Christie’s Images Limited 2023
The first-ever sale conducted in North America of such items as art and furniture from the collection of the famed Rothschild banking family has netted more than $62 million, Christie’s said in a press release Wednesday.
Conducted in New York City, the “Rothschild Masterpieces” auction began on Oct. 11 and was completed on Tuesday. It featured works from the collection of Baron James de Rothschild, his wife Betty, and their sons, Baron Alphonse and Baron Gustave.
According toChristie’s, the leading item from the Rothschilds’ collection, Gerrit Dou’s painting from the 17th century titledA young woman holding a hare with a boy at a window, fetched over $7 million.
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“This historic sale garnered extraordinary results across the categories we offered, a tribute to the collecting of James, Betty, Alphonse and Leonora de Rothschild,” said Jonathan Rendell, Christie’s deputy chairman, Americas, alongside Cécile Verdier, president of Christie’s Paris, in a statement. “Objects which had been with the family for close to 150 years drew bids from collectors, museums and the trade. The many records achieved for these pieces bear witness to their rarity, beauty and provenance.”
The esteemed auction house also noted that millennials made up an average of 15% of bidders and buyers during the sales period. “Christie’s broke the record for European 18th century seat furniture and then broke that record in the very same sale. Records were also set for Hispano-Moresque and Bernard Palissy earthenware as well as for 17th century flatware,” per the release.
Prior to the auction, Rendell toldThe Art Newspaper: “These are things that have been kept away since the end of the 19th century. And unless you knew this particular branch of the family, you wouldn’t have seen them.”
He added, “It’s not the type of thing that, in New York, we normally get to play with. You’re more likely to see a sale like this in Europe.”
source: people.com
