The Leinster House cabinets sold for £106,250 at Christie’s in London today. By Thomas Chippendale junior they were part of a remarkable furniture sale entitled Apter-Fredericks: 75 Years of Important English Furniture. Originally at Leinster House, then at Carton, they remained in the possession of the FitzGerald family over the centuries. The hammer price was £85,000 and the top estimate was £60,000.
A Regency Imperial extending dining table by Gillows of Lancaster commissioned for Westport House sold for £87,500. The sale of 140 lots brought in £3,408,750.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 3, 2015, December 3, 2020, January 2, 2021 and January 17, 2021)
The Apter-Fredericks auction online at Christie’s on January 19 has garnered enormous interest. There are a number of fine Irish pieces on sale. Shown here is a c1750 Irish George II bottle carrier. Used in the dining room it was on casters to allow drinks to be circulated among the guests. Apter-Fredericks have closed their London shop after 75 years and moved to an online model. This sale offers some truly exceptional pieces of fine antique furniture.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 2, 2021)
A c1750 Irish George II bottle carrier. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £8,750
This portrait by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1739-1808) of Robert King, 2nd Earl of Kingston and Caroline, nee Fitzgerald, Countess of Kingston is at Christie’s online right now. It is lot 81 of an online auction of Old Master and British Drawings including property from the Cornelia Bessie Estate at Christie’s, New York until January 28.
The Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. Robert, 2nd Earl of Kingston (1753-1799), was the M.P. for County Cork. He and his wife Caroline (1754-1823) hired the author and educational philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) as governess to their daughters at Mitchelstown Castle – she had a particular influence on Margaret, their eldest daughter, who became a well-known writer and political activist. Wollstonecraft, now regarded as a founding feminist philosopher, died 11 days after giving birth to her second daughter, the writer Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. The painting is estimated at $12,000-18,000.
A selection of exceptional works from the property of heirs of Franz Koenigs will come up in a series of sales at Christie’s in 2021. Categories will include Old Master Paintings and Old Master Drawings, Impressionist and Modern Art, Prints and Applied Arts. There are more than 2,800 works of art, ranging from the 15th to the early 20th Century. German by birth, Franz Koenigs (1881-1941) was a businessman and banker who settled in the Netherlands in 1922. Because of the political developments in his home country he obtained Dutch nationality in 1939. Among the highlights are a number of exceptional landscapes by the leading exponents from the Dutch Golden Age, led by Jacob van Ruisdael’s iconic Tower of Kostverloren on the Amstel (£500,000-800,000), and A wooded river landscape with a punt, Deventer in the distance by Meindert Hobbema (£500,000-800,000).
Meindert Hobbema – A wooded river landscape with a punt, Deventer in the distance
AS this strange, unsettling year draws to a close auction houses are looking back with relief and forward with optimism. Twelve months ago when 2020 dawned there was little inkling of the pandemic that has since engulfed the globe causing at least 1.8 million deaths and 82 million cases so far. In the art and antiques market online sales and private sales did much to alleviate the pressure caused by the lack of live sales nationally and internationally. Preliminary figures from Christie’s suggest that sales were down 25% to $4.4 billion. Demand remained strong and online sales (up 262% in 2020) and digital innovation are seen as major drivers of future growth. Private sales achieved a record total projected at $1.3 billion. No less than 36% of all buyers were new to Christie’s and 32% of new online only buyers were millennials (23-38 years old).
CEO Guillaume Cerutti commented: “In 2020, the global pandemic deeply impacted the art market, as it did for almost all industries. We are now looking forward to 2021 with optimism, for two major reasons: global demand for art and objects remains strong with an impressive influx of new clients, especially millennials; and Christie’s has introduced digital innovations that significantly strengthened our business model, providing clients with greater flexibility to transact with us through our live auction, online-only, and private sales platforms.”
In Ireland lockdowns caused four months of closure in 2020 and a new lockdown for the month of January 2021 has just been announced. At James Adam they reckon that business overall was about two thirds of what would normally have occurred in sectors like Irish Art and jewellery. The level of sales, 16 in categories like vintage wine and spirits, period and mid century furniture, jewellery, watches, art and decorative arts and the Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall, helped to make up some of the shortfall. James O’Halloran reports that sell through rates at Adams were higher in every category with some auctions recording 90% plus. There is a readiness to drive on from this in 2021.
