136th Auction - Asian

The 136th auction of the auction house Historia took place from August 23 to 26, 2017, for the first time in the halls of Flanerie Mühlenbeck, just outside the gates of Berlin. The approximately 2,000 square meter hall offers ample space for monumental paintings and entire Art Nouveau rooms. A highly motivated, lively, and knowledgeable auctioneer guided the more than 2,200 bidders in the room and at their home screens through the four-day auction. The auction was broadcast worldwide through four different online platforms.

Of the nearly 3,600 lots offered, about 65% were sold. A six-piece bedroom ensemble in the Rococo style was in high demand, starting with a reserve price of €11,000 and eventually selling for €18,000 (Lot 5208). Two other rooms (Lots 5202 and 5215) were sold at their estimated values for €9,900 and €4,500, respectively.

In addition to the furniture, there were also numerous successful sales among the paintings. For example, an Oswald Achenbach (Lot 1322) went to a northern German dealer for €8,200. The monumental depiction of a Cossack regiment by a Russian military painter (Lot 1490) saw its price rise from €2,200 to €6,000, while an Ascan Lutteroth (Lot 1371), with a reserve of €1,500, was not sold until the price reached €5,500. Lot 1287, a seascape by the Russian painter Konstantin Alexandrovitch Westchiloff, was hammered down at €5,000.

There were some surprising increases, including for two Meissen plates with floral soft-paste painting on a cobalt blue background (Lot 2044), which started at €120. A total of 22 bidders drove the final price up to €4,500. Ten bidders vied for the carpet with Lot number 6072, which started at €100 and finally sold for €5,700. The next auction of the house will take place again in the well-known Berlin rooms on Kalckreuthstraße in early November 2017. Selected items can still be submitted until the end of September.