COMMANDING A FORTUNE; ROEDIG ACHIEVES RECORD-BREAKING PRICE AT BONHAMS OLD MASTERS SALE
Today’s sale of Old Masters at Bonhams New Bond Street proved the enduring popularity of these paintings raising a total of £2,840,960 with 90% of lots sold by value. The results included a record price for a Roedig painting, with Tulips, roses and other flowers in a classical urn overturned by a cat chasing a mouse with a statue of Flora beyond; and Peaches, grapes, pumpkins, a lemon, a pomegranate and other fruit and flowers in a wicker basket on a marble plinth, with a classical urn beyond – sold as a pair – achieving £1,196,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £700,000-900,000.
Elsewhere, other paintings proved popular with buyers and many lots exceeded their pre-sale estimates due to the fierce competition both within the saleroom and internationally. Theobald Michau’s A winter landscape more than doubled the estimate of £50,000-80,000 to sell for £240,000, whilst François Boucher’s Les caresses dangereuses also performed well reaching £228,000 against an estimate of £80,000-120,000.
Other highlights included an early 17th century painting by the Anglo Dutch School – a Portrait of two children, full-length, both in red costume which sold for £132,000 (estimate £40,000-60,000), and a brace of paintings by Jan Wildens whose An elegant company departing for the hunt before an open landscape and A river landscape achieving £126,000 (estimate £50,000-70,000).
Also attracting tremendous interest was An elderly bearded man in prayer by Jacques de Rousseaux reaching four times the estimate to sell for £78,000 (estimate £10,000-15,000), whilst the biblical scene Classical ruins before an Italianate lake landscape, with Christ handing Saint Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and An architectural capriccio both by Giovanni Ghisolfisold for £74,000 (estimate £30,000-50,000).
Earlier paintings had a similarly enduring appeal to buyers – Cornelius van der Voort’s Portrait of Lady achieved £50,400 (estimate £15,000-20,000) with The interior of a picture gallery from the Studio of David Teniers the Younger reaching £40,800 (estimate £7,000-10,000). Also performing outstandingly well and way beyond expectation was A skull, lizard, coins and an hourglass in a painted stone niche by the German School (dated circa 1600) which was hotly contested to eventually sell for £50,400 – over ten times the pre-sale estimate of £2,000-3,000.
Andrew McKenzie, Director of Old Masters at Bonhams comments: ‘We are delighted for our clients. We had anticipated considerable interest before the sale, but a number of particularly remarkable results are clear testament to the continuing strength of the Old Masters market.’
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