustration: © Bonhams

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Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton is one of the finest luxury brands in the world. Of all its creations the Noé handbag is certainly the best known today.

 

Louis Vuitton in three dates

 

1855: a year after opening its first shop near the Place Vendome, Louis Vuitton manufactures his first collection of luggage. The success was immediate. The craftsman trunk, not lack of know-how, innovative! its flat trunks impress the top-end customers, they are really easier to carry and stack as the curved top of its competitors.

 

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On June 11 the auction house Bonhams London organized a good sell of watches at its premises in Bond Street. Buyers, especially Rolex one, were at the rendezvous.

 

A Rolex model "Daytona", "Paul Newman" (lot 328) fetched £46,850. This chronograph wristwatch stainless steel produced in 1970 was sold with its box and warranty certificate.

The +: The Rolex "Daytona” was created in 1959. It celebrates the 24 hours endurance motor racing that takes place in the eponymous city.

 

 

Rolex again (with lot 378), an "Oyster" stainless steel chronograph sold for more than £97,000, well above the estimations. This wristwatch was sold in its original box with a certificate of guarantee and an additional box.

The +: The "Oyster" is the iconic model. Created in 1927, it is the first totally Waterproof wristwatch development. In order to convince buyers, Rolex had arranged in the windows of shops, water-filled tanks where were immersed in the "Oyster". (Main picture)

 

 

Conclude with lot 160, a pocket watch executed in 1933 by Breguet for the designer and illustrator Paul Iribe, lover of Coco Chanel. In 18K yellow gold, it was awarded £26,250.

The + Paul Iribe is known for its influence on the Art Deco style.

In 1933, year of the purchase of this watch, he worked with Coco Chanel to create a line of jewelry in platinum and diamonds on the theme node, stars and feathers commissioned by the International Association of diamond.

 

Swiss watches, Rolex, Breguet, Jaeger LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, ... or Hublot are much sought after by collectors. Their prices reflect the dynamism of this market.

 

Cedric Henon

 

 

Images: © courtesy of Bonhams

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It is in Cheverny that was auctioned an exceptional cabinet that belonged to Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661). After being rediscovered by SVV Rouillac in early 2013, the object of inestimable value was sold to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for £4,5 million on June 9. This chest with impressive dimensions dates from the Edo era, between 1630 and 1640 and served as a bar to its former owner!

 

This object consists of cedar panels covered with thick layers of lacquer and black lacquer with gold aventurine powder, has no less than 9 m2 of decorations of 9 mm thick. The delicacy of decorations and quality of execution shows again the dexterity the Japanese in the art of lacquer.

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Famous worldwide for its clocks creations and in particular watches include the most known the Reverso, the Jaeger-LeCoultre produces the famous Atmos clock with a perpetual motion for 85 years.

 

History

 

It was in 1928 that Jean-Léon Reutter developed the revolutionary movement of this clock. Its operation is based on changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure from where our clock takes its name "ATMOS". A one degree change ensures autonomy of 48 hours. This was a revolution for the time. The secret of this perpetual motion is based on a small capsule of mercury sealed and a particularly economical movement in beats per minute, 250 times less than your wristwatch.

 

From 1936, the Jaeger-LeCoultre produces the Atmos pendulum entirely.

 

Design

 

The classic model is designed as a rectangular glass box whose corners are brass but quickly, Jaeger-LeCoultre works with leading designers, Lalique, Hermes or St. Louis. It can also have a circular base, and even be skeleton or portico.

 

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René Jules Lalique (1860-1945) is one of the most famous jewelers and glassmakers of the movements Art Nouveau and Art Deco. His name is today one of the most prestigious for luxury in the world.

 

It is at the Universal Exhibition of 1885 the world discover Rene Lalique as a jeweler. His designs are innovative in the use of unusual materials such as glass, enamel, leather, horn, mother of pearl, combined with fine and precious stones. He was the first to successfully alloy glass and metal.

 

The Pectoral the dragonfly (main picture), a masterpiece of the 1900 Universal Exhibition is the most beautiful manifest of his work. Bold mix of shapes micro fauna and flora, insects and creepers are popular motifs of Art Nouveau.

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Zao Wou-Ki, one of the greatest French-Chinese painters of the second half of the twentieth century, died a few weeks ago at the age of 92.

 

Born in 1921 in a wealthy family in Beijing, his father is a banker; he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Hangzhou encouraged by his family who owns paintings and ceramics dating back to the tenth century.

 

In 1948, his life changed. Zao Wou-Ki decides to leave China for France and especially Paris to rub and feed on avant-garde artists of Montparnasse. He befriends the biggest names in contemporary painting and sculpture, Pierre Soulages, Alberto Giacometti, Hans Hartung and Joan Miro to name some of the best known.

 

In 1951, Zao Wou-Ki met Paul Klee, this meeting is crucial for our artist that allows him to assert his own style in which he finds a balance between traditional Chinese painting and abstraction from the West particularly in its landscapes.

 

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Elegant and practical, luxurious and easy to wear the Birkin handbag by Hermès represents the height of the female class. Since its creation in 1984, the model was so successful that it became a symbol of the brand. Let’s lift the veil on this timeless accessory.

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Of all the major sculptors of his time, Charles Cordier (1827-1905) is certainly one whose style and art stand out the most.

 

Cordier enters in 1846 to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in 1847 joined the studio of François Rude, one of the great masters of sculpture in the middle of the nineteenth century. His encounter with a former Sudanese slave now a model acted as a revelation for our young sculptor. In 15 days he executes his bust marking a decisive turning point for his work. We are then in the midst of the abolition of slavery and the beginnings of ethnography.

 

Charles Cordier's mission is to sculpt the diversity of human beings. To do this, he traveled to Africa and the Maghreb to capture to the best and the most realistic way possible traits of the different peoples.

 

His busts stand by the accuracy of the sculpture on which the hair is done with scissors. He developed a new technique in which he mixes materials, marble, onyx, bronze, gold and silver but also colored enamels and precious stones. Thus, his busts are characterized by polychrome allowing to make it the closest of the character of his subject.

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From £200 to £120 000, the prices of his works are vary wide. Major player in the Figuration Libre of the 1980s, Combas is always an artist popular of the French contemporary art market.

 

Good news: his drawings can be bought. You can indeed "buy Combas" for £250. Autographed in marker drawings are numerous. Made by the artist in dedication of an exhibition catalog, they often end up cut and sold separately. Note that they are not a good investment for you.

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