Quite a lot, as it turns out. Recently, during a routine household appraisal project, a Christie’s specialist found a Jonathan Townsend 18th-century block-front kneehole table that later sold for more than $2 million. Who knows? You might have treasures buried inside your house as well—maybe that sparkly diamond ring you inherited from your grandmother or the Renoir-inspired painting you found on your honeymoon. This new department looks at what has sold at major auctions, and offers assessments and advice by local experts on what’s hot and what’s not.
Paintings
Deborah Gerstler Spanierman, president of Pleasantville’s DGS Fine Art Consultants, Inc. (917-744-7752; dgsfineartconsultants.com) advises: “If I were a new collector, with less than one million to spend, I would be investigating markets that are still somewhat depressed, like the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American art market, where A-plus examples by American artists can be had for much less than their counterparts in other disciplines.”
Christie’s New York
Mark Rothko | Orange, Red, Yellow
Sold: $86,882,500
Claude Monet | Nymphéas
Sold: $43,762,500
Andy Warhol | Statue of Liberty
Sold: $43,762,500
Sotheby’s New York
Georgia O’Keeffe | Autumn Leaf II (1927)
Estimate: $1,500,000 – $2,500,000
Sold: $4,282,500
Sotheby’s London
Pablo Picasso | Femme Assise Près d’une Fenêtre
Estimate: $35 million; Sold: $45,001,207
Jewelry
“Large diamonds, starting at three carats, will provide the best investment over the coming years,” says Philip Warner (philipwarner.com), former US president for Asprey who now owns his own jewelry company in Cross River. The demand, he says, is driven by Chinese brides who are now wanting diamond engagement rings.
Christie’s Geneva
The Archduke Joseph Diamond
76.02 carats
Sold: $21,474,525
Christie’s Hong Kong
The Martian Pink
12.04 carats, by Harry Winston
Sold: $17,395,728
Sotheby’s New York
From the Collection of Evelyn H. Lauder
6.5-carat Pink Diamond and Diamond Ring, Oscar Heyman & Brothers
Estimate: $4 million – $5 million
Sold: $8,594,500
47.14-carat Yellow Diamond and Diamond Pendant Necklace, Van Cleef & Arpels, New York
Estimate: $1.5 million – $2 million
Sold: $2,546,500
Decorative Arts
“Fewer people are buying porcelain and fine crystal, so, if you enjoy fine dining, there are great deals in tableware,” says Elizabeth A. Reynolds of Auchincloss & Reynolds of Rye (914-419-1016; arappraisers.com). “Mid-century modern is more in fashion now than ‘brown furniture’ –with the notable exception of the Townsend table.”
Butterscotch Auction Gallery, Bedford
Fahua Pottery Reticulated Glazed Baluster Jar China, 15th/16th Century
Estimate: $2,000- $4,000
Sold: $8,400
Christie’s Interiors
Pair of Brass-Mounted, Ebonized, and Tan Plush-Upholstered Armchairs, circa 1960
Estimate: $1,500 – $2,000
Sold: $2,750
John Townsend Chippendale Table
Estimate: $700,000 – $900,000
Sold: $2,210,500
Isamu Noguchi Dretzin Table
Estimate: $800,000 – 1,200,000
Sold: $2,882,500
Sotheby’s New York
Rare “Trumpet Creeper” Table Lamp
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000
Sold: $914,500