Furniture, Works of Art and Asian Sale at Important Winter Sale
Masters, Sparkling Jewels and Asian works of art – highlights from the first day of Important Winter Sale.
Following successful auctions for modern and contemporary art and design, Bukowskis concludes the live season with the auction Important Winter Sale - the season's largest quality auction spanning across all periods and genres, featuring the very best within art, furniture, and works of art.
The auction's presented high-quality furniture, works of art, jewellery and Asian works of art, demonstrating continued strong international interest.
The auction's first lot exceeding one million SEK was a classic bureau by the master Georg Haupt, which sold for a final price of 1,375,000 SEK. Other highlights from the furniture department included a tray table by Gottlieb Iwersson, an Empire-style Gueridon table from the latter half of the 19th century, mirrors in baroque and rococo styles, as well as an unusually high-quality collection of table pendulums. An item that exceeded expectations was the so-called The Wrangel strongbox, which, after intense bidding, sold at twenty times its estimated price for a final price of 600,000 SEK.
The envelope for Alfred Nobel's will
In anticipation of this year's Nobel festivities, Bukowskis had the pleasure of hammering the envelope of Alfred Nobel's will accompanied by a duplicate of protocol. These unique historical documents have been passed down within the same family and were sold for the first time at auction, with the final price reaching 325,000 SEK.
The silver and objects of Vertu department offered a wide range of objects, from candlesticks to tankards and sugar bowls. Highlights included a silver-gilt cup by Johan Nützel, a tankard by Friedrich Richter and a pair of Louis XVI royal candelabras by Ignaz Würth which sold for a final price of 156,000. A silver-mounted agate perfume burner exceeded expectations, selling five times its estimate. Within ceramics, we saw high prices on porcelain in "Flora Danica" from Royal Copenhagen.
An extensive carpet section offered antique Keshan and Tabriz and a number of woven tapestries. Highlights include a "Verdure" in tapestry technique and several antique Suzani embroideries.
Pearls, diamonds, and emeralds
The jewellery department presented pieces of jewellery of various types and expressions from different eras. Highlights included a platinum ring with a radiant-cut diamond that sold for over a million and a pair of earrings with drop-shaped pearls and rose-cut diamonds, which, after an exciting bidding war, sold for ten times the starting price, reaching a final price of 375,000 SEK. The department further presented impressive final prices for several pieces by WA Bolin, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as a private collection of jewellery with provenance from the shipping family Broström. Highlights from the Broström collection included a gold collier by Maramenos & Pateras and a platinum ring with an emerald from WA Bolin.
Highlights from the Asian Sale
The Asian section offered fine objects from several significant private Scandinavian collections of ceramics, cloisonné, jade, "scholars' objects", textiles and Chinese furniture. Highlights included a large Bodhisattva in gilt bronze from the Ming Dynasty, from the collection of Hedi Boyce Broström, which sold for a final price of SEK 1,150,000. A Shakyamuni Buddha in bronze also achieved a high final price when it sold three times its estimate. Within porcelain highlights included an elegant vase in blue and white from the Qing Dynasty, a yellow bowl with exquisite decoration in the form of green five-clawed dragons, a Qing Dynasty Bojan, and a jardiniere with five-clawed dragons battling for the flaming pearl amid cloud formations and foaming waves.
Scandinavia's largest quality auction within classic art and works of art continues to cement its leading position with increasing international interest. Consignments are underway for upcoming auctions.