Editor’s Note
This article previews the landmark auction of the Schlumberger Collection, a celebrated trove of art and jewels that reflects the life and taste of a major 20th-century patron. The sale offers a rare window into a defining era of European design.
A remarkable chapter of European art, design, and jewellery history will soon unfold as Sotheby’s prepares to auction the Schlumberger Collection — a dazzling array of artworks, objets d’art, and fine jewellery once owned by the late Anne Schlumberger, the French-born architect, arts patron, and philanthropist.
The multi-city auction series, beginning 21 October, is expected to fetch over $85 million, offering collectors an intimate glimpse into the refined world of one of France’s most influential cultural figures.
Born into the illustrious Schlumberger family — her father Pierre Schlumberger was an oil magnate and art collector, and her mother Claire Simone Schwob d’Hericourt, a French aristocrat — Anne’s life was steeped in creativity, intellect, and taste. The family relocated to Houston, Texas, during World War II, but Anne’s deep ties to French art and culture remained integral throughout her life.
Among the most anticipated lots is Salvador Dalí’s Swirling Sea Necklace, an extraordinary creation that marries surrealist imagination with exquisite craftsmanship. Conceived by Dalí in 1954 and brought to life in 1963 by New York jeweller Carlos Alemany, the piece features an intricate blend of sapphires (48.27 carats), emeralds (89.97 carats), diamonds (4.74 carats), 125 Oriental pearls, and a single South Sea pearl — arranged in hypnotic, oceanic motion.
The necklace carries an estimate of $350,000–$585,000, though history suggests it could exceed expectations. The same piece, originally gifted by Dalí to Sao Schlumberger (Pierre’s second wife), previously sold at Sotheby’s in 2014 for an astonishing $665,000, more than quadrupling its upper estimate.
Beyond jewellery, the auction will feature standout objets d’art such as François-Xavier Lalanne’s 1976 “Hippopotame Bar”, a whimsical hippopotamus-shaped bar cart valued at over $7 million.
Sotheby’s describes the Schlumberger Collection as such.
The collection will be presented across Paris, Hong Kong, and New York, promising to draw collectors and connoisseurs from around the world eager to acquire a fragment of one family’s extraordinary creative legacy.