MINERAL ISSUE

Sotheby’s May Have Sold a $1.6 Million Table With Asbestos

Two Jean Prouvé tables, which might contain asbestos, sold for $988,000 and $1.6 million, respectively.

Two Jean Prouvé tables made with “fibrated Granipoli concrete” that Sotheby’s auction house sold in the past couple of months may contain asbestos, according to Jonathan O’Hea, a New Jersey-based art dealer. One table sold in December for $988,000, while the other sold in June for $1.6 million. “It’s such a weird word. I had never heard of it, but quickly deduced that it had to do with fibers being introduced to concrete,” O’Hea told Artnet News. “Seeing that the table dates to the 1930s, my immediate thought was, ‘That has to be an asbestos product.’” “Sotheby’s is currently working with its scientific research team to identify the material in question,” a representative from Sotheby’s told Artnet News. “The object remains in Sotheby’s possession and will be isolated pending the results of analyses.”