4/30/2013

Results: Sotheby's Steinhardt Judaica Sale


Sotheby's had a successful sale for the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection.  The collection totaled $8.54 million (including buyers premiums) with 381 lots offered and 353 selling for a sell through rate of 92.6%.  The sale totaled 84.9% by value and set a record for a Judaica sale at auction, the previous record was also set at Sothebys, in 2004 totaling $7,989,320.

Prior to the sale Sotehby's placed the The Mishneh Torah with the Met and the Israel Museum, which had an estimate of $4.5-$6 million and set records for a piece of Judaica.  Including the Mishneh Torah, the sale was expected to total between $10.7 and $15.5 million.

The top selling lot in the auction was a Large Italian Parcel-Gilt silver Torah Crown which sold of $857,000 including buyers premium against an estimate of $300,000/$500,000.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art was the buyer.

Sotheby's reported on the sale
Following Sotheby’s announcement early this morning that The Mishneh Torah – previously scheduled to be offered as the centerpiece of today’s auction of The Michael & Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection – was purchased jointly by The Israel Museum, Jerusalem and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York ahead of the sale, the auction proceeded with a strong 92.6% of the remaining 381 lots sold, totaling $8,541,645 and exceeding their overall pre-sale estimate in excess of $6 million*.

Maarten ten Holder, Managing Director of Sotheby’s Americas, commented: “For the past three months, we have been privileged to share the Steinhardts’ collection with the world through exhibitions and lectures in Moscow, London, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, San Paulo and Hong Kong, culminating in the expansive installation in our New York galleries that was seen by thousands of visitors. The auction inspired more than 400 new and seasoned collectors of Judaica, who filled our salesroom to capacity throughout the day in addition to participating in strong numbers online and by phone. We also saw two significant records broken: The Mishneh Torah, which had been estimated to sell for $4.5 million – $6 million, far exceeded the previous world auction record for a piece of Judaica**, and the remaining sale total of more than $8.5 million alone represents the most valuable auction of Judaica ever held.
Source: Sotheby's

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