Top Lots: 2009 Year in Review

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TOP WARHOLWhat: 200 One Dollar Bills by Andy Warhol, 1962Where: Sotheby’s New York (November 11, Contemporary Art Evening Sale)Estimate: $8-12 millionSold For: $43.7 million A large-scale masterpiece from Warhol’s first series of silkscreened paintings, 200 One Dollar Bills was also from the artist’s second earliest group of serial works. Originally from the collection of Robert and Ethel Scull, the work …

This week’s top lots

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What: Pair of chairs, late 19th centuryWhere: Rago Arts (December 5, Estate Sale) Estimate: $500-700 Sold For: $390,400 This pair of American Aesthetic Movement chairs, which were inherited by the daughter-in-law of a Philadelphia-area couple and reportedly stored in a boiler room for forty years, are believed to be the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany or an associated firm. What: …

This Week’s Top Lots: November 30 – December 4

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Sotheby’s London/November 30, Romanov Heirlooms Total: £7 million * 25th wedding anniversary four-color gold cigarette case by Fabergé for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, 1899 £612,450  (estimate £50,000-70,000) * Jewelled three-color gold cigarette case by Fabergé, 1899-1908 £601,250  (estimate £25,000-35,000) *  Two-color gold and enamel box by Fabergé with a note from Emperor Nicholas II, c. …

This Week’s Top Lots: Nov 15 – 20

Editorial Staff Furniture & Decorative Arts

Skinner Boston/November 15, Fine Books & Manuscripts *  Important letter signed by Martin Luther, 1581 $106,650 (estimate $15,000-25,000) *  Map of English and French dominions in North America, 1755 $65,175 (estimate $15,000-20,000) *  John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot from Birds of America, 1830 $38,513 (estimate $25,000-35,000) Christie’s London/November 17, Centuries of Style: Silver, Ceramics, Miniatures & Gold Boxes Total: £3.5 …

This Week’s Top Lots: November 8 – 13

Editorial Staff Art, Furniture & Decorative Arts

* Skinner Boston/November 8, American Furniture and Decorative Arts The top lot was William Bradford’s Arctic Sunset with the Ice Bound Panther that sold for $259,000 (estimate $80,000-100,000). Other top lots were a pair of gilt and mirrored pier New York tables that sold for $54,510 (estimate $12,00-18,000), and a federal bookcase by Joseph Murphy of South Berwick, Maine that …

This Week’s Top Lots: November 2 – 6

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* Sotheby’s New York/November 2, Russian ArtThe sale total was just under $13.8 million, with 98 of 122 lots sold. The top lot was Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev’s Mother and Child that sold for $1.3 million (estimate $500,000-700,000). Other top lots were an award portrait miniature of Peter the Great that sold for $1.3 million (estimate $80,000-120,000), and Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin’s …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 26 – 30

Editorial Staff Furniture & Decorative Arts

* Christie’s London/October 27, 20th Century Decorative Art & Design The sale total was £778,625. The top lot was a set of six art nouveau chairs by Emile Gallé that sold for £79,250 (estimate £30,000-50,000). Other top lots were a vitrine by Koloman Moser for J & J Kohn that sold for £51,650 (estimate £15,000-20,000), and a prototype Odalisque bench …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 17 – 23

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* Christie’s London/October 17, Post-war and Contemporary Art Day SaleThe sale total was £3.5 million. The top lot was Anselm Kiefer’s Baum mit Panzer that sold for £169,250 (estimate £70,000-90,000). Other top lots were Martin Kippenberger’s Self-Portrait that sold for £139,250 (estimate £18,000-22,000), and Wim Delvoye’s Last Port that sold for £109,250 (estimate £50,000-70,000). * Skinner Boston/October 17, Asian ArtThe …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 10 – 16

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* Skinner Marlborough/October 10, Richard Wright Collection: Important DollsThe top lot was a Roullet & Decamps magician automaton that sold for $80,580 (estimate $25,000-35,000). Other top sales were a set of four Alice in Wonderland character dolls that sold for $40,290 (estimate $30,000-40,000), and a Queen Anne lady doll and case that sold for $50,363 (estimate $50,000-70,000). * Sotheby’s Milan/October …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 5 – 9

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* Christie’s London/October 6, Islamic and Indian ArtThe sale total was just over £5 million. The top lot was a circa 1600 Ottoman navigational chart of the Mediterranean coastline that sold for £1.07 million (estimate £300,000-400,000). Other top lots were a Qu’ran dated 1288 AD that sold for £457,250 (estimate £200,000-300,000), and an 18th century painted and carved Damascus room …