Sotheby's design sale in New York achieved the second highest auction price ever for a work by French artist François-Xavier Lalanne, with his monumental sculpture desk *Grand Rhinocrétaire II* (1964) selling for $16.4 million—more than triple its $5 million high estimate. The piece, which opens into a fully functional writing desk, sparked a 13-minute bidding battle. Just weeks earlier, another Lalanne work, *Bar aux Autruches* (1967–68), sold for €11.1 million at Sotheby's Paris. The all-time record for Lalanne remains $19.4 million for *Rhinocrétaire I*, sold at Christie's Paris in 2023.
The sale underscores the surging market for Les Lalannes—the artistic duo of François-Xavier and his wife Claude—whose whimsical, functional animal sculptures have seen steadily rising demand over the past two decades. With four Lalanne works now exceeding $10 million at auction, the results highlight a broader trend of collectors valuing design objects that blur the line between art and utility. The record prices also reflect the enduring appeal of François-Xavier's animal-themed creations, which continue to command fierce competition at major auction houses.