DECORATIVE ARTS & DESIGN

Our specialities

Throughout the year, the creations of the most popular artists on the market are included in our chronological or thematic sales. The signatures of the works sought by our clients are the most representative of the major artistic movements of the 20th century:

Art Nouveau movement

Louis Majorelle, Emile Gallé, René Lalique, the Daum brothers, Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat, Ernest Chaplet, Hector Guimard, Georges de Feure, Paul Follot, Carlo Bugatti, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Louis-Comfort Tiffany, Maurice Marinot or Jean Carriès

Art Deco movement

Jean Dunand, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Armand-Albert Rateau, André Groult, Marcel Coard, Clément Mère, Jean Besnard, Séraphin Soudbinine, Henri Simmen, Edgar Brandt, Emile Decoeur, Jean Puiforcat, Georg Jensen or René Buthaud

Modernism

René Herbst, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Jean-Michel Frank, Pierre Chareau, Eugène Printz, André Sornay, Jacques Quinet, Louis Sognot, Michel Dufet or Francis Joudain

The 1940s and the main decorator-designers

Gilbert Poillerat, Paul Dupré-Lafon, Serge Roche, André Arbus, Marc Du Plantier, Jules Leleu, Maxime Old, Raphaël décorateur, Jean-Charles Moreux or Jean Royère

The 50s and 60s of architects, designers and ceramists

The second half of the 20th century was dominated by the creations of architects and designers such as Jean Prouvé, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Pierre Guariche, Alexandre Noll, Serge Mouille, Mathieu Matégot and Georges Jouve.

At the same time, the Italian design of the 1950s and 1960s produced extremely refined and modern works, whose great figures are Gio Ponti, Piero Fornasetti, Pietro Chiesa for Fontana arte, Gino Sarfatti, Joe Colombo, Enzo Mari or Ettore Sottsass.

It was also at this time that women designers took on a leading role in the artistic direction of the major houses or within their own workshops, following the example of Charlotte Perriand, Colette Gueden, Line Vautrin, Suzanne Guiguichon, Guidette Carbonell, Suzanne Ramié or Gabriella Crespi and Gae Aulenti in Italy.

The booming fields

Over the years, post-war design has become a speciality of Tajan. It largely dominates sales, regardless of its origin – French, Italian, Scandinavian or American.

Contemporary Design

Contemporary design represented by Yonel Lebovici, Garouste and Bonetti, André Dubreuil, Ron Arad, Martin Székély, Ado Chale, Maria Pergay, Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Pucci de Rossi, Hubert Le Gall, Andrea Branzi, Alessandro Mendini and Philippe Starck is a fast-growing field that has been featured in our catalogue sales for over 15 years.

The Ceramic

This speciality was confirmed in 2022 with the creation of a thematic sale dedicated to ceramics from the 1950s, in which more than 90% of the lots were sold and a record sale price was set for a vase by Peter Orlando.

This speciality of fine art is now booming and confirms Tajan as a leader in this market since the sale of the first collection specifically dedicated to this art in 2012, with the dispersion of the Ducret-Montjaret collection.

Culinary arts in the 20th century

Since 2010, the French gastronomic meal has been classified as an intangible heritage of humanity. The first idea that comes to mind when one thinks of this meal is certainly that of dazzling tables. Because each plate, dish, carafe… has its own story. In 2023, Tajan has decided to offer sales based on this theme, to place 20th century tableware in an artistic dimension that enhances its daily use.

Culinary arts is part of the universal heritage. Beautiful, useful, luxurious, historical or contemporary, tableware is as rich and diverse as design can be.

Tajan has always been the house of reference for sales by major collectors and dealers of decorative arts. The success of these sales contributes to the reputation of the department, placing Tajan Auction House among the major players in the 20th century design market, for European and international clients.

Our team of specialists is at your disposal to ensure that everything is done to enhance the value of your goods.

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