BONHAMS RAISES AUS $13.1M WITH SINGLE OWNER OWSTON COLLECTION SALE IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

OWSTON COLLECTION SALE BY BONHAMS RAISES AUS$13.1 MILLION

International fine art auction house Bonhams completed the sale of the Owston Collection (June 25 & 26) in Sydney, Australia, with a total of AUS$13.1 million. The two-day sale held in Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal attracted 1,400 people registered to bid. Australian bidders purchased over 80% of the collection, with overseas bidders buying the rest.

Highlights of the sale included:

-               A rare set of twelve George III collector's cabinets in which the great British naturalist Sir Joseph Banks stored his Australian geological specimens ($300,000)

-              Philip Reinagle and Sawrey Gilpin (British 1749–1833), Portrait of Colonel Thornton ($348,000)

-              Norman Alfred Williams Lindsay (Australian 1879-1969), ‘The Sisters’  ($288,000)

-              A fine Irish Regency mahogany dining table ($288,000)

-              An impressive Victorian silver Equestrian group of an Indian spearing a buffalo by Charles Frederick Hancocks ($144,000)

-              A rare Javan rhinoceros trophy head by renowned taxidermist Rowland Ward ($108,000)

Bonhams won the right to sell the collection in its entirety as a single-owner sale titled “The Owston Collection” following tough competition from local and international auctioneers. The decision to entrust the sale to Bonhams was made by Stephen Duncan and Chris Powell of KordaMentha in their capacity as Receivers and Managers for Owston Nominees No 2. Pty Ltd.

Bonhams Australia CEO James Hendy commented: “It was a real privilege to be entrusted with such a rare and important sale. We’re thrilled with the interest raised in the collection, and this extraordinary result. The auction of the Owston Collection has successfully launched Bonhams back into the Australian market.”

Bonhams Chairman, Robert Brooks, commented: “Australia is a market we strongly believe in and are committed to. Single owner collection sales on this scale are incredibly rare and the Owston Collection gave us a great opportunity to show just what we can do.

Stephen Duncan, Partner of KordaMentha, said, “It has been a long road to get to this point, and we’re thrilled with the result. Bonhams has done an exceptional and extremely professional job, sometimes under difficult circumstances. Their conduct of the sale has been exemplary. The marketing of the collection was outstanding and the result is a testament to that.”

Bonhams have the pleasure of being instructed by KordaMentha to sell the second part of the Owston Collection in October 2010.

BONHAMS

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Dubai and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com