Market leaders in Monaco

The giants that are Sotheby's, Christie's and Artcurial are a well- established presence in Monaco.

Contemporary art, Old Masters, jewellery, design, street art...Monaco is a land of collectors, often with a pied-à-terre in Europe, the United States, Russia, or Switzerland; and this is why the major players in the art market have all established themselves in the Principality.  "Monaco has around a hundred major collectors, including some 20 top collectors, who have passionately built relevant collections with a soul," says Louise Gréther, Director of Sotheby's Monaco.  The world's oldest auction house, founded in 1744 in London by Samuel Baker, opened its Monaco branch in 1967, becoming the first international auction house to hold a sale in the Principality, with the auction of the René Rothschild collection at the Sporting d'Hiver in 1975.
 
The Principality: prestigious platform
Sotheby's used the Principality as a platform for its prestigious sales, with the aim of countering the monopoly of auctioneers in France, which prohibited foreign auction houses from selling in France..."At that time, Monaco, a symbol of glamour, was chosen for special event sales.  Each sale was theatrical, charged with emotion," comments Louise Gréther.  The Monte-Carlo office was entrusted with numerous private collections, such as the estate of Mona Bismarck (1986), Karl Lagerfeld's Memphis furniture (1991), Guy de Rothschild's collection from the Château de Ferrières (1994) and the collection of the Count and Countess of Paris (1996).
In the same vein, arch-rival, Christie's, established itself in the Principality in 1985.  The house, founded in 1766 by James Christie, held its major sales at the Loews Hotel, such as that of Sir Charles Clore's collection, which included highly sought-after French furniture and objets d'art.  Monaco became a stronghold for furniture.  In 1993, a set of Louis XIV furniture belonging to couturier, Hubert de Givenchy, was sold for just over 155 million francs…
In the 1980s, the auction house, Tajan, challenged the dynamic duo.  Born in Monaco, auctioneer Jacques Tajan initiated themed sales.  Of his 2,000 auctions (some two million art objects sold!), he organised no fewer than 100 in Monaco*.  For over 30 years, Tajan organised summer sales of jewellery, watches, design and modern and contemporary art in Monaco, at the Café de Paris.  It was Jacques Tajan's son, François, who set up Artcurial in Monaco in 2015, giving the house a year-round presence in the Principality and across the Côte d'Azur, beyond the prestige sales held around the specialities of jewellery, collectible watches and Hermès & luxury bags.

Crisis in the 90s
From the 1990s onwards, Monaco's market experienced a downturn, linked to the first Gulf crisis, rampant Japanese inflation and the tax shield, which led to a  significant decline in the number of Italian visitors.  Anglo-Saxon auction houses abandoned the market, shifting their focus to Paris.  Monaco then became a place for collecting objects, rather than selling them, a trend amplified by the end of the monopoly of the 458 French auctioneers.  "Monaco remains an important market, even if we only organise sales that have a particular connection to the Principality, such as the estate of iconic designer, Karl Lagerfeld (2021), or those related to the historic Grand Prix.  Our office is very active.  Sotheby's offers comprehensive services for private collectors, museums and businesses: appraisals, consulting, conservation and storage of works, restitution, valuation and financial loans," says Louise Gréther.  The same strategy is followed at Christie's, which has not held auctions since opening Christie's Paris in 2001 but instead holds appraisals and private sales.

Spectacular sales
However, since history is all about cycles, Monaco is back on the rise after the crisis years, thanks to the many players such as the Hôtel des Ventes Monte-Carlo, Wannenes and Accademia Fine Art.  In 2021, Karl Lagerfeld's estate, sold in Monaco by Sotheby's, reached €12 million, four times its estimate.  At RM Sotheby's traditional biennial auction in May 2024, collectors snapped up Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter's personal collection, including the Ferrari 312 T4, which fetched €7.655 million! - the best sale of the Monaco meeting! It was at the wheel of this single-seater that Jody Scheckter won three times during the 1979 Formula 1 season, in Belgium, Monaco and Italy.  Other single-seaters from the Jody Scheckter collection, namely a 1973 McLaren M23 (sold for €1,028,750) and a 1977 Tyrrell P34 (sold for €1,040,000), saw their sale prices exceed one million euros.  Also in 2024, Artcurial's summer Monaco Auction Week generated nearly €10 million in sales.  Manolo Valdès's Reina Marina Blue, in crystalline resin, went for over €1 million (including premium), whilst François-Xavier Lalanne's Le Chien tripled its estimate to €564,000!

 

By Milena Radoman, Monaco Economie