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The cabinet-en-console designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard and executed by Auguste-Emile Ringuet-Leprince.

An extraordinary cabinet-en-console designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard and executed by Auguste-Emile Ringuet-Leprince for the inaugural 1851 World’s Fair at the Crystal Palace in London is among the highlights at a design sale at Sotheby’s on February 24.  A century of ground-breaking decorative arts and design will be celebrated through a collection of historically important pieces curated by the renowned collector and art historian, Roberto Polo. The collection tells the story of a period of technical and artistic excellence in design, from the masters of the mid-19^th century through to the pioneers of Modernism.   The cabinet-en-console received praise from visitors to the World Fair.  It is regarded as a testament to the 19th century taste for innovative and striking furniture. It is estimated at £80,000-120,000.

Other highlights of the auction include an exceptional pair of Imperial porcelain vases by the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres, delivered to the Palais de Compiègne in 1860 for Napoléon III (£60,000-80 000) and a rare cabinet by Belgian Modernist pioneer Henry van de Velde (£65,000-95,000).

Daniel Alcouffe, Honorary Chief Curator, Musée du Louvre said: “Roberto Polo is impassioned by art in all of its forms and periods of expression, as long as it possesses intelligence and quality. These works are a compendium of the history of decorative arts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Hopefully, their re-appearance and the admiration they arouse will simultaneously stimulate research and give birth to new collectors. Start a collection with a work of art discovered and blessed by Roberto Polo, how can one do better?”