2008 Auction History

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

All Results in BOLD

There are beautiful objects at Sotheby's in London on October 8: an incense burner of the 7th century AH (£ 600 K, lot 146), (UNSOLD), the oil portrait of a Safavid lady (£ 600 K , lot 49), (SOLD 880 K£ including fees), a Safavid astrolabe (£ 200 K, lot 169). (SOLD 710 K£ including fees). The heartfelt lot is a medieval glass bottle (£ 300 K, lot 72). (SOLD 360 K£ including fees).

The Fatimid crystal rock ewer offered by Christie's in London on October 7 could exceed 3 million pounds. (SOLD 3.1 M£ including fees).

Sotheby's London will sell for 400 K£ on October 8 in London a manuscript page written shortly after the death of Muhammad. (SOLD 480 K£ including fees).

Lot 111 of the sale of Ader at Drouot on May 23 is a long rifle from Algiers dated AH1126 (16 K€). (SOLD 11.5 K€ before fees).

Among the ancient objects in the sale at Sotheby's in London on April 9: a Nasrid gold and enamel belt buckle (600 K£), (SOLD 983 K£ including fees), an Abbasid key (400 K£) (SOLD 9.2 M£ including fees) and an Ilkhanid manuscript on astronomy (80K£). (SOLD 379 K£ including fees).

In the Gillot sale being prepared by Christie's in Paris on 4 and 5 March, I already devoted an entire article to a Parisian ivory diptych.
I tracked also in the catalogue:
At number 8, an Iranian candle stick from the fourteenth century (150 K€) (SOLD 2.65 M€ before fees)
At numbers 40 and 41, from Cairo, two Mamluk wooden panels of 1330 (200 and 300 K€), another dated 1320 at number 45 (250 K€) (SOLD 1.1, 1.9 and 1.3 M€ before fees)
At number 49, a Mamluk mosque lamp from circa 1500 (150 K€) (SOLD 550 K€ before fees)
At number 365, a Spanish-Moorish albarello circa 1500 (50 K€) (SOLD 300 K€ before fees)
... And many disparate cheap items.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

In my preview of last year I had included an Abbasid key estimated 400 K£ which was eventually SOLD 9.2 M£ including fees by Sotheby's in London on April 9. It was not the subject of a dedicated article in this column.

A post published today by THE ART NEWSPAPER tells us that the sale of this lot has been "cancelled after a group of museum experts who examined it expressed doubts over its age and authenticity". According to the same source, "Sotheby’s and the consignor decided to cancel the sale pending further research and scientific analysis."