137th Auction

The team at the HISTORIA auction house is pleased to present the catalog for the 137th auction. In addition to a redesigned cover, there are also some special features in the content. After being exclusively commissioned by the insolvency administration of AUCTIONATA to liquidate their stock and auction items intended for sale by private customers through our main office, we are now able to present you with an extensive offer from the former AUCTIONATA inventory.

This will be a pawn auction conducted by a state-certified auctioneer. The usual diverse range from HISTORIA will be enhanced by new focal points and highlights.

The jewelry department is particularly notable for its exquisite pieces. For example, Lot 127 features a coveted Cartier emerald and diamond necklace starting at €7,000, followed immediately by a platinum-set diamond solitaire with a staggering 6.14 carats (starting at €40,000). Another diamond ring with a 5-carat navette-cut diamond is accompanied by a valuation of nearly €400,000 (starting at €55,000). Male collectors will be delighted with the Lange & Söhne Glashütte yellow gold wristwatch with power reserve and moon phase. The starting price is €14,000 (Lot 401), followed by a small collection of nearly 30 pocket watches.

Following this, the silver department offers a well-balanced selection of nearly 200 lots of table silver and hollowware, interspersed with exceptional treasures and showpieces such as the English champagne cooler (likely) by William Eaton, London circa 1820 (starting at €3,000, Lot 661) or the Berlin tea kettle on a warming stand (likely) by August Friedrich Lorenz Peters circa 1840 (starting at €1,000, Lot 746). A timelessly elegant Christofle cutlery set for six persons is listed at €3,500 (Lot 799).

Lots 1000-1199 consist of Auctionata pawned goods, forming a separate section but containing items from various categories. These include affordably priced wristwatches from Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Rolex, Cartier, and Breitling. A small collection of various wines and spirits includes, among others, four bottles of Chateau Latour from 1995 (Lot 1074, starting at €950) and a bottle of Springbank, The Birds 22-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1987 (Lot 1185, starting at €200). The bronze statue of a Cossack by Ivan Fedorovich Kovshenkov (1824-1898) has already attracted considerable interest and is starting at €5,000 (Lot 1188).

The panorama of St. Petersburg will also be of interest to the Russian market. This large and masterful veduta by an unknown artist is starting at a modest €2,500 (Lot 1313). The offering of paintings and graphics is again very extensive, spanning five centuries, with a focus this time on contemporary artists. For example, Lot 1984 features a work by the significant Greek painter Dimitris Mytaras (1934-2017) (starting at €5,000), followed by a multiple from the Sahara Edition by Heinz Mack (*1931) (Lot 1985, starting at €1,500). The starting price for an acrylic painting by Penck, displaying his typical archaic symbols in a bright black-and-yellow contrast, is €12,000 (Lot 1972). Just before the catalog was finalized, we received a market-fresh watercolor and ink drawing by Lyonel Feininger (starting at €5,000, Lot 1953). This "Village in Thuringia" was apparently created shortly before his emigration to the USA and was likely a gift to a neighbor during his time in Berlin-Siemensstadt, where the artwork had remained unrecognized until recently. Additionally, artists such as Hermann Nitsch, Asger Jorn, Salomé, Serge Poliakoff, Otto Dix, and Peter Lindbergh are represented with original works in this catalog.

Among the nearly 300 porcelain lots, a tureen from the service for Friedrich Ehrenreich von Ramin stands out. It was a gift from Frederick the Great to the governor of Berlin and is mentioned in Frederick's "Schatullrechnungen" (Lot 2209, starting at €2,500). Four different pug figurines and groups from Meissen are sure to attract collectors, with starting prices beginning at €1,150 (Lots 2216-2219). Also rare in its completeness is the 15-piece "Commedia dell'Arte" series from Fürstenberg (Lots 2256-2270, each starting at €200).

The glass section features a small selection of nearly 60 lots, among which some French Art Nouveau vases are noteworthy. Daum Frères are responsible for a large stick vase, which is listed at €2,000 (Lot 2800). Emile Gallé contributes five small Art Nouveau vases, with prices ranging from €400 to €700.

The categories of clocks, sculpture, and various items offer the usual broad spectrum of decorative, rare, and curious objects. The auction concludes with furniture. Among the standout pieces is a wonderful classical secretary (Lot 5017, starting at €3,500), and particularly notable are the nine complete room ensembles being offered. Various styles and manifestations of historicism and Art Nouveau are represented in ensembles of up to 14 pieces. Starting prices range from €1,800 to €29,000 (Lots 5083-5091). The rooms can only be viewed at the Mühlenbecker Hallen, while the other items can be viewed as usual at the Berlin premises at Kalckreuthstraße 4-5. The auction takes place from November 1-4, 2017.