LONDON.- Having offered the property of notable figures spanning royalty, politics, the arts and culture, for almost 250 years, since 1766, Christie’s two sales of Mrs Thatcher: Property from the Collection of The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, FRS attracted a global audience, realising an overall total of £4,516,038/ $6,831,487/€6,189,443. Comprising 418 lots in total across both sales, the traditional auction at Christie’s headquarters in London (15 December) and the online-only sale (3-16 December) were each 100% sold, with overall registered bidders from a total of 44 countries across 5 continents. The two complimentary sale platforms were both very well received, with the sales sparking international interest. There was competitive bidding from new and existing clients utilising all forms of engaging with the sales: from bidding in the saleroom, on the telephones, placing absentee bids and using Christie’s LIVETM, to placing bids directly in the easily accessible online-only sale format. Collectors and enthusiasts also seized opportunities to watch the auction on 15 December auction as it unfolded using Christie’s LIVETM, and to read and watch Christie’s special features and video content on christies.com.

Adrian Hume-Sayer, Head of Sale commented: “The market’s response to these historic sales, both the online-only sale and the traditional auction, was remarkable, with the overall result for the Mrs Thatcher collection far exceeding pre-sale expectations. Clients from all over the world seized this once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire items which gave insights into both the public and private life of Britain’s first female Prime Minister, who was a political giant on the world stage. These sales continue Christie’s long tradition of offering notable private collections, taking place over 200 years after James Christie, founder of Christie’s, negotiated the landmark sale of the magnificent art collection of Great Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole to Catherine the Great in 1779.”

The auction at Christie’s headquarters on 15 December was the most popular London auction for registered bidders using Christie’s LIVETM in the last 4 years. 42% of online registered bidders for this auction were new to Christie’s, with a total of 1,472 accepted internet bids.

The overall top lot: A Kaiser biscuit model of an American bald eagle, 1980s, by Gerd Pitterkoff. This lot was awarded to Margaret Thatcher ‘with best wishes from Ronald Reagan’ in 1984. It sold to an online bidder using Christie’s LIVETM during the 15 December auction, after just over 6 minutes of competitive bidding, following a battle between 4 bidders in the room, 6 telephone bidders and 3 online bidders using Christie’s LIVETM, for £266,500/ $404,014/ €365,105 (estimate: £5,000-8,000).

The top lot of the Online-Only sale:
A single-row cultured pearl necklace which sold for £62,500/ $94,000/ €85,750 (estimate: £500-800). Margaret Thatcher was rarely seen without a string of pearls which became her trademark. Please see the separate top ten for the top ten lots of the Online-Only Sale (3-16 December).

25 years after Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) left Office, at the end of her 11 year high profile tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979-1990), these sales provided public and private insights into the trajectory of a political titan. Both sales presented unique opportunities, across price levels, for collectors around the world to acquire property from the longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 20th century and the only woman to have held Office to date.