WHAT: Themed auctions, or auctions built around a central concept or idea, are nothing new. But when Christie’s London took the concept to a new level last month with 14 sales during the first “Classic Week,” results totaled close to $142 million. Bidders from 50 countries competed for masterpieces from European and Classical traditions to old masters to antiquities.
MORE: Top lot was a massive Sir Peter Paul Rubens painting, “Lot and His Daughters,” that sold for a little more than $58 million. It was the highest price ever for an old master painting in Christie’s 250-year history.
In an antiquities sale, a large, almost 16 inches-high Cycladic marble female figure, circa 2500 to 2400 B.C., sold for nearly $1.6 million. Sloping shoulders and a lyre-shaped head contribute to her modern look.
SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: Summer is usually doldrums for auctions, but staff at Christie’s London found a new way to spice things up.
HOT TIP: The sale was part of Christie’s 250th anniversary in 2016. The innovative sale points to a lively future.
BOTTOM LINE: Christie’s Classic Week was so successful that another is planned for December 2016.
