On October 15, 2003, Sotheby’s in Paris held an auction of
items from the collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson. Mrs. Johnson is the widow of a founder of
Johnson & Johnson and one of the wealthiest women in the world. The items in this sale were from her Monaco
home and included a pair of vitrines.
While not identified at the time as vitrines by Charles F. Biele, a subsequent
auction in 2006 at Sotheby’s in New York of a similar pair of vitrines did have
a tag “Charles F. Biele & Sons” and was sold with the description “An exact
pair sold, Sotheby's, Paris, Collection de Madame Barbara Piasecka Johnson,
October 15, 2003, lot 24”
It is not known how the vitrines came into Mrs. Johnson’s
collection or the buyer at the auction. If Mrs. Johnson, Sotheby's, or anyone else knows, I would love them to share the information.
The description from the Sotheby’s website after the sale
provides the following information:
Paire de vitrines en acier poli
et bronze doré de style Directoire,
A
PAIR OF STEEL VITRINES IN DIRECTOIRE STYLE
Estimate: 30,000 - 45,000 EUR
LOT SOLD. 59,125 EUR (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)
The equivalent vale at that time was $68,895.
Below are scans of relevant pages from the auction catalog:
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| CATALOGUE COVER |
 |
| Left vitrine in dining room |
 |
| Right vitrine in dining room |
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| Vitrine as shown in catalogue |
 |
| Vitrine as shown in catalogue |
Mrs. Johnson died on April 1, 2013.
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