At the centre of the next ORANGERIE auction is an icon of German arts and crafts: the legendary "Walderdorff commode" was the first major commission for the ingenious furniture artist Abraham Roentgen in 1755. Created for the Elector of Trier, it remained in the family for over 200 years and is now on offer for € 200,000 / 300,000.
The still young ORANGERIE aims to awaken the "desire to see". That is why it is showing high-calibre crossovers from five centuries. The spectrum ranges from old master paintings to Romy Schneider's film hat from "The Banker's Wife" (€ 2,000 / 3,000).
One thematic focus shows works of art centred around the richly associative theme of Anmut - from an exceptionally large amber Madonna from the Middle Ages (€ 10,000 / 15,000) to René Gruau's virtuoso economic fashion drawings from the 1950s and 60s (€ 18,000 / 24,000 each).
The credo The beautiful line includes the eccentrically curved "Ribbon chandelier with the ruby glass discs", created in 1811 for the residence of King Jérôme Bonaparte (€ 90,000 / 150,000), and Ron Arad's line-powerful "Little Heavy" from 1989 (€ 25,000 / 35,000).
The third chapter of the catalogue brings together bizarre and artistic works of art based on nature. Among them is an elegantly dancing table en cabinet, which is an extraordinary testimony to the art of naturalistic Rococo (€ 20,000 / 30,000).
A magical miniature by Adam Elsheimer (€ 8,000 / 12,000), stage sets from the wild Berlin of the 1920s (€ 4,000 / 6,000) and Gothic chandelier angels by Domenico da Tolmezzo (€ 45,000 / 50,000), which in turn artfully stage the light.
The catalogue, comprising 70 works of art, combines articles by art historians from all over Europe with essays by Daniel Spoerri, Peter Raue and Margit J. Mayer.