Christie’s Russian Art sale realised £13,640,325 / $21,115,223 / €15,877,338 and was sold 65% by lot and 63% by value. Top lot was Vasily Vereshchagin’s
Crucifixion by the Romans, selling for over £1.7 million and the proceeds of this sale will benefit the acquisition fund of the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Comment: Sarah Mansfield, Head of Russian Art Department: “The Russian sale achieved particularly strong prices for the most exceptional paintings, especially those which were previously unseen and fresh to the market. This is best illustrated by Crucifixion by the Romans by Vasily Vereshchagin which sold above its top estimate for £1.7 million, and by the three works which established world auction records. A further sign that remarkable pieces with private provenance are attracting international bidding was the results for two diplomatic collections of outstanding works of art that were sold in the afternoon session; one was formed by the former Italian Ambassador and the other by the wife of the American Ambassador to Russia in the 1920s, and both were 100% sold.”
Lot |
Description |
Estimate (£)
|
Purchase Price |
Buyer |
41 |
Vasily Vereshchagin (1842-1904), Crucifixion by the Romans, 1887 |
1,000,000 – 1,500,000 |
£1,721,250 $2,664,495 |
Russian Private |
63 |
Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926), A Bogatyr, 1920 World Auction Record for the Artist |
300,000 – 500,000 |
£1,105,250 $1,710,927 |
Russian Private |
381 |
A Pair Of Rare and Large Two-Handled Porcelain Vases, by the Imperial Porcelain Factory, St Petersburg, Period of Nicholas I, 1833 |
500,000 – 700,000 |
£1,049,250 $1,624,239 |
Anonymous |
92 |
Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), The Boxer, 1933 |
500,000 – 700,000 |
£713,250 $1,104,111 |
American Institution |
26 |
Maria Iakunchikova (1870-1902), From a window of the old house, Vvedenskoe World Auction Record for the Artist |
150,000 – 200,000 |
£690,850 $1,069,436 |
European Private |
86 |
Marie Vassilieff (1884-1957), The dance (recto) and A cubist portrait (verso), 1913 |
400,000 – 600,000 |
£457,250 $707,823 |
European Private |
21 |
Ivan Pokhitonov (1850-1923), Sur la plage World Auction Record for the Artist |
80,000 – 120,000 |
£409,250 $633,519 |
Russian Trade |
75 |
Alexander Volkov (1886-1957), Kok-Su mountain river, 1914 |
300,000 – 400,000 |
£337,250 $522,063 |
Anonymous |
74 |
Boris Grigoriev (1886-1939), Still life with candle |
250,000 – 350,000 |
£301,250 $466,335 |
Russian Private |
316 |
A Rare and Important Parcel-Gilt Silver and Niello Soup-Tureen, Mark of Semen Petrov Kuzov, Moscow, 1799 |
120,000 – 180,000 |
£289,250 $447,759 |
Russian Trade |
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