The Sheikh’s eclectic treasure at Sotheby’s
Furnishings and works of art are to be auctioned, comprising over 1,400 lots from the historic private mansion once owned by Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, with an estimated value of 12 million euros
Key points
Avenue Floquet, in the heart of Paris’s 7th arrondissement, is in itself an address synonymous with distinction. Here stands a historic hôtel particulier with an illustrious past, the private residence of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, whose furnishings and works of art are to be auctioned by Sotheby’s, in Paris, in a series of sales from 4 to 9 November. A place that also captivated its previous owners, such as Prince Demetre Soutzo and Princess Hélène, for whom it was built in the early 20th century, followed by the diplomat and writer Paul Morand, the interior designer Alberto Pinto, the collector São Schlumberger, as well as the celebrities who were guests here, from Marcel Proust to Salvador Dalí, from Andy Warhol to Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino.
Exponential elegance, expressed through a sumptuous pursuit of beauty, is what sets this collection apart, as conceived for this princely residence. A comprehensive project combining art and interior design, the result of the friendship and creative partnership between the sheikh and the renowned interior designer Alberto Pinto, who had previously overseen the restoration of the Hôtel Lambert, whose furnishings were also auctioned by Sotheby’s, in 2022, raising over 76.6 million euros. Now, over 1,400 lots are set to go under the auctioneer’s hammer, ranging from 17th- and 18th-century European furniture to silverware, from portraits to objets d’art, from Baroque and Neoclassical sculpture to 20th-century decorative arts. The range of estimates is very broad, starting from €1,000 and going up to €600,000, whilst the total estimated proceeds are conservatively put at over €12 million.
A treasure waiting to be discovered
“Unlike the Hôtel Lambert, the sheikh’s family residence, where the atmosphere was entirely French in terms of the decorative arts, on Avenue Floquet there is a great deal of variety, with French, English and Italian furniture, as well as a gallery of archaeological artefacts and, for example, Renaissance and 19th-century works, which bring the overall effect closer to that of a typical British country house”, explains Mario Tavella , chairman of Sotheby’s France and Europe. This is particularly true of the ground-floor rooms, dominated by a vast drawing room and the theatricality of the décor, featuring gilded woodwork, embroidered fabrics and crimson tapestries. The private rooms on the upper floor, by contrast, are entirely devoted to Art Deco, alongside a few 18th-century pieces, such as a writing desk by Pierre Garnier (estimated at 100–150 thousand euros) with clean lines, which sits beautifully alongside furniture by Eugène Printz and Diego Giacometti.
Among the highlight lots, a pair of gilded wooden sofas stands out, a testament to the craftsmanship of mid-18th-century Baroque Genoese furniture-making. Originally commissioned for the monumental Galleria Dorata in Palazzo Carrega Cataldi, they are mentioned in a couple of important writings by Alvar Gonzàlez-Palacios and are going under the hammer with an estimate of 400–600 thousand euros. The antiques section also features examples of Roman statuary, such as a marble figure of a young man from the 1st–2nd centuries, which long belonged to the Earl of Pembroke (250–400 thousand). The silverware section is particularly extensive, with over 300 lots from a wide range of origins, including fine English tableware sets and a large selection of German items such as mugs, goblets and finely crafted miniature caravels. This keen appreciation of goldsmithing is also reflected in the pair of silver statuettes depicting Venus and Antinous, designed around 1700 by Lorenz Biller II of Augsburg and acquired on behalf of Baron Meyer de Rothschild (150–250 thousand).
The Sheikh’s passion for history and art, and his and his trusted interior designer’s attention to detail, are also reflected in the lots with the most appealing estimates. One such example is the set of 12 polychrome wooden chairs, in the Louis XVI style, commissioned in 2013 from Jean-François Lesage and modelled on those designed in the late 18th century by François II Foliot for the Chaumière aux Coquillages, the charming ‘shell cottage’ at Rambouillet Castle. “Today, making a single chair of this kind would cost no less than 20,000 euros; we are offering the entire set of 12 with an estimate of 20,000–30,000,” adds Tavella.
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