It was the hippo cry heard around the world — and it all started in Houston.
Well, not a cry, exactly. . . More like a $31.4 million exclamation. When a rare hippo-shaped bar by Francois-Xavier Lalanne blew past its $7 to $10 million estimate at a Sotheby’s New York auction last December, the record-setting price made headlines worldwide.
“The result was historic on every level: the highest price ever achieved for François-Xavier Lalanne, the highest price ever for a work of design at auction, and more than triple its high estimate after a spirited 26-minute bidding battle,” says Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman, co-worldwide head of 20th century design and chairman of major collections…