Dear all,
just a short message to inform you about the dates of our upcoming fall sales so you can mark them in your agenda.
On Tuesday 21 November, Christie’s will be selling an exceptional private collection of African, Oceanic and Northern American Art. I can’t reveal much just yet, but this evening sale of around 180 fresh-to-the-market objects will be a not to be missed event. The next day, on Wednesday 22 November, we’re having a day sale with 60 carefully selected objects sourced from different private collections. So now you can imagine what I’ve been up to lately, hence the silence on the blog..
The preview of both sales starts on Wednesday 15 November at 10 am and closes on Monday 20 November at 6 pm. We’re open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, except on Sunday 19 November, only between 2 pm and 6 pm. An invitation to the cocktail will accompany the catalogue once it is ready around early October.
Our next sales of African, Oceanic and North American Art thus will already take place in Paris in November instead of the traditional mid-December date, just as the Laprugne sale was moved ahead to a more favorable April instead of June date. Our main, dedicated collecting base, which is strongly European, as well as our top collectors from the United States and around the world, have responded favorably to our new agenda which is more in line with the current market’s rhythm. This spring in Paris we saw exceptional prices among which two new world records at auction, for a Kota Sango figure from the Laprugne Collection (€938,500) and for the iconic Rasmussen-DeHavenon Dogon mask (€2,370,500). As previously reported, these strong results made us market leaders for African and Oceanic art in Paris for the first half of 2017. Furthermore, in April, an archaic Sepik mask from Papua New Guinea sold for seven times its low estimate (€290,500), confirming the growing appetite for quality works from Melanesia. Our day-sale on 22 November will therefor again present a strong selection of fresh-to-the market Oceanic art; this time with a focus on the art of New Ireland and New Britain. The below archaic Hemba figure, once sold by the famous taste-maker Jacques Kerchache, is one more of the many objects to look forward to.
We’ll hope to see you in Paris for Parcours de Mondes, starting on Tuesday 12 September, during which we will also show a small selection of highlights of both sales at our Paris headquarters. Should you be in Paris on any other moment before or after, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a private viewing.
But for now, let me just wish you a fantastic summer, full of joy, good company and great art.
Very best,
Bruno
