Russian Art makes over 20 million at Sothebys London
Published November 29th, 2006
Sotheby’s raised 20.2 million pounds ($39.3 million) from a sale of Russian art in London yesterday, as buyers snapped up paintings, porcelain and Faberge works including an imperial snuffbox.
The proceeds fell in the middle of Sotheby’s presale estimate of between 16.5 million pounds and 25 million pounds. About 68 percent of 438 lots were sold, with imperial vases, Faberge pieces and Russian emigre paintings proving the most popular items.
“Buyers are clearly looking for pieces of superior quality and rarity with good provenance and are prepared to bid extremely competitively to acquire such works,” said Jo Vickery, head of Russian art at Sotheby’s. More than half the lots sold topped their presale estimates, Vickery said.
Sotheby’s leads the Russian art market, reporting total sales in 2005 of $102 million, more than double its 2004 figure. Its total for 2006 so far is $149 million.
Christie’s International reported global Russian sales in 2005 of $40.7 million, up 77 percent from 2004.
