For Immediate Release
28 July 2010
Contact: Leonie Ashfield +44 (0) 20 7752 3121 lashfield@christies.com
Steiff – An Important Private Collection
At Christie’s South Kensington On 13 October 2010, at 10am
Christie’s announces the sale of a Private Collection of over 1,300 Steiff teddy bears and soft toys, to take place at the South Kensington saleroom in London on 13 October 2010. This one-off spectacular will welcome international teddy bear collectors from far and wide, offering the unique opportunity to purchase fine Steiff toys from the largest and best quality collection still to remain in private hands in the world. The collection documents an academic history of Steiff, with items on offer dating from as early as 1890, right up to the 1970s. Estimates for individual lots range from £300-500 for thirteen small 1950s Steiff Dogs, up to £50,000-80,000 for a unique Steiff Harlequin Teddy Bear with red and blue mohair, circa 1925 illustrated centre right.
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High resolution images, interviews and further information available upon request
Notes to Editors
Auction: The auction will take place on 13 October 2010 at 10am.
Public Viewing: The collection will be on public exhibition at Christie’s South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3LD on 9-12 October 2010.
Catalogue: The catalogue for the sale will be published early September 2010, and available to view online at www.christies.com/calendar .
About Christie’s South Kensington
Christie’s South Kensington caters for every collector with estimates from £300 – from the seasoned connoisseur to those discovering the pleasure of buying at auction for the first time. Specialised sales are broken down into individual departments. Sales are usually held twice a year dependent on category, offering rare and important works of art, decorative objects and collectibles ranging from Old Master and 19th Century Art to Popular Culture Memorabilia. Interiors sales and single owner collections are held more regularly and encapsulate a wide-range of categories in one sale. With items usually offered at a lower price point these sales often appeal to those buying items for the home. Every item featured in a Christie’s sale is valued and fully researched by our experienced experts who possess extensive knowledge of the market and their specialist areas. Trade and private buyers alike are drawn to the welcoming and brightly lit saleroom in South Kensington by the treasures on offer throughout the sales calendar year.
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Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).
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