The Kildare House giltwood chairs made 18,000 at James Adam
An unparalleled collection of fine and decorative art, jewels and books will come up at Christie’s New York live and online sales in January 2021. Works from the collection of Mr. & Mrs. John H. Gutfreund 834 Fifth Avenue encompass important English and French furniture, Russian works of art, silver, porcelain, Old Master paintings, Chinese ceramics and works of art, carpets, and textiles. These will come under the hammer in a two-day live auction on January 26-27. Three online sales from January 14–28/29 will be thematically organised into the Art of Entertainment; Books and bindings; and a collection of runway jewels from the House of Chanel.
John Gutfreund (1929-2016) was chairman and executive of the investment firm Salomon Brothers.
A suite of George III painted mahogany dining room furniture by Ince and Mayhew, 1775 ($80,000-120,000)
Consolidated sales so far this year at Sotheby’s stand at over $5 billion, with several auctions still to go. And Christie’s has reported an accelerated shift to online sales with a 41% increase in luxury lots sold in online auctions; 82% increase in the number of luxury online sales, and a 205% increase in the value of online luxury sales year on year.
Sotheby’s report that ease of access to a broader range of offerings brought a record influx of new buyers: this year Sotheby’s attracted the largest number of first-time buyers in 15 years with a 27% increase over 2019. Over 70% of auctions were held online in 2020 (up from 30% last year) and more than 40% of bidders and buyers in online auctions were new to Sotheby’s. The number of buyers aged under 40 doubled. Private sales so far in 2020 total over $1.5 billion, marking an all time record at any auction house.
Christie’s report that performance has been strong across all categories with an 87% overall sell-through for the portfolio; 136 records were set across jewels, watches, wine and handbags and 53 lots achieved over $1 million. Christie’s luxury market report further highlighted global participation with bidders from 90 countries and 40% new buyers.
The world auction record for a handbag was achieved at Christie’s in Hong Kong in November for this Matte White Himalaya Niloticus crocodile Kelly handbag by Hermes. It sold for US$437,330.
The Westport House table (above) and the Leinster House cabinets (below) are among the highly important pieces of furniture due to come under the hammer at Christie’s in London next January 19. The Apter-Fredericks, 75 Years of Important English Furniture sale will comprise 140 lots. There are pieces by the foremost craftsmen and designers of the 18th and 19th centuries including Chippendale, Ince & Mayhew, Linnell, Gomm, Lock, Cobb, Bullock and Gillows, as well as a selection of Chinese works of art. Internationally renowned for the superlative quality, condition and provenance of their pieces, Apter-Fredericks remains an industry byword for the very finest furniture and works of art, a reputation which has been built by three generations of the family over the last 75 years.
A statement by Harry and Guy Apter reads: ‘For 75 years Apter-Fredericks have enjoyed dealing in the finest furniture, welcoming clients, old and new, to our Chelsea showroom and placing wonderful pieces in their homes, as well as occasionally in museums. After 40 years in the business, a new world and a new way of working has developed and it has become clear to us both that we no longer want or need a showroom in central London to continue to thrive and do business successfully. We see a future where we hold less stock and are able to spend more time both in the pursuit of masterpieces and visiting our clients”.
The Westport House table is estimated at £40,000-50,000, the Leinster House cabinets at £40,000-60,000.
The musée du Louvre is auctioning 24 exceptional lots with Christie’s and support of the Hôtel Drouot. The unprecendent online Bid for the Louvre auction will be held on Christie’s online platform from December 1-15. The sale of contemporary artworks, unique luxury pieces once in a lifetime experiences is designed to support the museum through these times and raise funds for Studio, a new space dedicated to artistic and cultural education due to open in autumn 2021. Some of the offered lots are unique. Among them is the opportunity to attend the annual examination of the Mona Lisa outside her display case, or the chance to walk through the rooftops of the Palais du Louvre in the company of the artist JR. There are works of art by contemporary artists close to the museum such as Johan Creten, Candida Höfer, Eva Jospin, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Pierre Soulages and Xavier Veilhan. Houses such as Cartier, Christian Dior Couture, Le Meurice, Le Ritz Paris, Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, Parfums Christian Dior and Vacheron Constantin, are amongst the participants.
UPDATE: The sale brought in 2,365,000. The top lot was an artwork by Pierre Soulages which made 1.4 million.
An outstanding Louis XIV period cabinet by André-Charles Boulle was the top lot at Christie’s Exceptional sale in Paris with a video link with the auction room in London today. From the collection of Sadruddin Aga Khan it made €716,000. The sale realised a total of €2,842,250. Earlier today The Collector: Le Goût français auction made €1,947,625 and attracted bidders from 21 countries. A pair of Louis XV style Chinese biscuit parrots made €47,500 a top estimate of €20,000.
André-Charles Boulle Cabinet sur piètement d’époque Louis XIV made €716,000
