119th Auction - Graphics

The recent auction offered a colorful mix of antiques, artworks, and collector's items, which were eagerly received by the customers, as evidenced by the good sales rate. For example, almost no jewelry pieces remained unsold.

A large fossilized specimen of an Ichthyosaurus, 'Stenopterygius quadriscissus', attracted international interest. The well-preserved skeleton, displayed on a slate plate, was likely found in Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg. The 49 x 140 cm fossil was unearthed during highway construction around 1930. It was sold for €28,000 to a Russian collector.

However, not only old items but also modern ones found their admirers. Fred Thieler's large informal composition 'Durchlichtetes Grün', a mixed media work with paper collage and canvas, was increased from its starting price of €8,000 to €10,000. Thieler, a significant German painter of the Informel movement and co-founder of the ZEN 49 group, served as Vice President of the Academy of Arts in the 1980s. All of Thieler's works offered in the auction, which came directly from the artist's estate, saw significant increases in their final bids.

Numerous bidding battles marked the course of the two auction days. Carl Böker's 'Gebet vor dem Marterl', depicting three kneeling children in front of a wayside cross in a sunlit Alpine landscape, started with a limit of €9,500 and was driven up to €18,000 through such a bidding war.

A large decorative Boullé clock on a console from the 19th century impressed with its lavish Boullé technique made from tortoiseshell, enriched with brass inlays and partially fully plastic brass applications in animal and figurative representations. The clock had a starting price of €10,000 and was sold for that amount.

From the Allach manufactory came the 32 cm tall Dragoon Officer in white porcelain, made between 1936-1945, proudly sitting on a white horse with a tricorne hat, plume, and drawn sword. This decorative piece had a starting price of €500 and was ultimately auctioned for €2,400.