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| Antiques |
Italian Renaissance
Marisa Bartolucci
07/01/2004
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However, Albini’s handsome PL 19 upholstered lounge chair for
Poggi from 1957 did not sell at the Wright auction, despite a modest estimate of
$3,000 to $4,000. And a sale of Ponti’s work at Sotheby’s in December 2003 was
disappointing. These fluctuations in demand have some market watchers dubious
about the strength of the current Ponti frenzy, and of the potential of modern
Italian design to close the gap with the French in reputation and value. James
Zemaitis, an expert in Sotheby’s 20th Century Decorative Arts Department,
believes modern French design remains a more solid investment. “There is no
ceiling to prices for works by Prouvé, Perriand, Mouille and Noll,” he
says.
Many dealers in Italian design, however, insist that this is the
beginning of a boom market that will turn blue chip, rather than a bubble primed
to burst. “I think [Zemaitis] is off the mark,” says Kish. “Except for great
designers like Perriand and Prouvé, the French designers are in the tradition of
the great ébénistes. The Italians are in a different category, as they were
primarily architects engaged in furniture design of a unique intellectual
caliber, which is still with us in today’s design.” What’s more, argues Kish, as
good French pieces become increasingly scarce, it is the work of Italian
designers that is showing up in the windows of the top Parisian dealers. “So who
knows, in 10 years, where prices for Italian modern will be?”
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