Paris auctioneers put erotica under the hammer

PARIS, Dec 15 (Reuters) Lustful sultans, gloating satyrs and yearning maidservants went under the hammer today as Christie's auctioned a major collection of erotica ranging from Sade to Picasso and 1970s soft-porn heroine Emmanuelle.

The Paris sale of the collection of Gerard Nordmann, a Swiss collector and bibliophile, aroused interest across Europe and will complete the break-up of a library Nordmann had spent most of his life acquiring.

Christie's had refused to display the catalogue online and it appeared to attract more wealthy book collectors than thrill seekers.

The collection included a vast array of depictions of the sexual act, from crude cartoons to Surrealist fantasies and delicate prints by artists such as Spaniard Pablo Picasso and Japanese master Utamaro.

The lurid nature of the material contrasted with the muted atmosphere of the auction room, where book dealers ticked off items methodically as auctioneers made their way through the sale.

As well as pictures, it included rare editions of works by authors such as the Marquis de Sade, the 18th century libertine whose multivolume chronicles of degradation and shame are considered among the classics of the genre.

His ''La nouvelle Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu'' (''The new Justine or the misfortunes of virtue'') was one of the most highly valued works in the sale, expected to fetch up to 80,000 euros (105,000 dollar).

Much of the collection was from the 18th and 19th century, including works or sketches by some of France's greatest writers, from novelist Honore de Balzac to poets Paul Verlaine and Guillaume Apollinaire.

Relatively little was more recent, although the collection included a limited edition with 12 lithographs of ''Emmanuelle'', a novel ascribed to Emmanuelle Arsan, described in the catalogue as a ''grand classique'' of 20th century erotic literature.

Other pieces were less classic, including scurrilous 18th century squibs on the sex life of French Queen Marie Antoinette or ''Slaves of the Black Castle'', a work from the 1920s dealing with ''lovers of flagellation and various punishments''.

Christie's was at pains to keep the tone up however, introducing the auction on a reflective note.

''Paradoxically, the erotic question touches the whole being,'' the catalogue said. ''Contrary to what some refined natures may think, erotic books are the beating heart of literature.'' REUTERS PDS PM0034