Ten pieces of modern and contemporary design from the collection of Police frontman Sting and his wife Trudie Styler are heading to auction at Bonhams Modern Decorative Art and Design sale on December 19. The entire sale is estimated to fetch more than $3 million, according to the auction house.
The range of 20th-century furnishings hail from the couple’s penthouse duplex on New York’s Upper West Side, which they sold for $50 million in 2017. Upon moving in a decade earlier (they paid a mere $27 million), the couple had collaborated with the designer Lee Mindel, known for creating gallery-like residences for art-conscious clients. Mindel hadn’t disappointed, bringing muted, classic pieces to rooms overlooking Central Park.
Among the lots are three glassworks from the architect Carlo Scarpa, who collaborated with the Venetian company Venini Glassworks in the 1930s and 1940s experimenting with Murano glassblowing traditions and techniques. One of the works, a sheer lattice vase, was presented at the 20th Venice Biennale in 1936 ($3,000 to $5,000).
Carlo Scarpa, Monumental “Lattimo Mezza Filigrana” Vase (ca. 1940). Photo courtesy of Bonhams.
Elsewhere, there’s a pair of rosewood and dark leather Stokke chairs from the Danish designer Jens Quistgaard ($4,000 to $6,000), a powder pink stoneware vase from the French Art Deco ceramicist Jean Besnard ($1,500 to $2,000), and a playful duo of floor lamps from India Mahdavi that appear like rouged lips ($2,000 to $3,000).
A pair of so-called Fantomas floor lamps by India Mahdavi. Photo: courtesy Bonhams.
“What sets their collection apart is its distinctiveness and imagination,” said Dan Tolson, Bonhams’s director of modern decorative art. “The collection features a mix of styles, blending sophisticated Art Deco elements with pop art-inspired designs. Each piece tells a story of being lived in and enjoyed, offering a glimpse into the couple’s unique style and preferences.”
The rosewood and dark leather Stokke chairs from Danish designer Jens Quistgaard. Photo: Bonhams.
In 2016, Sting sold the furniture from one of his U.K. homes at Christie’s London for roughly £3 million ($4.19 million).
Sting and Styler may bring the celebrity, but there are certainly higher profile design pieces on offer. Leading the way is a complete set of 31 highly polished glass mascots from French jeweler René Lalique from the 1920s and 1930s. Spanning warthog, owl, fox, frog, dragonfly, and beyond, the glassworks have been gradually collected over the past 20 years. Simon Khachadourian, who has curated the collection, noted that it’s unlikely a collection of equal quality can be built again on account of the limited numbers that were originally produced. The Lalique has been given an upper estimate of $1.2 million.
Francoise-Xavier Lalanne, ‘Mouton de Laine (1998). Photo: Bonhams.
Another focus are the numerous works from François-Xavier Lalanne, the French sculptor known for fusing the worlds of fine art and high-end design in works that offer a utilitarian function. Lalanne is best-known for his bronze and wool sheep (you can sit on them) and one such animal has been set an upper estimate of $700,000. Oiseau de Jardin (2004), an oversized bronze bird, is the last of eight editions and arrives at auction for the first time ($500,000 to $700,000). Last, there’s a patinated bronze rhino, which ranked among Lalanne’s favorite animals ($300,000 to $500,000).
Lalanne has performed strongly in the auction market over the past couple of years, most recently at Christie’s in New York in October where a collection of 70 sculptures put forward by Lalanne’s daughter netted nearly $60 million.