Classic Week at Christie’s London totalled £42,227,750
Celebrating art from antiquity to the 20th century, Classic Week at Christie’s London totalled £42,227,750 across five live auctions and five online-only auctions this November and December.
The livestreamed Old Masters Evening Sale on 15 December sold 97% by value and 86% by lot, one of the strongest results for a sale of its kind. Competitive bidding from 20 countries saw six new artist auction records set, with Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s A banquet still life achieving the highest price (in GBP) for any still-life painting in the Old Master category.
Top prices were also achieved by an exquisite Frans van Mieris on copper and Vanvitelli’s panoramic view of Venice, both of which more than doubled their low estimates. Domenicho Ghirlandaio’s Salvator Mundi instigated a bidding war, resulting in the work achieving more than six times the low estimate.
The live Antiquities sale on 16 December was 84% sold by value, headlined by a Roman marble figure of Dionysus — last seen in Christie’s saleroom 100 years ago — which realised £862,500.
Carefully assembled private collections continue to resonate with buyers: The Joe Setton Collection: from Pre-Raphaelites to Last Romantics and Italian Drawings From The Robert Landolt Collection were 86% and 89% sold by value respectively.
We are now inviting consignments to our 2021 auctions.