Sotheby's France to Auction Incredible Collection of Édouard and Jacqueline de Ribes This December

Fashion designer, arts patron, and writer Jacqueline de Ribes—hailed as the “last queen of Paris”—has the star power, but Édouard de Ribes, her banker husband, had the goods. “A lot of journalists are focusing on the comtesse because she was so beautiful and so iconic, but the collection was created over six generations by a family that became rich and grew richer,” said Mario Tavella, the chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and the president–director general of Sotheby’s France, which is offering part one of La Collection Ribes on December 11 and 12. (Part two will be sold in spring 2020.) Descendant of a royal finance official who was ennobled in 1816, Édouard de Ribes, who died in 2013, was the sixth count of the line and the inheritor of not only a family fortune but also a vast, treasure-packed 1860s hôtel particulier in Paris, which his widow, now 90, still uses. Museum-quality pieces, many of them acquired by his great-grandfather in the 19th century, go on the block this month; part of the proceeds will go to the de Ribeses’ favorite charities.

The de Ribeses’ library, where Empire furniture joins rare books.
The de Ribeses’ library, where Empire furniture joins rare books.
Photo: Sotheby’s / ArtDigital Studio
Jacqueline and Édouard de Ribes at home in Paris.
Jacqueline and Édouard de Ribes at home in Paris.
Photo: Gérard Delorme

“The most important are the three bronzes that belonged to Louis XIV,” Tavella explains. “The most sophisticated is Marie-Antoinette’s musical clock, and the most elegant is an Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun painting that belonged to a brother of Louis XVI. In terms of provenance, it’s the best we’ve sold in probably five years.” sothebys.com

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest