Subarna to Auction Manuel Pertegaz's Private Art Collection on October 8

Subarna will auction the private art collection assembled over a lifetime by Spanish couturier Manuel Pertegaz on October 8, with a public exhibition opening September 28. The collection comprises decorative arts, archaeology, painting, and Oriental art from three spaces: his showroom on Avenida Diagonal, his residence in Sarrià, and a 16th-century fortified farmhouse acquired in the 1950s. The core features European decorative arts, notably Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish furniture from the 16th to 19th centuries, including a Portuguese João V commode made around 1730, a set of late-18th-century Carlos IV chairs, and a rare Italian obelisk. Sculpture is central, with ancient, 18th-, and 19th-century torsos that resonate with Pertegaz's profession of shaping the human body. Oriental art includes 19th-century Qing porcelain and Ming furniture, such as a large screen and an export cabinet. Josefina Figueras, who visited his farmhouse, noted his need to be surrounded by art to fend off vulgarity; photographer Robert Royal described him as introverted and discreet; biographer Javier Hernández quotes Pertegaz: 'I have always wanted to achieve that impossible perfection, but at least to touch it.' The auction highlights the tradition of couturiers as collectors, alongside Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, and Yves Saint Laurent with Pierre Bergé.