December is usually a subdued month on the auction calendar, without high-profile evening sales, and so many of the month’s most expensive lots sold in tightly focused specialist auctions, like Old Master events at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London. The 10 priciest lots reflect a wider-than-usual sampling of auction houses, genres of art, and cities, with a number of pieces from China making the cut. Read on for the complete rundown.
Sandro Botticelli, The Virgin and Child Enthroned
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.7 million (£2 million to $3 million)
Final Price: $12.5 million (£9.9 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s London, December 4
Diego Giacometti, Console ‘Promenade des Amis’, variante (circa 1976)
Estimate: $1.6 million to $2.6 million (€1.5 million to €2.5 million)
Final Price: $9.9 million (€9.5 million)
Where & When: Christie’s Paris, December 3
Fu Baoshi, Chess Playing
Estimate: $3.8 million to $4 million (CNY28 million to CNY31 million)
Final Price: $4.5 million (CNY32.7 million)
Where & When: Poly International Beijing, December 9
Anthony Van Dyck, An Andalusian horse (recto); A wooded landscape – a sketch (verso)
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.7 million (£2 million to £3 million)
Final Price: $4.3 million ($3.4 million)
Where & When: Christie’s London, December 3
Syed Haider Raza, La Terre (1985)
Estimate: $1.9 million to $2.5 million (£1.5 million to £2 million)
Final Price: $4.2 million (£3.3 million)
Where & When: Bonhams London, December 10
Xu Wei, Ink Flowers (1591)
Estimate: $3.5 million to $4 million (CNY26 million to CNY30 million)
Final Price: $4.1 million (CNY29.9 million)
Where & When: XiLingYinShe Auction Co. Ltd. Hangzhou, December 29
Max Beckmann, Großer Clown mit Frauen und kleiner Clown (1950)
Estimate: $1.5 million to $1.9 million (€1.4 million to €1.8 million)
Final Price: $3.9 million (€3.7 million)
Where & When: Ketterer Kunst Munich, December 6
Rosso Fiorentino (Giovanni Battista di Jacopo), The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.7 million (£2 million to $3 million)
Final Price: $3.7 million (£2.7 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s London, December 4
Andy Warhol, Mao (1973)
Estimate: In excess of $3 million
Final Price: $3.6 million
Where & When: Heritage Auctions New York, December 10
Yu Zhiding, Wang Shigu Riding a Cow Back to the Mountain
Estimate: $247,000 to $385,000 (CNY 1.8 million to CNY 2.8 million)
Final Price: $3.4 million (CNY 24.7 million)
Where & When: Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., Ltd. Shanghai, December 14
