MacDougall’s total presale estimate was 10 million pounds to 14 million pounds. All 454 lots, most of which came from American and European collections, were 19th- and 20th-century paintings, with a large selection of Soviet-era non-conformism. MacDougall’s said 90 percent of the buyers were born in the former Soviet Union, and half are Moscow-based.
“We’ve doubled [...]

A spectacular full-length portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769-1830), the most successful portrait painter of his time, is set to make up to £500,000 in Bonhams’ Old Master Paintings sale in New Bond Street, London Lawrence was one of the most talented and respected artists of the Regency era despite never having received any [...]

The painting, “Extra Good Boys and Girls,” is the original of a Saturday Evening Post cover from 1939.
It shows Santa going over his book of good boys and girls and planning his Christmas Eve route. A world map is in the background.
Both the seller and the buyer were anonymous. The buyer was an American who [...]

Cardamom auctions across India will go the electronic way from the second week of December.
The first step towards this goal was taken by the government trade promotion body, Spices Board, three months ago when it introduced a pilot electronic auction project for cardamom in Bodinaykanur in Tamil Nadu. The board will set up the system [...]

A Faberge egg went under the hammer for $18.5 million on Wednesday, as London auction houses smashed all previous records during a week of Russian art sales.
Christie’s International, the world’s largest auction house, sold the Faberge egg, previously owned by the Roth schild family, making it the most expensive Faberge piece ever sold.
“It’s our most [...]

Christie’s International in London announced sales of $81 million on Thursday, a world record for an auction of Russian art.
The highlight so far of the week-long sales is a translucent pink Faberge egg, previously owned by the Rothschild family. The egg went under the hammer for $18.5 million on Wednesday.
The translucent pink egg with [...]

A “spooky” image of a priest executed for treason over the Gunpowder Plot has appeared on a 17th century book thought to be bound in his skin, it is claimed.
Auctioneers said the face of Father Henry Garnet could be seen peering from the cover of the “rare and macabre” book about the Jesuit priest’s death.
The [...]

Chilcotts, the fine art and antiques auctioneers and valuerst, is to open a second saleroom in Honiton, it was announced on Monday.
Chilcotts will run the Silver Street saleroom in conjunction with Stags, a leading West Country firm of estate agents, valuers and estate managers.
“Since we established Chilcotts just over three years ago, it became obvious [...]

A one-of-a-kind piece of baseballhistory could set a new standard for values of the sport’s most historicdocuments on Dec. 8, when the rookie-year baseball contract of Hall of FamerChristy Mathewson is sold by Memory Lane Inc., of Tustin, Calif. The companyis considered one of the premier sports collectible auctions houses in thecountry.

Mathewson is considered one [...]

African Romance, South Africa’s first wholly black-owned South African diamond manufacturer, auctioned a 3 carat African Romance diamond at the Soccerex Gala Dinner and Merit Awards in Johannesburg on Tuesday, with 15% of the proceeds going to the Gauteng Sports Trust.
The precious gem was snapped up by Andrew Eborn, CEO of London based Octopus TV [...]