Furniture by Pierre Jeanneret, Vintage Cars, and Modern/Contemporary Art

Don’t miss this autumn event: Haynault Inaugural Auction in Uccle

Brussels – This September, Haynault Auction House is pleased to offer a stunning catalogue for its prestigious inaugural auction at its new location in Uccle. The auction exhibit will be spread across three rooms, representing the different sale categories: Architect Furniture, Vintage Cars, and Modern/Contemporary Art. Under the gavel of auctioneer Rodolphe de Maleingreau d’Hembise, the great names of 20th century design, vintage cars and modern and contemporary art will be assembled at a still confidential location.

Most notably, the house will showcase a series of iconic furniture pieces designed by French designer Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) for Chandigarh. In the early 1950’s, Pierre Jeanneret began a new project in Chandigarh, India, at the invitation of his cousin, Le Corbusier, who was then designing and developing an unprecedented architectural ensemble for the city. Le Corbusier abandoned the project halfway through, leaving Jeanneret to become the head architect and urban planning designer. He simultaneously created a new style of furniture to outfit the administrative buildings and several private homes. The desks, chairs, and parlour sets are all timeless pieces thanks to their incredible modernity.

Haynault will also offer a set of five vintage cars, including a gorgeous 1933 Salmson. A classic burgundy colour, the car has been completely restored and operates beautifully. Salmson is a French maker that had its start manufacturing aircraft engines from 1913 to 1962. Their car models fall under the category of ‘cyclecars’, which counted Bugatti and Delage among its competitors. Newer cars for auction include a gorgeous 1995 BMW 840CI coupe with an orientblau exterior and grey leather interior. This coupe was sold between 1989 and 1999, and only 30,621 were manufactured. This was the first major touring coupe designed by Claus Luthe, BMW’s chief designer. The cherry on the cake is a sublime 1969 Jaguar Type E, superbly restored and in exceptional condition.

In Modern Art, there is a remarkable set of ‘Ettore Bugatti’ vases by Belgian artist Jean Lemmens (1945). A student of graphic arts and silversmith in Antwerp, he continued to perfect his lacquer technique starting in the '80s. From his earliest years, Jean Lemmens was fascinated by Japan. He would travel repeatedly to the Land of the Rising Sun to study lacquering techniques. It is in Ashigara, near Mt. Fuji, that he created his chef-d’oeuvre: a lacquer and silversmith dome for the Shinto pavilion erected on the sacred 12th century site. The series of ‘Ettore Bugatti’ vases is one of his first lacquer productions and demonstrates the artist's ability to marry traditional Japanese lacquering techniques to Art Deco- and Postmodernism-influenced European forms. The elliptical form of his vases can be directly linked to both the Bugatti Type 50 automobile as well as the tombs of the forty-seven Japanese rōnin. Only 20 ‘Ettore Bugatti’ vases were created. As for painting and drawing enthusiasts, they will be delighted to find works by artists such as Corneille and Michel Mouffe.

Finally, in Contemporary Art, the house will exhibit a number of photographs by Brussels photographer Sterenn Denys (1975). After studying sociology and art history at Oxford, and the history of photography and art at Cambridge, she worked as an apprentice in Roger Asselberghs' artwork photography workshop. With a career spanning 20 years, Sterenn's work has two major focuses: spontaneous shots and unique, carefully thought-out images. Culture and art are recurring themes in her work. Art is the signature of a society, and Sterenn's vision of life and her photography explore the beauty of culture and humanity. Her photographs have been widely exhibited in Europe and around the world, and can be found at Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge, U.K.), the Musée d’Ixelles (Brussels, Belgium), and the Royal Photographic Society (Bath, U.K.).