129th Auction

From December 1st to 3rd, the auction house Historia held its traditional Christmas auction. As usual, the house attracted more than 2,500 bidders to the hall, on the phones, and in front of their home screens with attractively low starting prices.

Out of nearly 3,000 items, more than 400 pieces of jewelry were particularly popular at the beginning, as reflected in the bids and the sales rates. For example, the hammer fell at €3,600 for lot 124, a diamond ring. The ruby necklace, lot 128, was sold for €15,000, while a diamond of more than 2.3 carats fetched a fair price of €7,000.

The bidding battle over two small landscape studies by Girolamo Nerli, probably made in Australia or New Zealand, was eventually won by a floor bidder who secured them with a bid of €10,400, outbidding a phone bidder. The extensive porcelain offerings were solid as usual, with some spikes upwards for rare figures or opulent services for the Christmas table. For instance, a 43-piece Meissen service with the red court dragon fetched €3,300, while an additional lot to complement it brought in another €2,000.

The biggest surprise was certainly a Japanese scroll painting featuring a blooming cherry blossom branch, which, with an estimate of €450, went to an East Asian bidder for €20,000. On the afternoon of the last auction day, the furniture section brought another surprise as, despite a notoriously weak furniture market, more than 80% of the lots were sold. Noteworthy was a four-piece salon set in Empire style, which attracted numerous bidders and eventually sold for €7,400.

With the 129th auction, another successful year for the Berlin house came to an end. After 10 years, they will start 2016 with a jubilee auction.