PARIS — Christie’s, the international auction house, has become embroiled in a humiliating legal wrangle after the buyer of a masterpiece by Jean Siméon Chardin failed to pay a record-breaking $28 million for the painting, sold in June.
The buyer, Nanni Bassani Antivari, an Italian real estate investor based in St. Moritz, Switzerland, age 39, reportedly failed to pay for the purchase of Cut Melon (1760). This Chardin still-life smashed expectations at Christie’s France. The auction house has taken the matter to court in Paris, seeking the full payment, interest, and penalties, bringing the total sum to $28.7 million.
The case—scheduled for a hearing (Today) Monday—comes as an awkward development for Christie’s, which had touted the sale as a triumph in June. The auction house declared it a watershed moment, achieving “a world record for Chardin” and marking “the most expensive 18th-century painting and Old Master work ever sold in France.”
The painting, a luminous still-life depicting a cut melon alongside delicately rendered fruit, bottles, and tableware, carries significant provenance. Once part of the François Martial Marcille collection, it later belonged to Charlotte de Rothschild, wife of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, and remained within the prominent family for nearly 150 years. Before the sale, Cut Melon was showcased with much fanfare before the sale at Christie’s New York and Hong Kong showrooms in preparation for a highly disputed bidding war.
According to multiple sources, the painting’s underbidder was the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Others speculate the frenzied competition for Cut Melon was also driven by the sale of another Chardin painting that sold earlier this year: Basket of Wild Strawberries, from 1761 sold over $25 million at Artcurial in Paris, and broke the artist’s record when acquired by the Louvre.
But Mr. Antivari remains an elusive figure in the Old Masters world. Listed as a property investor and the son of Luca Bassani Antivari, who founded a luxury yacht company, he has little reported history in the art market. And according to recent reports, he is also embroiled in financial disputes. Last week, Bloomberg uncovered that Mr. Antivari owes millions in unpaid debts to his former business partner, Andrea Pignataro, an Italian fintech billionaire behind the founder of ION Group. Court filings by Pignataro’s attorneys said Antivari has “done a runner.”
For Christie’s part, Christie has refused to comment on the suit. However, according to legal documents from The Art Newspaper, the auction house has spent the last six months leaning on Mr. Antivari to pay up. According to the filing, the invoice for the Chardin painting was due a week after the close of the auction. The payment never came despite several assurances that it would.
Emails cited in the legal filings indicate that in July, Mr. Antivari’s lawyer, Michele Micheli, proposed placing the payment in escrow with a notary, but Christie’s received no follow-up. The auction house escalated its demands in August, insisting on immediate payment. With interest and penalties accruing by September, Christie’s tacked on an additional $195,000 in late fees, but still no payment was forthcoming.
Mr Micheli has declined to comment further on the case. The incident is a rare and high-profile misstep for Christie’s, raising questions about due diligence processes for high-value buyers in the art market. As one of the year’s big sales, Cut Melon was trumpeted not only for its price but also for testifying to Chardin’s growing importance in the eyes of collectors and institutions. That enthusiasm now faces the prospect of being overwhelmed by controversy.
For Christie’s, the next chapter will play out in the courtroom. Until then, the Cut Melon—a paragon of Chardin’s mastery—remains in limbo, a stark reminder that even the art world’s most celebrated victories can quickly unravel.