Auction Sales Still Strong for High End

1. Bonhams achieves new auction highs for Chinese art sales in Hong Kong
HONG KONG.- At a time of serious economic instability around the world, the art market is often vulnerable to the wider financial pressures. Bonhams’ auctions of Chinese art in Hong Kong sent a strong message that the market for top-quality Chinese objects and paintings remains stable, and fine-quality objects presented with attractive estimates can still generate a global enthusiasm from buyers. Bonhams’ four auctions today, variously comprising snuff bottles, ceramics, jades, works of art and paintings, achieved sold percentages by value respectively of 100%, 96%, 89% and 78%, with exceptional prices paid by buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and America for the best objects in the four auctions. Overall, Bonhams’ Autumn Auctions in Hong Kong achieved a new record high sold total for the company of over HK$240 million, representing an increase of nearly 15% over the record sale in ... Artdaily.org

2. DALLAS, TEXAS Heritage Auction house  auctions Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers uniform for $358,500 in USThe Detroit Tigers uniform worn by Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb during the 1922 season sold for $358,500 on November 11 in HA.com's (Heritage Auctions) Vintage Sports Collectibles Signature® Auction, notching the fourth six-figure price commanded by the category for a game worn jersey in 2011. A rare "Shoeless Joe" Jackson signed baseball topped all autograph results at a price of $77,675, bringing the auction total to just more than $5.3 million. All of HA.com's prices include 19.5% Buyer's Premium. The $358,000 bid for Cobb uniform earned ownership of one of just two Detroit Tigers uniforms worn by Ty Cobb known to survive to present. "This is the type of piece that top collectors dream about, and the type made me want to get into this business in the first place," said Ivy.

3. GENEVA.- Sotheby’s Geneva this evening set a world auction record for yellow diamond when it sold the Sun‐Drop Diamond for CHF 11,282,500 ($12,361,558). Weighing 110.03 carats, this exceptional stone ranks as the largest known pear‐shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world. Tonight’s sale concluded with a total of CHF 64,048,000 ($70,173,551), against the pre‐sale estimate of CHF 65‐93 million ($72‐102 million). Throughout the day the sale room was packed and there was very active bidding which contributed to an extremely high sell‐through rate of 82% by lot and one of Sotheby’s highest totals ever for a sale of Jewellery.
Commenting on the results of tonight’s sale, David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Department in Europe and the Middle East and Co‐Chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, said: “We are thrilled with the price achieved by this spectacular daffodil yellow diamond; it is one of the most impressive I have had the pleasure of selling. The Sun‐Drop Diamond has immense presence and is truly stunning. The Sun‐Drop Diamond is only the fourth diamond over 100 carats in size ever to be sold at auction and all of them have been sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva. We are absolutely delighted that Cora International trusted Sotheby’s to present this stone to the international market. Today’s strong sell‐through rates are a reflection of the continued strength and resilience of the international Jewellery market”.

4. NEW YORK, NY.- Tonight at Sotheby’s New York, the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale achieved a strong $199,804,500, well within the overall pre-sale estimate of $167.6/229.9 million and eclipsing the total for the same sale in May 2011. The auction was 81.4% sold by lot, and saw a total of 39 works sell for over $1 million. Gustav Klimt’s Litzlberg am Attersee (Litzlberg on the Attersee) was the top lot of the sale, achieving $40,402,500 after a prolonged bidding battle (est. in excess of $25 million*), and auction records were set for Gustave Caillebotte, Tamara de Lempicka and Maxime Maufra.´”I have rarely felt a room as energetic as tonight” said Tobias Meyer, auctioneer of the evening sale. “The art market was alive and well at Sotheby’s tonight” said Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department in New York. “We put the sale together with discipline ... More artdaily.org

5. NEW YORK, N.Y.- Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale achieved $140,773,500 (£88,687,305/ €102,764,655), with three works of art selling above the $10 million mark. Despite spots of selective bidding throughout the sale, Surrealist works and modern sculpture performed well overall, and buyers competed aggressively for rare works and those offered fresh to the market from private and museum collections. Christie’s offered the three top private collections this season, including the Property From the Collection of Lew and Edie Wasserman, which totaled $8.5 million; The Collection of John W. Kluge, sold to benefit Columbia University, which achieved $4.9 million; and A Distinguished West Coast Collection, which realized $10.5 million. The top lot of the sale was Max Ernst’s The Stolen Mirror, a Surrealist tour-de-force ... More artdaily.org