LONDON.- The sale achieved £13,278,500 in total, selling 85% by value and 76% by lot. The highlight of the sale is Still life with teapot and oranges by Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962), sold for £2,408,750 / $3,208,455 / €2,680,939. World auction record set for a work by Apollinarii Vasnetsov (1856-1933), Old Veliky Novgorod, sold for £848,750 / $1,130,535 / €944,659. Works of art section is highlighted by rare guilloché enamel and varicolour gold miniature model of a Sedan chair by Fabergé that sold for £788,750 / $1,050,615 / €877,879.

Sarah Mansfield, International Director, Russian Art: “It was thrilling to watch a packed saleroom fall silent to witness an exciting tennis match of bidding, with opponents battling on the internet, telephone banks and in the room for Natalia Goncharova's 'Still life with teapot and oranges'. The work realized four times its low estimate, comfortably entering the ranks of the 10 most valuable works by Goncharova ever sold at auction. The impressive Old Veliky Novogorod, by Apolinarii Vasnetsov hung next to the auctioneer and drew the attention of the crowd, selling for more than double its low estimate and setting a new world record for the artist.”

Helen Culver Smith, Head of Department, Russian Art: “The momentum of the morning carried into the afternoon session with dynamic and deep bidding by international collectors across categories. An Important Collection of Imperial Treasures and Fabergé Masterpieces sold for over £2m and was highlighted by an exceptional and rare sedan chair, which sold for £788,750 and an automated rhinoceros, which sold for £704,750, achieving a world record for an automaton by Fabergé. The breadth of the market, was further demonstrated by a Magnificent and Monumental Imperial Porcelain Vase, which sold for £692,750; an order of St Andrew the First Called presented to Prince Joachim Murat, which sold for £548,750; and a rare and large kindjal belonging to Imam Shamil, which sold for £548,750. The sale ended on a further high note, with exciting sale of a very rare Soviet Porcelain Figure, which sold for £137,500 achieving a world record for a figure by Danko. The sale achieved £13,278,500 in total, selling 85% by value and 76% by lot. We are delighted with these strong results, and look forward to our next sale of Russian Art on 4 June 2018.”