The legacy of Madame Simone Steinitz: ‘Everything about her was chic’

‘Dealing in antiques offers the most wonderful life,’ says Benjamin Steinitz, director of Galerie Steinitz in Paris. ‘It is suffused with learning, enquiry and beauty, and that fills me with energy every day.’

Established by Benjamin’s parents, Bernard and Simone Steinitz, in 1968, Galerie Steinitz is one of the world’s most respected dealers in French decorative arts. ‘Our role today is about more than just examining the works of art we offer,’ he says. ‘We are dedicated to tracing their histories — often lost over time — and to highlighting the artistic context in which they were created.’

On 19 June 2025, Christie’s in Paris will offer 130 pieces of furniture and decorative arts chosen by Benjamin, in Madame Simone Steinitz: The Legacy of Taste. The sale pays tribute to Simone’s decisive role in shaping the le goût Steinitz and her work and friendship with decorators such as François-Joseph Graf, Jacques Grange and Peter Marino. ‘These works perfectly illustrate her refined taste and natural elegance,’ says Benjamin.

Each piece has been chosen for its quality, beauty and historical resonance, with a special focus on the 18th century, echoing the words of Hubert de Givenchy: ‘Fashion changes, but 18th-century style will endure.’ Works of art with royal and aristocratic provenance include a trio of vases likely to have been made by Louis XV or a member his family, a collection of ormolu-mounted porcelain objects assembled by Philippe-François Julliot for Louis XVI, and a vase mounted by Antoine-Philippe Pajot from the fabled Rothschild collections.

Benjamin Steinitz was immersed in the world of French decorative arts from an early age. Weekends were spent visiting museums such as Versailles, the Louvre and the Musée Nissim de Camondo, while evenings frequently unfolded at the Galerie Steinitz, with its treasure trove of furniture, sculpture and objets d’art from the 17th and 18th centuries.

There were also regular trips to auction houses. ‘My father made me bid on a piece in 1979,’ he recalls. ‘Everybody was laughing in the auction room because I was a young kid. My heart was beating so fast. I realised that day that the decorative arts would be the rest of my life.’

After a period working in the contemporary art world, and encouraged by his parents, Steinitz returned to Paris in 1991 to join the family business. ‘I’m a great appreciator of modern art, but I think it’s very important that we stay true to our passion,’ he says. ‘I wouldn’t want to advise my clients towards things that I’m not the very best ambassador for.’

Since taking over the gallery, now located at 6 Rue Royale, Steinitz has continued his parents’ tradition, supplying connoisseur collectors and institutions such as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Art Institute of Chicago with the finest examples of French furniture and decorative arts on the market.

Among the selected works of art, all emblematic of Madame Simone Steinitz’s taste, are many items from far afield, showing a particular fascination with 18th-century French decorative arts incorporating Chinese and Japanese materials. This can be seen in a pair of 18th-century Kakiemon porcelain flower vases with finely chased gilt-bronze mounts, as the fashion for exotic porcelain reached its zenith during the reign of Louis XVI.

Other mounted objects included in the collection are a rare celadon vase adorned with rocaille work attributed to Louis XV’s goldsmith Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (a comparable vase is in the collection of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum), and a blue-glazed Chinese porcelain vase stamped with the mark of Antoine-Philippe Pajot, who was renowned for the gilded bronze mounts he made for objects in glass, crystal and porcelain.

Among the exceptional furniture by 18th-century French ébénistes are pieces by David Roentgen, Jean-Henri Riesener, Jean-François Leleu and Adam Weisweiler. Weisweiler’s rare tiered writing table, known as a bonheur-du-jour, is an emblematic Neoclassical piece, another example of which is in the French Mobilier National collection.

Other notable lots include a significant group of items from the Empire period, reflecting the renewed interest in antiquity that emerged in the last third of the 18th century and prevailed until the 1830s. This was influenced by archaeological discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii, alongside the Egyptian-inspired motifs that were popularised by Marie Antoinette.

Among the pieces exemplifying the Neoclassical style are a pair of candelabra attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, comparable to examples in the Hermitage Museum and at Buckingham Palace; a set of six ebony and mahogany chairs formerly in the collection of Millicent Rogers, which demonstrate the era’s preferred architectural lines; and two richly mounted mahogany meubles-bas attributed to Bernard Molitor, cabinetmaker to the Emperor Napoleon.

‘One of the wonderful things about working in the decorative arts is discovering people through their objects,’ says Benjamin Steinitz. ‘Your collection gives an idea of who you were.’

As for Steinitz himself, he says he would like to be remembered as someone of great curiosity who always wanted to learn more: ‘This is our role as antique dealers. And our goal is to find people who share the same passion as us.’

Offered on 19 June 2025, Madame Simone Steinitz: The Legacy of Taste is on view at Christie’s in Paris, 14-19 June