116th Auction

**116th Auction on September 20 and 21, 2013 at Historia Auction House Berlin**

Nearly 2800 items were offered at this year’s September auction. Among them was a collection of Empire objects, including a centerpiece in the shape of a ship made of white biscuit porcelain (sold for €750) and a round lidded box made of clear glass with rich bronze mounts featuring a portrait medallion of Napoleon on the lid (sold for €400).

Johann Wilhelm Barth, born in Magdeburg, created numerous landscape and architectural paintings. These were mostly in royal possession and were rarely accessible to the public. Schloss Sanssouci alone houses 22 of his works. The painting offered in this auction was a rare, large oil painting by Barth depicting a view of Schloss Babertsberg near Potsdam, now Babelsberg in Potsdam, with a view over the Havel River to the castle in the eponymous park, with the steam engine house in the foreground.

In the tranquil waters, a lone fisherman docks his boat in the atmospheric evening light. This large-format work, dated ‘March 1848,’ comes directly from the estate of the Prince of Prussia and bears the inventory label of Schloss Hohenzollern on the back. In an exciting bidding war, the painting, with a limit of €30,000, was sold for €90,000.

The painting department featured other high-quality works by artists such as Claude Corneille de Lyon and Laslett John Pott, all of which achieved good results. Vladimir Alexandrovich Plotnikov's "Young Woman in the Birch Grove, " which captures the atmospheric mood of the pensive young woman, was acquired by a Russian customer for €28,000 (limit €3,500).

The silver department offered a large selection of table and utility silver. Many Danish and Scandinavian pieces were well sold, such as a five-piece chocolate set by C.F. Heise, Denmark, which changed hands for €1,700.

Additionally, for the first time, the 116th auction featured its own Asian art department, offering an extensive potpourri of about 150 Asian lots that were well received. Netsukes, snuff bottles, vases, bowls, Fo dogs, and Buddha figures found their buyers. A bronze Buddha from the 16th/17th century was purchased by a Chinese customer for €13,000 (limit €5,000), and a figure "Japanese Woman with Umbrella" was sold for €2,200 (limit €180).

As part of the 116th auction, selected lots were auctioned on the second auction day for the benefit of the "Helping Wins" initiative. Historia Auction House actively supports this campaign: 100% of the proceeds go to the special campaign of the Service Ring Berlin e.V. (SRB).

The nationwide special campaign of the SRB aims to promote public social engagement. At the same time, the SRB particularly supports initiatives and projects for disabled and elderly people, such as those realized within a "Health Village" in Brandenburg. To finance this, the SRB has established an "Art Trade to Promote Social Projects": donated art or collector's items, antiques, or curiosities are professionally auctioned through "Historia Auction House, " making special social services possible. Therefore, it is particularly gratifying that almost all items in this charity auction could be sold. For example, a Russian saber, limited at €200, was sold for €500. Nearly €2,000 were raised from the auction bids. Patron Vera Schneidenbach also expressed her delight at the result: "Great that we were so successful! Surely this will not be the last charity auction."