“Madonna of the Magnificat” by a follower of Sandro Botticelli was the highest-selling lot of the event, going to a German buyer bidding on the phone for $75,029.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY — Four days of sales, 2,264 lots of jewelry, watches, works of art, Nineteenth Century and Old Master paintings and sculptures. Those were some of the initial statistics from Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen’s auctions March 8-11.
Jewelry & Watches
More than 350 lots of jewelry and watches were offered on March 8, led at $40,726 by a diamond pendant with 3.01-carat diamond; it sold to a German buyer bidding in the room.
Works of Art
The largest session of the four-day event was on March 9, when more than 850 lots of glass, ceramics, silver, furniture, antiquities and rugs were offered. At the top of the sale, and earning $32,956 from a German buyer bidding on the phone, was a three-piece Classical seating group. The sofa and two armchairs were visually distinct, with parcel gilt and ebonized frames, arched backs, lion’s head arms; the group was attributed to Vienna, Austria, circa 1780-1800 and came from a private Rhenish collection.
Earning $12,359, more than seven times its high estimate, was an 83-piece Royal Copenhagen “ribbed” service of serving pieces, Twentieth Century and earlier, that featured a few place settings. A buyer from Germany, bidding online, prevailed over competition.
Other highlights of the sale included a baroque Northern European box with mother-of-pearl and pewter inlays for $10,987, and, for $10,300, a German or French reliquary in the form of a Gothic cathedral, with a Sixteenth Century base and a Nineteenth Century structure.
This 3.01-carat diamond was the blingiest bling in the March 8 jewelry and watch sale. It sold to a buyer in the room for $40,726.
Nineteenth Century Paintings
A grisaille oil on canvas painting by Ferdinand Keller (German, 1842-1922) headed the firm’s 550-lot Nineteenth Century paintings sale on March 10 when it earned $54,933, more than five times its high estimate. Painted in 1884, the 35½-by-26¾-inch painting was titled “The Guardians of the Temple” and included a private South German collection and two publications in its provenance. It was acquired from a French buyer bidding on the phone.
A buyer in England, also bidding over the phone, paid $17,850 and double the high estimate for “Any Room for Me?” an oil on canvas picture by Arthur John Elsley (British, 1860-1952), which was reprinted in Weldon’s Ladies Journal, Christmas (1897).
Sculptures & Old Master Paintings
The house closed out the four-day event with more than 500 lots of Old Master paintings and sculptures on March 11. Selling for $75,029 and the top price overall was a monumental Nineteenth Century round composition of the “Madonna the Magnificent” by a follower of Sandro Botticelli. Discovered in a private collection in South Germany, the relined composition in a 67-inch diameter hand-carved ornamental frame, will be staying in Germany.
Rounding out the highlights of the event was an oil on canvas image of the Penitent Mary Magdalene, attributed to the workshop of Titian (1488-1576), which a buyer in Italy took home for $41,203.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house and have been converted from Euros to US dollars.
Hargesheimer will sell Art & Icons from the Orthodox World on April 14-15. For information, www.kunstauktionen-duesseldorf.de/.
