Results: Christie's Americana Week

Christie's has posted the consolidated results for its various Americana week sales. I would suspect the sales were only fair, given the results, and the lack of comment on the posting of the press release.  There was a Samuel McIntire carved side chair which sold for $662,500 including buyers premium against a pre sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000 (see image). It set a world record at auction for a piece of American Federal furniture.

The four Americana week sales at Christie's offered 1,003 lots of which 797 sold. This represents a buy through rate of a respectable 79%, with a 90% sold by value. The 797 sold lots totaled $22.03 million including buyers premium. The main sale more than doubled its pre sale low estimate of $5 million (please note the pre sale estimates do not include buyers premiums, and the announced results do), but most of proceeds were due to the +$5 million sale of the Goddard bureau table ($700k to $900k estimate) I reported on earlier this week.

Christies reported on the Important Furniture Sale

John Hays, Deputy Chairman, commented: “We are thrilled with the spectacular result achieved for the Newport knee-hole bureau table – the fourth highest price ever achieved for American furniture at auction. The stunning price of $5.7 million demonstrates the great passion collectors have for block-and-shell furniture from the colonial port city. We were also honored to present several stellar pieces from the collection of WEA Enterprises, including the Samuel McIntire chair that achieved a new auction record for any item of Federal furniture.” Margot Rosenberg, Head of American Decorative Arts, added: “With a sale total that more than doubled our pre-sale low estimate of $5 million, this was our strongest sale in the category since 2007. We saw spirited bidding from an enthusiastic group of clients across multiple categories, including Chippendale, Federal, and William and Mary furniture as well as folk art. In all, we take this as a great indication of growing strength in the market for American decorative arts, and we look forward to the continued success of our Americana Week sales, which resume next week with Syd Levethan: The Longridge Collection and Chinese Export Art.”