1) Katherine Parr portrait sets record for a Tudor painting
A portrait of Katherine Parr (1512-1548) attributed to the Tudor court artist known as ‘Master John’, £2.8m at Sotheby’s.
A portrait of Katherine Parr once believed to have been destroyed by fire set an auction record for any Tudor painting at Sotheby’s last night.
2) Buyer’s premium now raised at all the major players
Bonhams in New Bond Street, London.
The flagship London summer sales were the first to take place since the major auction houses all raised their buyer’s premiums in the first half of 2023.
3) For Your Eyes Only: Roger Moore memorabilia comes to auction
A large black and white portrait photograph of Sir Roger Moore estimated at £1000-1500.
Items from the collection of the late actor Sir Roger Moore are coming to auction at Bonhams this autumn.
4) No fanfare as ivory netsuke sets a new record
Views of an ivory netsuke of the monkey king Songoku by Matsushita Otoman which sold for €1m (£860,000) at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr. Otoman worked close to the trading port of Nagasaki. A collection of his works is known to have been taken to Holland by the German physician and botanist, Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), who resided in Nagasaki from 1823-29.
A new auction record for netsuke – over three times the previous high – has been set in France.
5) Sweerts masterwork lifts Christie’s Old Master sale to seven-year high
The Artist’s Studio with a Seamstress by Michael Sweerts, a record £10.7m at Christie’s. It was painted in Rome where Sweerts is documented as living in the Via Margutta between 1646-52.
Three rediscovered lots boosted Christie’s latest Old Master auction, helping the saleroom post its highest total for a sale in this category in London for seven years.
