Georges Jacob, Royal chair made for Marie Anoinette’s boudoir in Versailles , 1784-1785

Hubert Guerrand Hermès died abruptly on May 25, 2016. A member of the Hermès family, he was a charming man and a fabulous collector. His eclectic taste from the library of Duchesse de Berry (Marie Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile) to Anselm Kiefer and François Xavier Lalanne, shows what a gentleman he was and you can see the content of Hotel de Lannion, 75 rue de Lille, at Sotheby’s all week. The firsts sale is on Wednesday evening. Thanks to The Friends of Domaine de Chantilly, I could access and visit the exhibition privately with Prince Amyn Aga Khan and Mathieu Deldicque, director of Musée Condé. The most coveted piece is a chair made for Marie Antoinette which he had acquired for 2 M 3 Francs at the Greffulhe sale in March 2000. The estimate is given only on request. It will be sold on Wednesday night with Sam Szafran, Antony Gormley, a commode by Crescent, and monkeys by Lalanne estimated at 1 million-1,5 million €.

Pierre SOUages’ work from 1970, Lot 21, (600 000-800 000€) works well with the BVRB commode Lot 24, (200 000-300 000€), Max Ernst and Kiefer…

It took seven years for his children to put this sale together with the experts from Sotheby’s and it is very sad to see a collection as a whole be dispersed. But we can bet that many pieces will be preempted by the French National museums. The decors recreated for the show are great and especially the Duchess’ library on the first floor. There are a few paintings by her which are charming and (lot 844, 300 to 500 €) one touching embroidery on églomisé glass of the Duc de Berry, made in 1830 by her maid (“sa très obéissante servante”) F. Pierre. A mahogany table (4 000 to 6 000 €) is set up with the Duchess’ Sèvres plates from 1823, Bohême Crystal glasses (3 000 to 5 000€) of the end of the XIX th century and 718 pieces of silver and gold-plated cutlery with Prince Louis Galitzine’s (LG) initials. (30 000 to 40 000 €).

Sèvres porcelaine, Bohême crystal and silver and gold plated cutlery lots 45, 149, 159 and 622

Because of Hermès and Hubert’s taste for horses, there are paintings by Alfred de Dreux, a charming young Scot on a horse and Lady Alice and Lady Blanche Egerton with three dogs, a more exotic orientalist falcon hunt by Gustave Flasschoen. A self portrait by Desportes is superb, a black and white  Soulages hangs above an exceptional commode by BVRB while Dubuffet, Tapiès, Kiefer and César, Arman, Markus Lüpertz, Alex Katz hang in the Salle Diane de Beauvau-Craon.

“Miracle child clock in gilt bronze”, 1830, has a low estimate of 300 to 500 € lot 854

There are a few pieces with odd prices like this pretty clock in bronze with no price reserve. Which will of course make 10 times the estimate. Many people will be proud and happy to buy one of these items but Hubert Guerrand Hermès’ collecting efforts will have entirely vanished. What a shame.

Inside Hotel de Lannion where he kept his treasures

Sales start at Sotheby‘s on Wednesday 13 th at 5 pm for the first 61 lots. The next 228 lots will be sold on the 14 th at 2 pm. This is when some of the more contemporary paintings will sell (Hockney, Warhol, Oldenburg, Lichtenstein, Olivier Debré) and also two little green sofas by Pierre Paulin,  lot 270, 3 000 to 5 000€ . On Friday the 15 th at 10.30 am, the Duchesse de Berry will be the center of interest with many books, a copy of her portrait by Vigée Le Brun and other miniatures, etc.  And this will go on all afternoon. There is also an online sale with more books and portraits, often with no reserve price.

Marie Caroline, Duchesse de Berry, Brothers in the Chartreuse of San Giacomo in Capri, 1854, 6 000 to 10 000€

Towards the end of the sale, lot 1003 is an amusing ink drawing by Alexandre Serebriakoff of the Galerie d’Hercule at Hotel Lambert with the list of guests in 1951. The tables were round and small as opposed to the very long table for 58 guests in Guy de Rothschild’s times. In the same spirit watercolors by Eugène Lami describe an 1855 ball in Paris. There is also a pretty watercolor of Notre Dame by François Etienne Villeret  Lot 1071, 500 -700€).

Biography of Duchesse de Berry by Laure Hillerin

Laure Hillerin gave a lecture on Duchesse de Berry on Friday night and you can read her biography published by Flammarion. Make sure to go and visit the Sotheby’s exhibition of 1 000 lots before Wednesday night if you can. Hubert Guerrand Hermès’ world was magical and to spend an hour with him at 76 Faubourg Saint Honoré, is a true pleasure.

And if you want to be invited to special previews in the art world and hear about Chantilly’s new acquisitions or special tours, join the Friends of Domaine de Chantilly which is a group of very focused and trendy collectors.