LONDON.- Christie’s Classic Week Evening sales – Old Masters Part I Sale and The Exceptional Sale – realised a combined total of £50,788,420 / $64,145,774 / €59,676,394. The top lot of the evening was Titian’s early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt which realised £17,560,000 / $22,178,280 / €20,633,000, setting a new auction record for the artist, having attracted world-wide interest and admiration upon announcement and throughout the pre-sale exhibitions in New York, Hong Kong and London. 20% of new registrants to these sales were millennials; the breakdown of buyers by region was: 72% EMEA / 15% APAC / 13% Americas.
These sales bring the running total, to date for Classic Week London to £53,609,182 / $67,708,397 / €62,990,789. This builds on the strength in this area of the market, as recently illustrated at Christie’s Paris last month when Chardin’s Le Melon Entamé sold for €26.7 million, setting a new record for the artist and becoming the most expensive Old Master Painting sold in France, the most expensive 18th century French Old Master Painting in the world, as well as the most expensive work sold in France in 2024.
OLD MASTERS PART I SALE IN SUMMARY:
The Old Masters Part I Sale realised £43,594,800 / $55,060,232 / €51,223,890. Among the top lots of the sale:
Titian’s early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt sold for £17,560,000/ $22,178,280/ €20,633,000, setting a new world auction record for the artist (estimate: £15,000,000-25,000,000). Having been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors, it was looted by Napoleon and stolen in the late 20th century. It was offered by Lord Bath and the Longleat Trustees as part of their long-term investment strategy.
Landmark rediscovery: Quentin Metsys’s masterpiece The Madonna of the Cherries realised £10,660,000 / $13,463,580/ €12,525,500, setting a new world auction record for the artist (estimate: £8,000,000-12,000,000). Painted in the artist’s maturity in the 1520s, The Madonna of the Cherries is one of the most celebrated paintings by Quentin Metsys, the father of the Antwerp school. This work had a wide-reaching and long-lasting influence, inspiring generations of artists and giving rise to numerous copies and variants.
Frans Hals’s Portrait of a gentleman of the de Wolff family, possibly Joost de Wolff, sold for £5,715,000 / $7,218,045 / €6,715,125 (estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000). It was sold on the instruction of the Viscount Cowdray and his trustees.
Lord Bath: “It has been fabulous to see the interest in Titian’s work as this unique painting was previewed in the lead-up to this evening’s auction. It has been well-received which clearly demonstrates how the fascination with this exquisite early masterpiece has been maintained across the centuries. It has an extraordinary history, looted by Napoleon, bought by the 4th Marquess in 1878 and then stolen from Longleat in 1995 before miraculously being recovered. As the next chapter in the Rest on the Flight into Egypt’s story is written, I am pleased with the outcome of tonight; which will support our considerable long-term investment strategy at Longleat to build on the vision and legacy of my ancestors for the benefit of future generations.”
Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK “This result is a tribute to the impeccable provenance and quiet beauty of this sublime early masterpiece by Titian, which is one of the most poetic products of the artist’s youth. This picture has captured the imaginations of audiences for more than half a millennia and will no doubt continue to do so.”
Clementine Sinclair, Head of Old Masters London: “We are thrilled to have presented one of the strongest Old Masters Evening sales at Christie’s London in over a decade, with rare masterpieces representing many of the key European schools, which were fresh to the market with remarkable provenance; 22% of the works in the sale had not been offered on the market in at least a century - the early Titian, which had been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors returned to Christie’s after nearly 150 years, and the Hals was last offered for sale at Christies in 1919. The recently rediscovered prime of Metsys’ Madonna of the Cherries sparked a huge amount of international interest and excitement, establishing a new record for one of the most celebrated artists of the Northern Renaissance. Overall, it showed the continuing breadth and depth of demand for exceptional works of art.”
THE EXCEPTIONAL SALE IN SUMMARY:
Christie’s Exceptional Sale realised a total of £7,193,620 / $9,085,542/ €8,452,504. Among the highlights of the sale:
The Nezu ‘Tribute Bearers’ automaton clock: an Imperial Chinese ormolu and paste-set automaton, musical and striking table clock, Guangzhou workshops, Qianlong period (1736-1795), late 18th century sold for £756,000 / $954,828 / €888,300 (estimate: £500,000-800,000).
A Greek bronze head of Eros, circa 2nd-1st century B.C., realised £1,855,000 / $2,342,865 / €2,179,625 (estimate: £550,000-750,000).
A royal bridesmaid’s dress by Norman Hartnell, 1947 from the Wedding of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh achieved £37,800 / $47,741 / €44,415 (estimate: £30,000-50,000). The only one of the bridesmaid dresses to come to the market, it was worn by the late Lady Elizabeth Longman (née Lambart), a childhood friend of the late Queen.
Amjad Rauf, International Head of Masterpiece and Private Sales: “The London Exceptional Sale was led by the head of Eros, a Hellenistic Antiquity from the Sydney Lamon Collection, selling for more than two times the high estimate. Further highlights with historic provenances were the Imperial Chinese clock from the Nezu Collection, a bureau mazarin by BVRB I from Buxted Park, a pietra dura tabletop with the arms of the Cavalli and a Louis XVI giltwood pliant from Versailles, which was acquired by the French State and will return to the château. This highlights that our clients are very interested in the histories and stories of the works on offer, as well as their rarity and exquisite craftsmanship.”
