Le melon entamé by Jean Siméon Chardin
Christie’s is suing an Italian real estate investor for failing to pay his invoice after he bid a record-setting amount for an eighteenth-century still life.
This past June 12th, Christie’s hosted an Old Masters sale at the Paris location, with the still-life by the eighteenth-century French master Jean Siméon Chardin coming out on top as the auction’s star. As a masterpiece of the artist’s late career, Christie’s expected Le melon entamé to sell between €8 million and €12 million. Both the house and some buyers were likely emboldened by the sale of Chardin’s Le panier des fraises des bois for €24.38 million w/p at Artcurial in March 2022. Several bidders fought over Le melon entamé , pushing it well past its estimate. The hammer eventually came down at €23 million / $24.9 million (or €26.7 million / $28.9 million w/p). The painting immediately set several new records, including the most expensive Chardin painting sold that auction, the most expensive eighteenth-century artwork ever sold in France, and the most expensive Old Masters painting ever sold in France. These two main bidders turned out to be the Kimbell Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (previously featured in a past article about an alleged Artemisia Gentileschi painting) and the 39 year old Italian real estate investor Nanni Bassani Antivari.
Nanni is the son of Luca Bassani Antivari, the founder and owner of Wally Yachts, a successful yacht-building and maritime design company based in Monaco. Nanni, meanwhile, is involved in real estate in Switzerland and was rather unknown in the world of Old Masters collectors at the time of the June sale. But after nearly six months, he has yet to pay Christie’s invoice, reassuring the auction house every time they followed up with him. Nanni even offered to put up the money in escrow, placing it in a third-party account to be released to Christie’s upon receiving the painting. However, this is a very unusual way to pay for something bought at auction. An auction house typically does not ship or release anything without being paid in full. Christie’s recently announced that they are suing him in Paris for failure to pay. They are asking for the full price with premium, interest, and penalty fees. Had Nanni not put them through six months of trouble, Christie’s could have sold the painting to another buyer, such as the Kimbell Museum. Reportedly, this is not the only debt he owes. According to a lawsuit filed in London, Nanni allegedly owes $15 million to his former business partner, Andrea Pignataro. The first hearing in Paris over the Chardin payment is scheduled for today, December 16th.