Phillips’ sets new highs in design sale

Phillips modern design auction in Mayfair yielded successful results with records broken for a number of lots.

New auction highs were set for work by ceramicist Lucie Rie and furniture created by unconventional Danish designer, Peder Moos.

An 8¼ (21cm) diameter inlaid porcelain footed bowl by Lucie Rie (c.1980) set a new auction high when the piece sold for £55,000, beating the previous record for her work sold at Woolley & Wallis when a vibrant matt blue and bronze-rimmed vase fetched £47,000 in 2014.

A huge table by Peder Moos was the sale’s star lot, soaring above its pre-sale estimate of £150,000-250,000, with the hammer eventually falling at £500,000. The oak and maple table, measuring 3.78m long, is exemplary of the designer’s style with its exposed joints. It was originally created for the Villa Aubertin in Rosnaes, Nakskov Fjord in 1952.

Alexander Payne, Head of Design at Phillips, said, “We had strong interest in the piece. We had multiple phones from international collectors. All were really recognising the work to be an exceptional example.”