Meet the Specialists

By Louis-Xavier Joseph
Senior Director, Head Of Department, European Furniture And Decorative Arts

Unseen by the public for decades, this seal represents an important and moving chapter of French history. Fashioned from ebony and gold, and bearing a large imperial coat-of-arms, it is tied to one of the most consequential military campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte’s First French Empire. The fine materials and exacting quality of its engraving suggest that this seal could only have belonged to the emperor himself, a physical testament to the height of his ascendancy.

Following the Battle of Waterloo of June 18, 1815, at which Napoleon was decisively defeated by two armies of the Seventh Coalition, a force led by British and Prussian contingents, the French leader fled towards Paris in a convoy of 14 vehicles. As the roads became congested, he was forced to abandon his carriage, allowing Prussian infantry and cavalry troops to descend upon it.

Silverware crates were torn open, and other luxury items were carried away. Some of the looters were later compelled to offer their spoils to the King of Prussia, who gifted them to deserving officers and allies.

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819), field marshal of the Prussian army, reportedly received the emperor’s hat and uniform, along with this gold seal. A note accompanies the seal, recounting its story in German. This letter is signed, perhaps by August Wilhelm Antonius, Count Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1760-1831), a member of an important Prussian family, who fought alongside von Blücher.

The seal’s design presents an iconography of power, anchored by an eagle clutching a thunderbolt below a visored helm and an imperial crown. Also featured is a draped mantle decorated with bees—Napoleon’s own emblem—overlaid with the chain and pendant of the Légion d’Honneur, crossed behind by the scepters of justice and mercy.

Von Blücher played a pivotal role at Waterloo. Leading a corps of 34,000 soldiers, he arrived at the battlefield late in the afternoon, bolstering the forces led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), to crush the French. Offering the Prussian commander, whose intervention may well have tipped the battle’s outcome, such a personal item from the fallen emperor would make fitting a war trophy. Without von Blücher’s aid at Waterloo, the coalition troops might have faltered.

The seal’s next owner may have been Wellington—Napoleon’s greatest foe. A towering figure in British military history, he first defeated Napoleonic forces in Portugal in 1808, and then again in a series of further engagements during the Peninsular War. It is thus conceivable that von Blücher presented Wellington with this seal to mark their shared triumph.

Beyond their rivalry, it is known that the duke admired Napoleon’s strategic genius. At his London home, Apsley House, purchased from his elder brother in 1817 and visitable today, Wellington amassed an impressive collection of paintings and Napoleonic relics tied to Waterloo. Among them stands Canova’s colossal marble statue, “Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker.” A gift from King George IV, who knew of Wellington’s fondness for the sculptor’s work, it stands about 12 feet tall, looming in the entrance hall as a striking tribute to his historic adversary.

With its links to three titans of 19th-century military history, the seal represents a unique highlight in a remarkable collection assembled over more than 40 years in tribute to an eternal figure.

By Florent Jeanniard
Chairman, Co-Worldwide Head of 20th Century Design

In 2017, as Sotheby’s prepared to offer an example of Bar aux Autruches from the collection of interior designer Jacques Grange, we reached out to Claude Lalanne, the wife of its late maker, François-Xavier Lalanne, for cataloging information. She enthusiastically invited us to the home they had shared in Ury, a house and workshop with Île-de-France village charm. Upon our arrival, she suggested we enjoy lunch first. Claude was an excellent cook, and the wines were always exceptional. That late summer day, she welcomed us with fine food and a view of the garden where she nurtured flowers and plants to become works of art.

After the meal, she led us upstairs to François-Xavier’s untouched bedroom, tucked under the eaves on the first floor, where I discovered another ostrich bar—the ostrich bar. Claude told me it had been her husband’s favorite sculpture. In the 1970s, it had stood in the home’s entrance, but François-Xavier, weary of collectors and dealers constantly trying to buy it, had moved it to his bedroom where no one could ask for it.

In 2019, following Claude Lalanne’s passing, Sotheby’s was asked to inventory her home and studio. Once again, I found myself before this extraordinary work in François-Xavier’s bedroom. Only six examples of the ostrich bar were ever produced, between 1966 and the early 1970s. Two remain in French national collections—one at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres and another at the Élysée Palace, placed there under President Georges Pompidou. As part of France’s inalienable state collections, these will never be sold. Of the remaining bars, only three have ever been offered for sale—François-Xavier kept one for himself.

With immense joy and deep respect, we now present François-Xavier Lalanne’s personal edition. This masterpiece embodies his artistic vision—functional, humorous, poetic and universal. The living specimens of these birds are imposing in stature—unable to fly, yet incredibly fast—creating a striking contrast between lightness and strength. Lalanne plays on this paradox, sculpting two life-sized ostriches in porcelain, their articulated wings revealing hidden bar compartments. In the center, an egg becomes an ice bucket, adding a touch of humor. With a surrealist spirit, Lalanne transforms the animal into a hybrid creation—half sculpture, half functional object. This playful reinterpretation recalls René Magritte and Salvador Dalí, where the unexpected sparks wonder.

Rooted in the grand tradition of decorative arts, the ostrich bar echoes precious 18th-century furniture once adorned with Sèvres porcelain. By reviving this savoir-faire, Lalanne bridges past and present, crafting a timeless and modern work. The piece also evokes Renaissance-period cabinets of curiosity and ceremonial furniture, when exoticism and rarity symbolized ultimate luxury. Here, the ostrich transcends nature, becoming a sculptural tribute to the beauty of the animal world.

Lalanne’s collaboration with the Manufacture de Sèvres gives the work a singular aura. The fusion of metal and porcelain showcases masterful craftsmanship, blending technical precision with poetic imagination. By infusing furniture with a dreamlike quality, Lalanne redefines design, proving that function and beauty can coexist. His art transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, inviting us to see the world differently.

This work embodies one of his core beliefs: art should not be merely contemplative but should inhabit everyday life—to surprise, delight and stir emotion. With the ostrich bar, François-Xavier Lalanne reminds us that imagination and humor are essential to beauty and that art, above all, is an invitation to dream.