LONDON.- Sotheby’s London November 2012 Russian Art Sales Series concluded on Tuesday, realising the within pre-sale expectations total of £20,553,775/$32,959,940 (est. £16,972,400-£24,363,000). This sum brings Sotheby’s 2012 global total for auctions of Russian Art to $63,828,414, reconfirming Sotheby’s dominance as global leader in the market for Russian Art, for the tenth consecutive year.

“In a year in which Sotheby’s has exceeded the $1 billion benchmark for Russian Art sold by the company in the past 10 years through auction sales, we are absolutely delighted with the results we have achieved this week, which further reinforces the company’s dominance in this field” commented Jo Vickery, Senior Director and Head of the Russian Art department in London on the results of Sotheby’s Russian Art Sales Series.

Jo Vickery, continued: “The good health and direction of this market is demonstrated by the all-time-high sell-through-rate of 89.3% by lot we established for an Evening Sale in this category; the 26% series total increase on our May sales; as well as the continued stream of new buyers entering this market. Collectors in this field remain selective but continue to prize and competitively bid for top-quality one-off saleroom opportunities that boast gold-standard provenance – of the lots we sold 44% achieved sums above their pre-sale estimates.”

Highlights of the November 2012 Sales Series:
• Over the two days of sales:
o The sales attracted buyers and bidders from 31 different countries.
o 20% of the buyers across the sales were new to Sotheby’s.
o Of lots sold, 98% achieved sums at or above their pre-sale estimates.
o Of the lots sold, 44% achieved sums above their pre-sale high estimate.

• Important Russian Art Evening Sale (Monday, November 26th, 2012):
o Top lot was Valentin Alexandrovich Serov’s Portrait Of Praskovia Anatolievna Mamontova which sold for £1,217,250/$1,951,008 (est. £300,000-500,000), setting a new record for the artist at auction.

o The Auction established the highest sell-through rate by lot, ever achieved by Sotheby’s for an Evening Sale in this category.

o The sale achieved sell-through rates of 89.3% by lot and 84.3% by value

o Six new artist records were established for:
 Valentin Alexandrovich Serov
 Sergei Yurievich Sudeikin
 Martiros Sergeevich Saryan
 Lado Davidovich Gudiashvili
 Aleksandr Nikolaevich Samokhvalov
 Dmitri Nalbandian

• Russian Paintings Day Sale (Tuesday, November 27th, 2012):
o The Sale brought £5,619,300/$9,016,729 against an estimate of £4,932,000–7,157,000.

o Eight bidders in the saleroom and over the telephones competed for Yuri Annenkov's Portrait of Vsevolod Meyerhold, which set a new Work on Paper record for the artist at auction. The drawing sold for the 35-times low-estimate sum of £1,049,250 (est. £30,000-50,000).

• Russian Works of Art, Fabergé & Icons Day Auction (Tuesday, November 27th, 2012):

o The Auction realised £3,463,225/$5,557,091, within its pre-sale estimate of £3,004,000–4,367,000.

o The top-selling lot of the was a Fabergé Study of a Cornflower and Oats, which more than doubled its pre-sale low estimate of £180,000, selling for £433,250/$695,193.

o A further highlight was the sale of an important Romanov silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel Icon of Christ Pantocrator, gifted to Emperor Alexander III in 1888 to commemorate the miracle at Borki, which realised £253,250/$406,365 (est. £180,000-250,000).