UNSEEN FOR 100 YEARS: GEORGIOS JAKOBIDES’ PEEK-A-BOO SELLS FOR £180,000 AT BONHAMS
A Munich School masterpiece by the Greek painter, Georgios Jakobides (1852-1932), which had been hidden from the public eye for over a century, and was recently discovered in a private collection in Athens, sold for £180,000 at Bonhams, New Bond Street, as part of The Greek Sale yesterday (23 November 2010).
Entitled Peek-a-boo and unexpectedly discovered on a normal house valuation, the painting had attracted a pre-sale estimate of £150,000 – 200,000.
It was the top lot in a sale that realised £1,800,000 in total with 70% sold by value, showing that the Greek Art market continues to thrive despite the economic climate at home.
Another sale highlight was Nikolaos Lytras’ (1883-1927) The milk, which sold for £144,000, having been estimated at £120,000 – 150,000. Considered to be one of his most important works, it was selected to represent Lytras’ work in an exhibition organised by the Greek Ministry of Culture in 1993 at the National Gallery in Athens. The painting came to Bonhams from a private collection.
Top prices were also paid for Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika’s Leaves over dry torrent (estimate £130,000 – 180,000), which sold for £156,000; Theofilos Hadjimichael’s The giant heroes Stamatis Nikitaras, Odysseas Androutsos and Ioannis Gouras (estimate £50,000 – 80,000), which fetched £108,000; and two pictures by Yannis Gaïtis, Les cyclistes and Untitled, which made £60,000 and £54,000 respectively.
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, Australia and Dubai. 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
