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THE RANDIER COLLECTION CELEBRATED WITH TWO PRE-EMPTIONS AND 1.7 MILLION EUROS

On Monday May 15, Tuesday May 16 and Wednesday May 17, 2023, Aguttes auctioned the Randier Collection: 800 objects of Science, Marine and Curiosities. The three-day auction totalled €1.7 million, exceeding the high estimate. 80% of the lots changed hands, while two pre-emptions celebrated the keen eye of Henri Claude Randier, who travelled the world in search of objects for 50 years.

Randier Collection I Science, Marine & Curiosities
Top 5* of the sale


1. Lot 127 – Superb city car - €45,500*.
2. Lot 370 – Master's lock and lantern key in wrought iron - €33,800
3. Lot 182 – JACOBI à PARIS, Marie-type compound microscope in gilded brass - €31,200
4. Lot 191 – Attributed to Johann Gottfried ZIMMER (active in the mid-18th century), mechanical equinoctial solar chronometer with "minute" dial - €29,900
5. Lot 115 - 18th century Flemish school after Brueghel, The rich and the poor - €26,000


All results
Vente I
Vente II
Vente III

"This sale was exceptional in terms of the number of lots, their originality and their rarity. The catalog had to be a tribute to the collector's passion, a tribute to his life, and a publication to keep... Collectors responded, and the objects went on to other cabinets of curiosity all over the world. Such is the 'strange life of objects'". 
Claude Aguttes, auctioneer

The Randier Collection celebrated by two pre-emptions

The Musée National du Château de Compiègne and the Musée du Grand Siècle have pre-empted two lots, thus acknowledging the discerning eye of Henri Claude Randier, the epitome of an old-fashioned hunter-collector. The former preempted a town car (lot 127), a quarter-scale model of the Impératrice Eugénie coupé, at €45,000. This was the highest hammer price of the sale. 
Another pre-empted lot was an entomologist's microscope (lot 236). The Musée du Grand Siècle won this instrument, signed "N. Bion à Paris" for €6,500. The same institution also acquired an artillery sight (lot 783) signed "Michael Butterfield à Paris", dating from the late 17th - early 18th century.







Lot 127 - Superb town car
Quarter-scale model of Empress Eugenie's city coupé in mahogany, steel, brass and leather veneer, opening with two doors decorated with the imperial eagle, the checkerboard veneered interior featuring a caned seat.
Bears the coachbuilder's signatures "Morel Paris" (on the wheels), "C.Billy" (on the lanterns) and "P.Devilliard" (under the wheel shaft).
France, second half of the 19th century. 55 x 109 x 45 cm
Sold  €45,500




Lot 236 NICOLAS BION (1655-1733) IN PARIS
Brass entomologist's microscope signed "N. BION à Paris". In its black chagrin-covered case. 
Late 17th century. D. 9 cm
Sold € 6,500


An eclectic, erudite and aesthetically pleasing collection. A selection 

Over the course of his 50 years as a dealer and then expert, Henri Claude Randier, a passionate and highly professional man, brought together many scientific and marine objects, as well as wrought ironwork, masonry, locksmithing, tabacology, cutlery, trade instruments and a multitude of small, original or singular items. A master's lock and lantern key in wrought iron (lot 370) fetched €33,800. The richly-worked temple-like palâtre with broken pediment and lock entrance hidden behind a secret flap will have seduced bidders. Two acanthus scrolls in relief and a winged cherub head or a lion's head with a scowl contribute to the rich decoration of this lock.




Lot 370 - Wrought-iron master's lock and lantern key
France, 17th century Lock: H. 8.5 x 12.2 x 5.8 cm Key: H. 8.8 cm
Sold € 33,800



Scientific objects also attracted the attention of connoisseurs, and this sale featured a number of microscopes, including one preemption.  Another microscope, this one with a gilded brass Marie-type case (lot 182), signed on a "Jacobi Fecit à Paris 1765" label, fetched €31,200. Attributed to Johann Gottfried Zimmer, a mechanical equinoctial chronometer with a "minute" dial (lot 191) sold for €29,900. A similar, slightly later model is in the collections of the Dresden Museum (inventory no. D17, exhibited in the "Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon").

This collection also included paintings, and The Rich and the Poor (lot 115) provoked one of the most exciting bidding battles of the sale. Bidders fought over this Flemish oil for up to €26,000.




Lot 191 - ATTRIBUTED TO JOHANN GOTTFRIED ZIMMER (ACTIVE IN THE MID-18th CENTURY)
Gilt brass, silver, steel and glass mechanical equinoctial sundial with "minute" dial, engraved with a floral wreath motif, the four curved and counter-curved feet resting on a square three-screw base with compass.
The back of the plate shows the latitudes of major European cities. Dresden, circa 1750 16.5 x 10 x 10 cm (Oxidation)
Sold  €29,900


**All amounts include VAT.


REQUEST AN APPRAISAL

Sophie Perrine, Auctioneer
and Director of the Private Collections Department
+33 (0)1 41 92 06 44 • perrine@aguttes.com


Aguttes - 164 bis avenue Charles-de-Gaulle - Neuilly-sur-Seine