Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

THE MAGAZINE UPCOMING AUCTIONS
French craftsmanship
Many auctions stray off topic, but this
Paris sale remains true to its title:
"Craftsmanship in France from 1950 to
the Present Day". The 200 or so items
on offer provide a good overview of
contemporary French decorative arts and design in all
its richness and variety, combining tradition and innovation.
The key word is craftsmanship. Whether
famous or unsung, the artists and artisans represented,
each in their own fields, attest to a search for excellence
diametrically opposed to mass production. The
example shown is by Gladys Liez, winner of the Liliane
Bettencourt Pour L'intelligence de la main award,
which, since 1999, has honoured craft professionals
combining technical sophistication, innovation and
the search for aesthetics. Ms. Liez's favourite material is
metal, which she crafts and hammers into shapes and
textures based on nature. Here there are two sculpture
vases, one in copper partially pierced by engraving
(€1,200/1500), the other, the "poppy" model, in
20 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 19
oxidized brass (€1,500/2,000). The catalogue also
includes a white gold and rhodium-plated black gold
Jumanji ring set with tourmaline by jeweller Jean Christophe,
named maître d'art in 2010 (€12,000/15,000);
solid silver "crown" vases by the Bordeaux goldsmith
Roland Daraspe, another Liliane Bettencourt award
winner (€9,000/12,000); a rosewood table trimmed in
green galuchat, "The Age of Aquarius", by designer
Jérôme Cordier (€18,000/22,000); and a one-off steel,
burnt-wood and concrete cabinet by Erwan Boulloud
(€10,000/15,000). Stéphanie Perris-Delmas
Gladys Liez (born 1963), egg-shaped, flat-necked
"poppy" vases in green and black oxidised brass, 2011,
h. 17, diam, 21cm, and in brass partially pierced
by etching, 2011, h.13, diam, 21 cm.
Estimate: €1,200/1,500 and €1,500/2,000.
Paris-Drouot, 19 November,
Audap - Mirabaud auction house. Mr. Remy.