Sold: The $28 Million Chair

在前景黯淡的时局下，知道有的有钱人照样在一些老派的嗜好上一掷千金实在是件令人欣慰的事情。在佳士得拍卖公司(Christie)举行伊夫•圣罗兰(Yves Saint Laurent)艺术品拍卖会的第二天，一把原属于圣罗兰的皮椅以2,190万欧元（合2,800万美元）的天价成交，并成为所有公开拍卖中成交价最高的20世纪拍品。买家是巴黎艺廊Cheska Vallois，这把椅子正是经由这家艺廊在上世纪七十年代初被卖给了圣罗兰。Christie's为何会卖出天价？这把堪称艺术品的椅子是法国设计师与艾琳•格雷(Eileen Gray)在1917至1919年前后制作完成的，可谓是一件伟大的作品。当日成交的拍品还有一对3英尺高的大花瓶（310万欧元成交），还有一对用美洲豹皮制作的软垫凳子(170万欧元成交)。这次拍卖会--主要是画作和艺术品--的总成交额已经超过3.07亿欧元，成为私人藏品拍卖会之最。这是否意味着艺术品市场已走出低迷？恐怕不是。虽然拍卖行和拍卖顾问们肯定要高喊“艺术品市场依然强劲！”或“有钱人还在玩艺术品！”之类的口号，但这次拍卖会不过是昙花一现的异数，与低迷的大市格格不入。近年来，艺术品市场主要是在带有浓厚的商业气氛且渊源甚浅的中档当代艺术品推动下才火起来。而伊夫•圣罗兰的藏品却恰恰相反：曾由世界名人和专业收藏家拥有的稀世之宝。但话说回来，这也说明有钱人还是愿意在艺术品上花钱的－－只要是珍贵而稀有的。只是不要指望这种事情会经常发生。Robert Frank


It's comforting to know that amidst all the gloom and doom, a few of the rich are still engaging some good old fashioned, eight-figure indulgence.A leather armchair once owned by Yves Saint Laurent fetched 21.9 million euros, or $28 million, at the second night of Christie's auction of Mr. Saint Laurent's art collection. The price made the chair the most-expensive piece of 20th-century design sold at auction. The buyer was Cheska Vallois, the dealer who sold it to the French designer in the early 1970s.Why so much? The Art Deco chair is a rare masterpiece made by French designer Eileen Gray around 1917 to 1919.Also sold off yesterday was a pair of 3-foot high vases (3.1 million euros), and a pair of leopard-skin upholstered stools (1.7 million euros).In all, the sale — which mainly features paintings and fine art — has fetched more than 307 million euros, the most ever for a private collection.So does this mean the art market funk is over? Hardly. Despite the inevitable headlines from the cheerleading auctioneers and advisors touting 'Art Market Remains Strong!' or 'Wealthy Still Spending on Art!', the Yves Saint Laurent sale is a rare one-off that bears little resemblance to the broader market.Most of the art boom in recent years was fueled by the sale of middling, commodity-like, contemporary art with little or no provenance. The Yves Saint Laurent collection is the opposite: extremely rare and once-in-a-lifetime pieces owned by one of the world's most glamorous and expert collectors.It does mean, however, that the wealthy are still willing to spend on art — as long as it is high quality and rare. Just don't expect it to happen often.Robert Frank