Musée d'Orsay acquires two lost Mucha furniture pieces at Sotheby's Paris

On May 28, 2026, the Musée d'Orsay exercised its right of preemption at Sotheby's Paris 'Important Design' sale to acquire a rare armchair and curule stool designed by Alphonse Mucha for the jeweler Georges Fouquet's boutique at 6 rue Royale, Paris. Estimated at €120,000–180,000 for the armchair and €60,000–80,000 for the stool, the armchair sold for €153,600 and the stool for €140,800. These pieces, part of a total Art Nouveau interior created by Mucha around 1900, had been missing for over a century after the boutique was dismantled in 1923. They were kept in a private French collection since the early 20th century, given as wedding gifts by Fouquet to a close friend. The interior is reconstructed at the Musée Carnavalet since 1989, but the furniture was considered lost. The pieces feature carved foliage, stylized feline heads, bronze eagle finials, and stamped leather with floral motifs, echoing Mucha's 'Documents décoratifs' (1902). The acquisition adds to the Orsay's collection of decorative arts, though some regret they will not join the original setting at Carnavalet.