The Yves Saint Laurent sale of the century ended yesterday after netting an outrageous $484 million in winning bids – including $28.3 million for an ugly, 90-year-old armchair crafted by famed Irish designer Eileen Gray.
Even auctioneers at the Paris Christie’s event were knocked on their seats when a paddle-wielding couple paid a king’s ransom for the throne.
“It was a remarkably strong piece, but what it went for was beyond our wildest imagination,” Christie’s VP and decorative-design expert Carina Villinger told The Post yesterday.
Asked why anyone would spend so much for one piece of furniture, Villinger admitted her own dad was floored by the arm-and-a-leg bid.
“My dad asked me the same thing, [and said] ‘I’d rather have the money!’ ” Villinger quipped.
The chair – dubbed “The Dragons” – sold for more than seven times its pre-auction estimate of $3.8 million. Winning bidders Robert and Cheska Vallois said the purchase was for a third party.
“It’s the price of desire!” Cheska said. With Post Wire Services