PARIS—Given all the examples of Art Deco design in the French capital, it isn’t rare to see 20th-century decorative-arts items up for auction at Christie’s Paris. But the scope of the house’s modern and contemporary design sales this month is unprecedented. First to hit the block, on November 26, is Anne Bokelberg‘s collection of 150 rare boxes and jewelry created from the 1940s through ’60s by Line Vautrin, the “poet of metal.” Vautrin’s elegantly witty bronze, brass and resin boxes, often emblazoned with epigrams or riddles, have become cult collectibles. Two star pieces from the sale are a 1945 cigarette case inspired by Charles Trenet’s song “La Mer” (est. €8,000–10,000; $11–14,000) and a pair of gilded enamel birdcage earrings (est. €2,500–3,000; $3,500–4,200). The next day sees the sale of the entire contents of a Parisian apartment, the home of an American collector who, in 1999, enlisted Frédéric de Luca, founder of Paris gallery En Attendant des Barbares, to commission such designers as Elisabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti and André Dubreuil to create its decor. Of particular note are Dubreuil’s metal and coral candelabra chandelier (est. €30–50,000 ; $40–70,000) and Garouste and Bonetti’s silver-leafed commode (est. €30–40,000; $42–56,000).

"La Belle Vie" originally appeared in the November 2007 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's November 2007 Table of Contents.