FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2026 
The sale also includes a fine selection of Asian art, spanning several centuries of Chinese, Japanese and Korean production. Highlights include a rare fanghu-form square-section vase in polychrome flambé glaze, bearing an incised Qianlong mark and period (lot 123, est. €15,000–20,000), as well as an elegant monochrome gilt bowl bearing a Kangxi mark (lot 130, est. €8,000–10,000).
Also of note is a rare pair of Kangxi jars in sacrificial blue glaze, with handles modelled as pig heads in high relief (lot 119, est. €10,000–15,000), and a gilt-bronze Han dynasty scroll weight depicting a seated bear with finely incised fur (lot 120, est. €10,000–15,000) — an animal long associated in mythology, since the Shang dynasty, with the Yellow Emperor.
Provenances & Collections: A Curated Selection at Drouot
O n Friday 12 June 2026, Coutau-Bégarie & Associés will disperse at the Hôtel Drouot, Rooms 5 and 6, a sale entitled Provenances & Collections, bringing together 446 lots that reflect a refined and coherent sense of taste, spanning centuries and disciplines.
Furniture and Works of Art
French furniture plays a leading role throughout the sale. Among the highlights is a monumental pair of low bookcases known as “à l’Hercule enfant aux bulles de savon” (lot 167, est. €30,000–50,000), attributed to Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune, supplier to Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie. Executed in ebonised wood with brass marquetry and finely chased gilt bronze mounts, these bookcases display exceptional craftsmanship and stand firmly within the tradition of André-Charles Boulle. A related model is now in the collection of the Musée national du Château de Versailles.
In a more intimate register, an mahogany dressing table stamped JACOB (lot 212, est. €30,000–40,000) illustrates the refinement of Jacob-Desmalter production in the early 1820s. It features a pivoting mirror, candle arms in the form of cornucopia, a white marble top veined with grey, and a curule base. The double stamp JACOB and A. JACOB PARIS allows the piece to be dated between 1813 and 1830.
Also noteworthy is a Louis XVI carved and giltwood console (lot 305, est. €40,000–60,000), in the manner of Charles Delafosse, which encapsulates the spirit of the neo-Greek taste of the 1770s. A comparable example featured in the Karl Lagerfeld collection.
The works of art section brings together several surprising and highly refined pieces. A finely chased and gilt-bronze cartel clock signed and dated Colin de la Glizière, Paris, 1735 (lot 230, est. €40,000–60,000), is among the most sophisticated horological works in the sale. Surmounted by a female allegory on a cloud and flanked by winged term figures, it is illustrated in Jean-Dominique Augarde’s reference work Les Ouvriers du temps (Antiquorum, 1996) and comes from the former Bernard Steinitz collection.
Equally distinctive is a music box in the form of an architectural pavilion, signed LeRoi & Fils (lot 301, est. €20,000–30,000). It takes the form of a neoclassical fountain in gilt bronze, brass and twisted glass, concealing a cylinder mechanism with miniature organ pipes behind openwork panels decorated with Anglo-Chinese motifs, executed with remarkable precision.
Finally, François-Xavier Lalanne’s Lampe Pigeon (lot 434, est. €30,000–40,000), numbered 815/900 and published by Artcurial in 1991, reminds us that this eclectic collection also embraces 20th-century design.
In a more intimate register, an mahogany dressing table stamped JACOB (lot 212, est. €30,000–40,000) illustrates the refinement of Jacob-Desmalter production in the early 1820s. It features a pivoting mirror, candle arms in the form of cornucopia, a white marble top veined with grey, and a curule base. The double stamp JACOB and A. JACOB PARIS allows the piece to be dated between 1813 and 1830.
Also noteworthy is a Louis XVI carved and giltwood console (lot 305, est. €40,000–60,000), in the manner of Charles Delafosse, which encapsulates the spirit of the neo-Greek taste of the 1770s. A comparable example featured in the Karl Lagerfeld collection.
The works of art section brings together several surprising and highly refined pieces. A finely chased and gilt-bronze cartel clock signed and dated Colin de la Glizière, Paris, 1735 (lot 230, est. €40,000–60,000), is among the most sophisticated horological works in the sale. Surmounted by a female allegory on a cloud and flanked by winged term figures, it is illustrated in Jean-Dominique Augarde’s reference work Les Ouvriers du temps (Antiquorum, 1996) and comes from the former Bernard Steinitz collection.
Equally distinctive is a music box in the form of an architectural pavilion, signed LeRoi & Fils (lot 301, est. €20,000–30,000). It takes the form of a neoclassical fountain in gilt bronze, brass and twisted glass, concealing a cylinder mechanism with miniature organ pipes behind openwork panels decorated with Anglo-Chinese motifs, executed with remarkable precision.
Finally, François-Xavier Lalanne’s Lampe Pigeon (lot 434, est. €30,000–40,000), numbered 815/900 and published by Artcurial in 1991, reminds us that this eclectic collection also embraces 20th-century design.
Paintings
The standout work is Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d’Arpino, Perseus Rescuing Andromeda (lot 201, est. €25,000–30,000), executed around 1592–1593, at the height of the artist’s Roman career, shortly before his appointment as Prince of the Accademia di San Luca in 1599. The painting displays all the hallmarks of his highly sought-after cabinet works: luminous surfaces, elegant figures, and intensely vivid colour. Pentimenti around Pegasus and Andromeda reveal the artist’s swift and confident handling. The work, extensively published by H. Röttgen (1973, 2002), comes from a Roman collection and later from that of the Florentine art historian Marco Chiarini.
Asian Art
The sale also includes a fine selection of Asian art, spanning several centuries of Chinese, Japanese and Korean production. Highlights include a rare fanghu-form square-section vase in polychrome flambé glaze, bearing an incised Qianlong mark and period (lot 123, est. €15,000–20,000), as well as an elegant monochrome gilt bowl bearing a Kangxi mark (lot 130, est. €8,000–10,000).
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Also of note is a rare pair of Kangxi jars in sacrificial blue glaze, with handles modelled as pig heads in high relief (lot 119, est. €10,000–15,000), and a gilt-bronze Han dynasty scroll weight depicting a seated bear with finely incised fur (lot 120, est. €10,000–15,000) — an animal long associated in mythology, since the Shang dynasty, with the Yellow Emperor.
