Treat yourself to a short stay on the Monegasque coast to attend eight extraordinary sales organized by HVMC, the Monte-Carlo auction house. From July 17 to 21, collectors and amateurs can bid on nearly 2,500 lots, including fashion, jewelry, art, watches and more. Here are the must-have lots of this busy auction week, as well as Barnebys favorites.
Luxury leather goods & fashion jewelry
We start on July 17 with a stylish sale, which will honor the great couturiers and brands that rule the world of luxury. Dior, Gucci, Bulgari, Prada, Chanel and Valentino will be on offer, but the undisputed star of the sale will be none other than Hermès with an impressive number of the most coveted handbag, the Birkin, such as this black model of 2019 equipped with a padlock, keys, bell, zipper and double handle.
The Barnebys favorite: an exceptional Louis Vuitton rocking horse in polychrome wood. This type of object was formerly used for the decoration of the showcases of the brand. The present model is signed lower right with an incomplete inscription.
Important Jewelry
With two catalogs comprising respectively 565 and 755 lots, the jewelry category will be dispersed over four sales sessions on July 18-19. The first selection of lots will be highlighted by this extraordinary ring in gray gold ring centered of a rare ruby weighing 10.21 carats. According to the Gübelin certificate that accompanies it, this jewel comes from Burma and its natural certified color has not undergone any thermal modification.
The second catalog will bring together notorious creators and goldsmiths of the twentieth century, as well as a superb selection of artists' jewelry, such as Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Keith Haring and Georges Braque. One of the highlights is a superb pair of pearl and pearl diamond flower earrings, supporting two removable pearl emeralds weighing 14.40 and 14.63 carats. Both stones come from the mines in Muzo, Colombia and are vivid green certified by the GRS.
The Barnebys favorite: a necklace from the Ghiso house, known for its Art Deco, platinum and diamond creations from the 1950s.
Watches
The sales marathon will continue on July 19 with the dispersion of 232 lots gathering the big names in watchmaking. One of the stars is this men's Rolex GMT SARU dated around 2013 with an 18K yellow gold band and a dial studded with 18 sapphires, 18 jewels and 22 diamonds.
The Barnebys favorite: a 2014 men's Patek Philippe Nautilus with a bluish black steel dial.
Russian Art
Russian art will be in the spotlight the next day, with 231 lots bringing together many decorative objects, works of art, jewelry, and goldsmith treasures. The famous house Fabergé will be featured with this incredible planter centerpiece in silver. The Rococo-style virtuoso object, adorned with a shell cartridge, is engraved with a coat of arms, bearing the goldsmith's mark "K. ФАЬЕРЖЕ" (C. Fabergé), and the mark of the imperial house.
The Barnebys favorite: View of the Neapolitan coast, an oil on canvas by the romantic painter and master of marine painting, Ivan Constantinovich Aivazovsky
Private collection of important boxes and gold coins
The dispersal of this private collection will begin on July 20 with several sets of Roman coins, Byzantine, and an important selection of royal and Napoleonic coins. Noteworthy among the wax cases and other flasks is this oval shaped snuffbox with a lid with miniature decoration and garlands of opalescent pearls. This masterpiece of 1784-1785 is signed by the master goldsmith Joseph Etienne Blerzy, whose creations are now in the largest museums, while the miniature is attributed to Louis Nicolas Van Blarenberghe.
The Barnebys favorite: a piriform gold bottle enameled with bindweed flowers and a vegetable garland intertwined with a ribbon.
Archeology
Archeological treasures will enter the scene at the end of the week with ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities. This fine-grained white marble head from the 2nd century BC represents the famous Greek playwright Menander.
The Barnebys favorite: an Egyptian statue in painted wood and polychrome representing a male character. The artifact dates from 1991-1783 BC and will be presented in a very good state of conservation.
Paintings, Modern & Contemporary Sculptures
The sales series will end on the evening of July 21 with a session dedicated to Modern and Contemporary Art, with a catalog of 138 paintings and sculptures signed by the greatest, including Picasso, Utrillo, Roberto Matta, and Philippe Pasqua, as well as several leading figures of urban art. Among the masterpieces on offer, we note the presence of Three Dancers in Bust, a beautiful pastel and charcoal on paper laminated on cardboard by Edgar Degas. The drawing was sold for the first time in December 1918 for 1,700 francs, when the content of the artist's studio was dispersed. From a private collection, this work arrives on the market coincidentally at the same time while the Musée d'Orsay is preparing to pay tribute to the painter in an exhibition this fall. An oil on canvas by Bernard Buffet entitled Bald Clown (1966) will also be available with an estimate on request.
Barnebys's favorite: The Flute Player, Camille Claudel's brown patina bronze, the first of an edition of eight.
