Advantageous Auctions: Sotheby's -- The Collection of Patricia Kluge, Charlottesville, VA - 8 & 9 June 2010
Sotheby’s two-day auction of The Collection of Patricia Kluge concluded bringing $15,158,227 and exceeding pre-sale expectations (est. $9/14 million). The historic sale was the first on-site house sale conducted by Sotheby’s in North America in over 20 years, and more than 2,000 people attended the week-long public exhibition at Albemarle House, Mrs. Kluge’s 45-room English country manor. Collectors, interior designers, and dealers from all over the globe participated in the two-day auction, which comprised the contents of the house, including English furniture and decorations, Chinese paintings and works of art, Books, Sporting Guns, Jewels, Lighting and Decorative Objects, and Mrs. Kluge’s collection of designer gowns. The sale was 88.5% sold by lot with 61.5% of the sold lots achieving prices above their high estimates. The $15.2 million achieved over the past two days brings Sotheby’s overall total for sales of property from Patricia Kluge’s collection – including sixteen magnificent jewels sold on 20 April 2010 – to $20.2 million (est. $12/18 million).
The top selling lot of the on-site auction was a Magnificent Imperial Chinese Table Clock, Guangzhou Workshops, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, which sold for a remarkable $3,778,500, more than three times the high estimate of $1 million and the third highest price achieved for a clock of its type (lot 345). Competition was fierce for the Imperial treasure, with five different clients battling over the telephones. Sotheby’s auctioneer Lisa Hubbard opened the bidding at $350,000 and four clients quickly entered the fray. A new bidder jumped into the competition with a bid of $1.2 million, and it was that client who, more than 6 minutes later, cast the winning bid. Extended applause erupted from the packed salesroom when the hammer was finally brought down. The purchaser was a Chinese Private Collector.
