François-Xavier Lalanne's Rhinocrétaire I Fetches €18.3M at Christie's Paris

Christie's Paris 20/21 Century auction session in October 2023, held during Paris+ par Art Basel, achieved a total of €121.1 million. The standout was a single-lot auction for François-Xavier Lalanne's Rhinocrétaire I (1964), estimated at €4-6 million, which sold for €18.3 million (including fees), setting a new world record for the artist and becoming the second most expensive design work ever. The sculpture, a rhinoceros-shaped secret office, was offered for the first time on the market. Following this, the Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian auction of 64 lots from the 20th and 21st centuries realized €62.1 million. A Joan Miró painting, Painting (Women, Moon, Stars), sold for €20.8 million, becoming the top lot of Christie's week, a record for the artist in France, and the highest price for the house in France in 2023. Italian highlights included Lucio Fontana's Concetto spaziale (1961) at €7.9 million, Domenico Gnoli's Giro di collo 15 ½ at €2,097,000, and a new auction record for Tancredi's Omaggio a Debussy at €730,800. The overall sell-through rate was 87% by lot, though bidding often hovered near low estimates, with Italian art showing signs of fatigue compared to previous years. Additional sales included the Sam Josefowitz Collection evening sale (€7.6 million) and the Love Stories collection from Anne and Wolfgang Tizte (€27.7 million).