LONDON, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, the
enduring appeal of masterworks from the past was once again
reaffirmed, with Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) London
auctions of Old Master Paintings, sculpture, works of art,
furniture, and medieval and Renaissance books bringing a combined
total of $44.8 million (£33.3
million), well within pre-sale expectations.
Over the course of five days (1-6 December), 6,700 people
visited Sotheby's London
exhibition and participants in the sales spanned four continents,
with Asian, Russian and Latin American bidding, and an increase in
Middle Eastern participation.
Old Masters
The two-day sale of Old Masters sales
totaled $37,831,567 (£28,229,575)
(estimate. £22.4-32.5 million), bringing Sotheby's 2017 London
total in this category to £94,397,851 ($123,255,630), a significant increase on last
year's figures.
The Old Master Evening Sale totaled $33,578,117 (£25,048,950) (estimate. £18.5-26.9
million).
82% of lots sold
Half of the lots sold above the high
estimates
6 auction records established (with four artists
new to auction)
Over half of the lots offered had not appeared on
the market for over 40 years:
10% had been in the same collection for over 150 years
Top lot: Joseph
Wright of Derby's An Academy by Lamplight from
1769 sold for $9,736,990 (£7,263,700)
(estimate. £2.5-3.5 million) – an auction record for the
artist
A detailed post-sale release is available here.
Other Highlights from the Week:
A Venetian Legacy – An Italian Private Collection
Passionately assembled by a discreet private collector, this
collection of fine Italian furniture, Old Master paintings and
sculpture realised £2,517,162 ($3,379,038), above the high estimate (est.
£1.5 – 2.3 million), with 92% of the lots sold. Assembled as
a personal homage to Venice, the
collection was led by a beautiful 16th-century
Florentine terracotta relief by Benedetto and Santi Buglioni, depicting the
Adoration of the Christ Child, which soared to £218,750
($293,650), five times the pre-sale
estimate (est. £40,000-60,000).
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Continental and Russian
Books
The sale also surpassed the pre-sale expectations and totalled
£1,325,942 ($1,779,945) (est.
£1.1 – 1.5 million). The top lot was a magnificent Book of Hours
of the Russian Princess Isabel
Gagarine, in Latin and French [France (Paris), c.1440-50] which fetched
£225,000 ($302,040), well above the
estimate of £60,000-80,000.
Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art
Comprising a diverse selection of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque
and Neoclassical works, Sotheby's sale of Old Master Sculpture
& Works of Art on 5 December brought a total of £1,369,663
($1,838,636). The auction was led
by a magnificent 16th-century Nautilus, a rare survival of
Netherlandish shell work carved and engraved by the most prominent
master of this craft, Cornelis Bellekin, which sold for
£175,000 ($234,920).
Sotheby's next exhibitions and auctions of Old Master Paintings,
Drawings and Sculpture will take place in New York from January
26 through February 2, 2018.
About Sotheby's
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors
with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the
first international auction house when it expanded from
London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in
Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first
international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents
auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong
Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors
to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in
the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of
Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service
art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services
of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's
presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories,
including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art
Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and
Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40
countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (BID).
Browse sale catalogues, view original content,
stream live auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through
Sotheby's apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon
Fire
New York
| +1 212 606 7176 | Lauren Gioia |
Lauren.Gioia@Sothebys.com |
London |
+44 207 293 6000 | Mitzi Mina |
Mitzi.Mina@Sothebys.com
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SOURCE Sotheby's