Noma Rakes In Big Bucks at Furniture Auction

Restaurant obsessives, Nordic design lovers, and various other presumably rich people are bidding right now on furniture, art, service pieces, and taxidermies from the groundbreaking Copenhagen restaurant Noma. Chicago auction house Wright is hosting the event, selling off pieces of Noma’s history, which owner-chef René Redzepi doesn’t need for the relaunch of Noma in its new location in early 2018.

The auction, which is still ongoing, has already brought in some serious money. According to the catalogue, which notes that the prices are “unofficial and include a premium” (presumably the buyer’s premium, a percentage that the winner pays proceeds of which go exclusively to the auction house):

A pair of dining chairs from Niels O. Møller and J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik in Denmark commanded $5,000, while a set of four took $12,500; a communal dining table from SPACE Copenhagen brought in $16,250, while a smaller dining table from the same designer took $1,375 and was one of only a few lots I noticed that went for under its estimate. (The small dining table, lot 212, was estimated for $3,000 to $5,000. Also there are over 500 lots, many still unsold, and I didn’t check every single one of them, please forgive me, reader.)

A gorgeous Aage and Kasper Würtz “monumental” floor vase fetched a cool $11,250. Fans of dead birds will recall that one of the auction lots (lot 187) was a stuffed puffin. It sold for $3,250. (By comparison, whoever brought home the stuffed sandpiper stole it at a reasonable $500.)

On the (relative) lower end of the cost spectrum, a set of four Aage and Kasper Wurtz serving plates went for $938, while a pair of glazed ceramic pitchers went for $906. A map that hung in Noma’s private dining room took in $625, and a glass coffee service set went for $563. A wine list — it looks like a linen-and-wood (?) notebook — brought in $438.

Some back of the envelope math reveals that the auction has already brought in well over $350,000 for Wright and Noma. Check out some of the lots and their sale prices (again, inclusive of the premium) below:

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

Screenshot: Wright

• Noma | Wright Live Auction [Official]
• You Can Buy Noma’s Gorgeously Nordic Used Furniture for Thousands of Dollars [E]