The highest total for an auction of Ancient Paintings at Sotheby's in London

Henry Wyndham, Chairman of Sotheby's Europe: “The brilliant results today are further evidence of the interest of international collectors for works of the highest quality and provenance. Works of art of this level enable the market to express their potentialswith. "
Alex Bell, Co-Chairman of Sotheby's for Ancient Painting: “The results of this evening – £68.3M- represent the absolute record for a Evening Sale of Old Master Paintings at Sotheby's in London, widely surpassing the total achieved in 2002 - That was £ 67.5M. With 17 world record and a truly amazing international participation, we have seen the market at its best. The secret of this success is certainly the origin and quality of the collections presented. Stored in the same private collection for centuries, many of the lots in the auction enjoyed dell'imprimatur of the Dukes of Northumberland and of the Earls of Warwick, as well as the great discernment of collectors of the twentieth century, such as Baron Coppée and Barbara Piasecka Johnson”
Mario Tavella, Vice-Chairman of Sotheby's Europe and the auction manager TREASURES: “This edition of Treasures has recorded the highest result in the history of the Decorative Arts auction at Sotheby's in London (€29.7M) , outcome that can be placed directly in connection with the high quality of the auction catalog product.”
Data
· 81% sold ( by lot)
· 95% of the lots were awarded at higher prices to their highest estimate
· Record level of participation for an Old Master evening sale in London: 280 participants from 32 countries, with buyers from Asia, Russia, the Middle East, India and Latin America
· Russian Bidding: 20% of the lots in the sale attracted bids from Russian buyers
· The top lot of the evening was George Stubbs’ Tygers at Play, which realised £7,698,500 ($13,194,459/€9,677,046) (is. £ 4-6m / € 4.9-7.3m / $6.7-10m). Painted circa 1770-75, this masterful depiction of two leopard cubs ranks among Stubbs’ most popular subjects. The painting had rarely been seen in public, having been exhibited only four times since its original appearance at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Coming from a distinguished British aristocratic collection, it had remained in the possession of a single family until 1962, when it was acquired by the past owners. Tonight it was acquired by an Asian private collector.
· 17 Auction records including one for a drawing by Sandro Botticelli, unique design of the artist to be offered at auction was the nineteenth century, Studio San Giuseppe Sitting – venduto £ 1,314,500 ($2,252,922/ €1,652,332) (is. £1-1.5m / € 1.2-1.8m / 1.7-$ 2.5M), figure 25 times higher than that paid in 1988 Barbara Piasecka Johnson da da Sotheby's New York - a stingray 52,710.
· Additional records set for Giovanni da Rimini (lot 17), Jan Brueghel the Elder (lot 19), Raffaellino Del Garbo (lot 25), Bartholomew Cavarozzi (lot 30), Benedetto Gennari (lot 35), Jan Sanders Van Hemessen (lot 41), Jacob Huysmans (lot 42), George Romney (lot 43), Willem Kalf (lot 46), The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (lot 52), Willem van Nieulandt the Younger (lot 56), Hieronymus Francken II (lot 57), Dominic Serres (lot 60), Michele Marie ski (lot 61), a collaboration between Jan Brueghel the Younger and Hendrik van Balen the Elder (lot 2), and a work from the workshop of Albrecht Bouts (lot 7)
· A new auction record was set for Giovanni da Rimini when a wing of a diptych depicting episodes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and other saints by Giovanni da Rimini sold for £5,682,500 ($9,739,237/€ 7,142,926) – almost double its high estimate (is. £2-3m / €2.4-3.7m / $3.4-5m). Dating from circa 1300-05, a pivotal moment in European painting, this beautifully preserved panel, painted in tempera on gold ground, had been in the collection of the Dukes of Northumberland since 1856
· Over half of the works (33 lots) offered tonight came from four of the world’s most eminent aristocratic and private collections, including the celebrated collections of the Dukes of Northumberland, the Earls of Warwick, Barbara Piasecka Johnson and Baron Coppée
· With the auction of Old Master Paintings Part I of London, the total reached by the field of Ancient Painting at Sotheby's in the international 2014 is equal to 220 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.