The lots include French and Continental furniture, faience and paintings.

About 30 of his pieces are also included in the Phillips sale of French and Continental furniture on June 11.

"It's a very eclectic collection, all good quality," said Alistair Clarke, a specialist in French and Continental furniture at Sotheby's.

Egyptian Revival pieces are some of the standouts in the Christie's sale of French and Continental furniture on Sept. 24 in New York.

"A couple of years ago, that would have been unimaginable," says Jean-Marie Van Isacker, assistant vice president, French and Continental furniture, at Christie's in New York.

Nearly 100 dealers will show 18th- and 19th-century American, English, French, Oriental and Continental furniture and accessories.

But since Mr. Millerand, considered one of world's leading experts in French and Continental furniture, was already working there, it made sense to keep a schedule of furniture sales.

Thierry Millerand, the French-born worldwide director of French and Continental furniture at Phillips, does not claim the cistern is from Versailles.

"The taste for animals keeps coming in and out of vogue," says Peter Krueger, a vice president in charge of French and Continental furniture at Christie's.

"He bought Charles X furniture well before anyone in this country had ever seen it," says Peter Krueger, head of French and Continental furniture at Christie's.