This is one of the event sales of the year. Two years after having dispersed part of its furniture, the Ritz puts on sale from Sunday crockery, silverware, services and table and bedroom linen. Nearly 1,500 lots, or 10,000 objects from the legendary Parisian palace, will be auctioned at Artcurial, over three days, from June 21. Until then, the public can still admire until Saturday evening these objects from the most famous hotel in the world, the epitome of French tableware.
For the occasion, Artcurial has reconstituted the famous Hemingway Bar, with its champagne buckets and cocktail glasses branded "Ritz Paris", as evidenced by the auctioneer Stéphane Aubert. "Hemingway had his habits at the Ritz, he liked to party. He even delivered the occupant's hotel in 1944: he was the first American to arrive at the Ritz ... and he celebrated the victory by chaining 51 Dry Martini! ", he says.
Estimates that can be multiplied by three
Artcurial has also had large tables erected, with porcelain services and crystal decanters. A room has also been restored. "You have peach-colored bathrobes. César Ritz (the founder of the hotel, editor's note ) wanted this color, because it highlighted the complexion of women," continues Stéphane Aubert.
Finally, a huge table service with pink and green flowers is exhibited in another room, still signed "Ritz Paris" and used in the 2000s. If many pieces are estimated at 200-300 euros, the auctions can flare up and multiply the prices by two or three. The total sale is estimated at 500,000 euros.