The Taste That Built a Legacy
Christie’s Paris honours Simone Steinitz with a sale celebrating her refined legacy in French decorative arts.
On 19 June, Christie’s Paris will host Madame Simone Steinitz: The Legacy of Taste, an exceptional auction celebrating the remarkable yet often under-recognised influence of Simone Steinitz.
As the wife of Bernard Steinitz, the celebrated antiquaire and founder of the eponymous gallery, Simone played a pivotal role in shaping its distinctive aesthetic and international reputation.
Now led by her son, Benjamin Steinitz, the gallery continues to reflect her refined eye and innate understanding of decorative harmony.
This sale presents him with a personal opportunity to pay tribute to his mother’s legacy, joined by leading art historians and decorators such as Jacques Grange, Peter Marino, and Juan Pablo Molyneux, who fondly recall her vision.
The 130 curated works, furniture and objets d’art spanning the 17th to 19th centuries, with a particular focus on the golden age of 18th-century French craftsmanship, showcase the ‘goût Steinitz’: a distinctive blend of connoisseurship, elegance and flair.
The pieces have been thoughtfully arranged at the gallery’s hôtel particulier on Rue Royale, offering a setting that evokes both grandeur and intimacy.
From gilt-bronze-mounted porcelain and royal provenance vases to masterpieces by Riesener, Thomire and Georges Jacob, the collection reflects Simone’s passion for beauty, material richness and architectural balance.
Highlights include works once belonging to Louis XV and XVI, as well as pieces from the fabled Rothschild collections.
Estimated between €3.3 and €5.2 million, the sale is both a celebration and a tribute.
As Olivier Gabet, Director at the Louvre’s Department of Objets d’Art, notes, Simone and Bernard’s legacy lives on not only in the gallery’s reputation, but also in the very fabric of French decorative history; a testament to their shared generosity, curiosity and taste.
