Courtesy of Sotheby's
Published: July 7, 2010
http://www.blouinartinfo.com/auctions/article/35132-sothebys-totals-21-million-in-21-lot-sale-of-treasures
Last night on New Bond Street, Sotheby’s presented 21 pieces of extraordinary European decorative artworks in a special auction devoted to what the house dubbed "Treasures Aristocratic Heirlooms." Seventeen lots beat their estimates, fetching a total of $21,177,998.
Topping the sale was the Great Silver Wine Cistern of Thomas Wentworth, which weighs 168 pounds and measures about three feet across, sold to an Asian buyer for $3,802,970, setting the record price for a piece of English silver at auction. The second-highest lot of the evening was a pair of Imperial Porcelain Palace Vases, featuring reproductions of paintings by the Dutch Old Master Jan Van Loo, which realized $2,952,890.
The pieces on offer in the sale belonged at one point to such princely characters as Queen Marie Antoinette, the Duke of Devonshire,the Rothschild family, the imperial family of Russia, the Dukeof Urbino, and the Medici family.
Previously featured in the Medici Family Collection, a 16th century Italian ivory inlaid rosewood table fetched $1,244,746. Attributed to Maestro Giorgio Tedesco and Giulio Lupi, the table, was adorned with the arms of the della Rovere family and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Marie Antoinettes three ivory painted and parcel-gilt Royal Pliants were sold for $821,618, while the amber casket bearing the arms of Prince William IV of orange and Anne, achieved $997,706.
The first aristocratically themed auction ever at Sotheby's, the sale generated fierce competitions among private and institutional collectors from across the world. “Today’s very successful results represent a fantastic achievement in the field of decorative arts,” remarked Mario Tavella, Sotheby’s Europe deputy chairman, said in a statement.