A bronze rat head from the Qing Dynasty.
Photo By Dominique Maitre
YSL’S BIG HIT: The world’s stock markets may be gyrating as concerns grow over the economy, but there is clearly still money around — just ask the folks at Christie’s handling the Yves Saint Laurent art auction. On the second day of the three-day sale, several lots blew through their high estimates, including Franz Hals’ “Portrait of a Man Holding a Book,” which sold for 3 million euros, or $3.8 million, versus an estimate of 1.2 million euros, or $1.5 million; Thomas Gainsborough’s “Portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tanducci,” which more than tripled its estimate, selling for 1.9 million euros, or $2.4 million, and several of the Art Deco pieces. The stunners were Eileen Gray’s “Dragon Chair,” which sold for 19.5 million euros, or $24.6 million, versus its estimate of 3 million euros, or $3.8 million; Gray’s “Satellite Suspension,” which sold for 2.6 million euros, or $3.3 million, versus an estimated 800,000 euros, or $1 million, and François Xavier Lalande’s bar for Saint Laurent, which went for 2.4 million euros, or $3 million, versus an estimated 300,000 euros, or $380,000. The big sales followed the first day Monday, when the Impressionist and Modern Art auction brought in over $264 million.
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