Christie's

Christie’s has explained its policy of holding trade-only viewings of its sales, saying they comprise ‘business meetings’ rather than public viewings.

On March 30 Christie’s France is offering a selection of around 70 Modern and Post-war works from an unnamed Parisian collector that have been assembled over four decades.

On March 23 Christie’s France, in association with booksellers Jacques Quentin (Geneva) and Benoît Forgeot (Paris), will offer the first part of the poetic library of Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller.

During its New York Americana week Christie’s (25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) held an online-only auction devoted to Chinese export art from January 7-20.

Sold for €160,000 (£144,145) was a letter sent by Félix Régamy to his brother Frédéric including a drawing of Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine in England.

The market for antique furniture received a welcome boost last week with Christie’s sale titled Apter-Fredericks 75 Years of Important English Furniture.

Christie’s Old Master and British drawings sale will take place as an online auction from January 14-28.

Christie’s is selling the collection of Mr and Mrs John Gutfreund from their 5th Avenue New York apartment in a two-day live auction on January 26-27 and a series of online sales.

Covid-19 has played havoc with the jewellery fairs and auction calendar but it has done little to dull the appetite for quality antique and vintage pieces.

MADAM – I was most dismayed to read that Christie’s is withdrawing the archival service that has been available for so many decades (News Digest, ATG No 2474).

London salerooms hope for increased consignments after a difficult year for Old Masters

When the Bolshevik government took control of the Imperial Porcelain Factory following the October Revolution of 1917, large quantities of glazed but unpainted white hard-paste porcelain plates, cups and saucers remained at the site.

Sotheby’s edged ahead of Christie’s in terms of annual turnover in 2020, with private and online sales helping both firms offset declines in totals from live auctions.

The traditional pre-Christmas Old Masters auctions in London were something of a mixed bag this year.