Phillips London Design Auctions Total £6.7 Million with White-Glove Fornaroli Sale

Phillips London design auctions on April 26-27, 2023, achieved a combined total of £6.7 million, including a white-glove sale for the Casa Fornaroli collection. The first session, Design, brought in £5,843,296, led by François-Xavier Lalanne's Grand Bouquetin (1999) at £1,112,800, Mouton de Pierre and Mouton Transhumant (1979/1988, realized 1993) at £660,400, and Hans Coper's Monumental bottle with disc top (circa 1959) at £584,200 from the Henry Moore family collection. New auction records were set for Mario Asnago, Claudio Vender, Seguso, and John Ward. Gio Ponti's Desk and Coffee table (1951) for Casa di Fantasia sold for over £200,000 and £80,000 respectively. The following day, the Casa Fornaroli sale achieved £923,862 with all lots sold. Top lots included Pablo Picasso's Footballeur (1965) at £139,700 (estimate £8,000-12,000), Gio Ponti's two custom bookcases (circa 1955) at £76,200 (estimate £5,000-7,000), and a unique illuminated wardrobe with twelve integrated paintings (circa 1939) by Ponti and Adriano Spilimbergo at £63,500. The collection belonged to Antonio Fornaroli, Ponti's friend and business partner since 1933, with whom he designed over twenty iconic buildings including the Pirelli Tower and Palazzo Montecatini. Domenico Raimondo, Head of Design Europe at Phillips, noted the sale celebrated Fornaroli's lifelong friendship with Ponti and collaborations with artists like Paolo Buffa, Fausto Melotti, and Carlo Scarpa.