Many records prices were reached during the sale of the Alexander collection of 18th Century furniture and objects of art at Christie's on April 30th 1999 in New York. The sale, held in Christie's new premises in the Rockefeller Center, totalled $ 27,5 million, twice pre-sale estimates with 91% of lots sold.
Most of the world's important buyers were ready to wage a bidding battle for the best pieces of the collection. Four bronze wall-bracket candleligths by Claude-Jean Pitouin (1781) reached $ 1,8 million against a $ 600,000 estimate. A pair of candelabra made in 1768 by Philippe Caffieri for Stanislas-Auguste Poniatowski, King of Poland, fetched $ 772,500 while a small chiffonier table attributed to Martin Carlin sold for $ 790,000 and a writing table by Latz recorded $ 772,500.
A Louis 15th black lacquered writing table by Dubois went for $ 1,2 million and a small Louis 16th round table with a Sèvres porcelain top by Adam Weisweiler was bought by a group of Paris dealer for $ 937,500.
Two Greek-like covered Louis 16th blue porcelain vases, probably by François Rémond, went for $ 717,500 against an estimate of $ 200,000-300,000 while a blue Kanghi porcelain fountain (circa 1755) fetched $ 387,500.
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