François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame Bar sold for a staggering US$31.4 million at Sotheby’s New York on 10 December, becoming the most valuable work of design ever auctioned and setting a new secondary-market record for the artist by a wide margin.
Created in 1976 for the late philanthropist and oil heiress Anne Schlumberger, the piece is the first and only example from Lalanne’s hippo bar series crafted in copper, serving as the prototype for all subsequent bronze editions.
Initially estimated at US$7 to $10 million, the work sparked a 26-minute bidding contest among seven determined collectors, ultimately soaring to more than triple its high estimate. The result caps a banner year for the French sculptor, whose whimsical yet functional creations have proven remarkably resilient in recent years, delivering strong results regardless of broader market trends.
The Hippopotame Bar during the auction preview at Sotheby's New York
Lot 8 | François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) | Hippopotame Bar, pièce unique, copper, maillechort, stainless steel, brass, painted wood (Auction record for the artist and for a work of design)
Executed in 1976
105 x 190 x 68 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of Anne Schlumberger, Houston, Texas, commissioned directly from the artist, 1977
- Thence by descent to the present owners
Estimate: US$7,000,000 - 10,000,000
Hammer Price: US$26,800,000
Sold: US$31,400,000
Auction House: Sotheby's New York
Sale: Important Design, Featuring Works from the Schlumberger Collection
Date: 10 December 2025
Like much of Lalanne’s work, the Hippopotame Bar balances playful imagination with practical design. Concealed within the sculpture’s copper body is a fully equipped bar: its side panel opens to reveal a rotating bottle rack, compartments for glassware, an ice bucket, and a serving tray.
François-Xavier Lalanne spent much of his career working in tandem with his wife, Claude, under the name Les Lalanne. United by the belief that art should be part of everyday life, they worked side by side throughout their careers, though they rarely collaborated on individual pieces: Claude gravitated toward botanical forms; François-Xavier explored the animal kingdom.
Original design renderings of the present lot
The present lot serves as a wine bar during the auction preview at Sotheby's New York
François-Xavier Lalanne and his wife, Claude, with the iconic motif of a flock of sheep
Though their creations have long captivated tastemakers, from Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld to the Rothschilds, demand has gone into overdrive in recent years, with top pieces sparking intense bidding and regularly blowing past estimates.
Before the Hippopotame Bar set a new benchmark, Lalanne’s auction record stood at €18.3 million (US$19.4 million), achieved in 2023 for Rhinocrétaire I (1964), a life-sized rhino sculpture that cleverly hides both a bar and a writing desk, sold at Christie’s Paris.
His previous second- and third-highest prices both came in 2025. In June, Grand Rhinocrétaire II – a massive bronze rhino that folds open into a desk – tripled its US$5 million estimate, selling for US$16.4 million at Sotheby’s London in a sale of works from the Pauline Karpidas collection. Just a month earlier, in May, Ostrich Bar brought in €11.1 million (US$12.5 million) at Sotheby’s Paris after an 11-minute bidding war.
Rhinocrétaire I | Sold: €18,335,000, Christie's Paris, 2023 (Previous auction record for the artist)
Grand Rhinocrétaire II | Sold: US$16,422,500, Sotheby's New York, 2025
Bar aux Autruches (Ostrich Bar) | Sold: €11,100,000, Sotheby's Paris, 2025
The hippopotamus was a recurring motif in Lalanne’s work – he made bathtubs, a bidet, even a daybed in the animal’s shape – but this bar is his only known example made in copper, a material he often reserved for his earliest and most ambitious creations.
It was commissioned by Anne Schlumberger, one of the Lalannes' earliest patrons. Born in France in 1939 into one of the most prominent industrial families of the 20th century, she moved with her family to the United States in 1940 to escape the German invasion.
A practicing architect and dedicated arts supporter, Schlumberger served on the boards of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Menil Collection, which was founded by her sister, Dominique de Menil, a leading art patron and key figure behind the Rothko Chapel.
Anne’s son and Francois-Xavier Lalanne at the Lalanne studio
The Schlumberger family’s connection to Les Lalanne spanned generations. Anne’s father, Pierre Schlumberger, was among their earliest collectors. Anne shared the passion with her sister, Katie, who owned a Rhinocrétaire. While Katie may have been drawn to the rhinoceros’s sculptural heft, Anne sought something gentler – an impulse that led to the commission of the Hippopotame Bar.
Collecting Lalanne became a family tradition. Anne’s sons continued the relationship, visiting the artists in France whenever they could.
“The bar reflects Anne’s fascination with animals, likely inspired by her travels to Africa starting in the 1970s,” her sons recalled in a written interview. “It was the heart of Anne’s home. During festive parties, it gleamed with drinks and celebration.”
The present lot at Anne Schlumberger's residence