Artcurial will offer François-Xavier Lalanne's Capricorne III (2007) as the highlight of its Art Deco and Design auction in Paris on 25 November, with an estimate of €1 million to €1.5 million. The bronze creature, whose elongated body turns its gaze directly towards the viewer, is the third of the artist's three Capricorne versions, each distinguished by the orientation of its head. A similar example once stood before the fireplace in the living room of the Lalannes' home in Ury, and like much of the sculptor's work the piece doubles as functional furniture, serving as a bench or a fire screen.

The sale is built around the animal in the decorative arts. Alongside Capricorne III, Artcurial offers Lalanne's Brochet à secret, a fish whose fin operates a hidden compartment fitted with drawers, and the largest Mouton rug the artist ever produced. Two Chat maître d'hôtel sculptures by Diego Giacometti, among his best-known creations, were made for the collectors Marguerite and Aimé Maeght. Works by Claude Lalanne complete the family's presence in the sale.

The catalogue also gathers pieces of distinguished provenance from across 20th-century design. A previously unseen ensemble by Carlo Bugatti comes from a Swiss private collection, while Charlotte Perriand is represented by a furniture ensemble that has stayed with its original commissioning family and a Bibliothèque Mexique from a private collection. Ceramics by Georges Jouve come from the ceramist's last home in Aix-en-Provence, and Shiro Kuramata's Miss Blanche chair has been held in the same collection since its purchase from the Yves Gastou Gallery in 1991.

The sale follows a strong run for the Lalannes at auction. François-Xavier Lalanne's Hippopotame Bar sold for $31.4 million at Sotheby's in New York in December 2025, setting both an artist record and the highest price ever paid at auction for a work of design. Capricorne III will test whether that momentum extends to the Paris saleroom this autumn.