A unique gilt-bronze armchair by French designer Claude Lalanne sold for $1,079,500 in December 2025 after arriving through the auction house’s consignment portal. The chair features a frame wrapped in vines and monkeys cast in patinated bronze, paired with a seat made from ostrich leather.According to Sotheby’s, the armchair was made in 1998 and numbered one from an edition of one. The piece reached Sotheby’s through its consignment portal before selling for $1,079,500 in December 2025. The armchair was sold at a time when demand for Lalanne’s works was particularly strong. The same Sotheby’s auction was led by another piece that set a record for the highest price paid for a design object at auction.
How did Sotheby’s sell Claude Lalanne’s armchair for $1.079 million
The gilt-bronze armchair by Claude Lalanne sold for $1,079,500 at Sotheby’s in December 2025. Its distinctive design combines a chair frame wrapped in vines and monkeys cast in patinated bronze with a seat made from ostrich leather. The piece reached the auction house through its consignment portal, showing how an online submission can lead to the sale of a significant design object.Margaret Wood, a specialist in Sotheby’s Design Department, described the chair as the earliest of Lalanne’s ‘Singerie’ armchairs to appear at auction. Its sale placed the unique design among the notable works to emerge through Sotheby’s consignment process.
PC: Sotheby’s
What makes Lalanne’s Singerie armchair different from other designs
The armchair’s design centres on its bronze vines and monkeys, which wrap around the underlying chair form. Its seat is made from ostrich leather, adding another distinctive material to the piece. According to Margaret Wood, each Lalanne work is unique in some way.She explained that these differences range from the positioning of the monkeys to the way the vines cast in gold-patinated bronze swirl around the chair. Its arrival at auction was also notable because it was the earliest of Lalanne’s ‘Singerie’ armchairs ever to appear at auction.
From online submission to a $1.079 million auction sale
The armchair arrived at Sotheby’s as a submission through the auction house’s consignment portal. Rather than being described as a centuries-old object, it represented a more recent work of design, produced in 1998. The portal provided the route through which the chair reached the auction house before being offered for sale.Its subsequent appearance at auction resulted in a sale of $1,079,500 in December 2025. The submission also brought a unique example of Claude Lalanne’s ‘Singerie’ armchairs to the market. Margaret Wood, a specialist in Sotheby’s Design Department, identified it as the earliest example from the series to come to auction.
The armchair draws attention for its distinctive monkey and vine details
The armchair came to auction at a time when demand for the works of Claude Lalanne and demand for the Lalannes had rarely been higher, according to Sotheby’s. The sale was led by another work that set a record for any design object sold at auction.The ‘Singerie’ armchair also achieved $1,079,500, drawing attention to the distinctive details of Lalanne’s designs. Margaret Wood highlighted the variations in the positioning of the monkeys and the way the bronze vines swirl around the chair.