This was the biggest grosser of a dozen sales mounted by Sotheby’s and Christie’s in October devoted to English and Continental furniture and objets d’art, silver, ceramics of the 18th and 19th centuries. Between them they chalked up over $84m including premium.
The auctioneers’ upper estimate for the Dandois auction was $20m, so even allowing for the additional premium it comfortably topped their projection and saw all but 26 lots change hands.
The saleroom attributed part of the success to the decision to hold the sale in New York, where Ariane Dandois had many customers for her stylish take on the antique interior.
While the buying profile was international, there was strong American participation as well.
Christie’s also held a Parisian dealer’s stock sale in the Big Apple. They offered 113 lots, the first of three instalments, from the Steinitz Galley, which netted them a premium-inclusive $5.5m (£2.9m).
This New York series also saw some strong results for English and Continental silver and will be covered in more detail in a future issue of ATG.
Dandois and Steinitz light up New York
When the last of the 823 lots in the sale of the contents Ariane Dandois’ Gallery on the Faubourg St Honoré in Paris was hammered down by Sotheby’s on October 26, it provided a $32.2m (£16.9m) grand finale to a month of sales devoted to traditional areas of the decorative arts in New York.
