Record Breaking Season, Bonhams Concludes a Victorious Classics Week London

Impressive Outcomes Across Antiquities, Old Master Paintings and European Decorative Arts London – Classics Week returned to Bonhams this summer, bringing together an exceptional programme of seven live sales and four online auctions spanning 24 June to 2 July. Emblematic of over 3000 years of artistic excellence and the sales offered works ranging in provenance from recent single-owner collections to royalty. The series offered remarkable breadth across ceramics, clocks, old master paintings, antiquities and fine decorative arts, achieving a total of £9,799,750 led by the sale of Georgios Klontzas's rare and important The Fall and Redemption of Man (the Spada Triptych) for £1,863,400, setting a new world auction record for the artist and standing as the highest-value lot of the week. Nette Megens, Group Head, Classics, UK and Europe, commented: "Bonhams Classics Week has once again demonstrated the enduring resonance of exceptional objects, with results that reflect both the strength and sophistication of today's market. Across the sales, we saw collectors drawn to works of distinctive character and provenance, pieces that not only embody remarkable craftsmanship but also carry compelling histories. The success of the week underscores a continued global appetite for objects that unite rarity, authenticity and aesthetic appeal, affirming the category's vitality and its ability to engage new and seasoned collectors alike." FINE GLASS & BRITISH CERAMICS 24-25 June, live auction at Knightsbridge Leading the sale was a remarkable private collection of English Delftware, including a very rare large dish, circa 1740, painted with a spotted cat playing a fiddle with an estimate of £25,000-35,000 which sold for £48,640. This piece was followed by a 'Fox' charger, circa 1670-1685, estimated at £15,000-25,000, which also sold for an impressive £40,960. Also included was the Gordon and Sue Guy-Jones collection which included a rare Bow large model of a lion, circa 1750 which was estimated at £5,000–7,000 and sold for £7,680. Further lots showed The Damment Collection of glass which additionally performed strongly. The sale made a total of £810,701. 500 YEARS OF EUROPEAN CERAMICS 30 June, live auction at New Bond Street The highlights of the sale included a refined pair of Sèvres pink and green ground cups and saucers, circa 1760 (estimate £40,000–60,000), each reserved with gilt-edged panels depicting children in landscape vignettes, which sold for £89,300. Also included, a Sèvres bleu céleste ground seau à verre from the Louis XV service, circa 1753–54 (estimate £30,000–50,000), which sold for over twice the high estimate at £108,350. Both were from a private collection of Sèvres porcelain. Amongst other highlights was a rare Herend cased armorial tea service made for Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, circa 1864 (estimate £10,000–15,000). Richly decorated in the Imari-inspired "Miramare" pattern and bearing the Imperial arms and monogram "MIM", the service was donated by the Emperor to a charity raffle in 1866 in which it was won by the forebear of the present owner, representing an unbroken provenance for over 150 years. The service sold for £30,720. The sale made a total of £646,574. FINE CLOCKS 30 June, live auction at New Bond Street An exceptional burr walnut longcase clock by Thomas Tompion, London, No. 385, lead the selection, with an estimate of £150,000–250,000 and sold for £241,700. It was joined by a fine and rare pre-numbered late 17th-century ebony-veneered Dutch striking table clock of small size by Thomas Tompion, London, circa 1675 (estimate £80,000–120,000), which sold for £89,300. Additionally, a fine and rare late 17th century eight-day walnut longcase clock Thomas Tompion, London, pre-numbered, circa 1680, which was estimated at £70,000 – 100,000, sold for £114,700. Complementing the group was a rare mid 18th century Barkley and Colley silver mounted table clock which, against an estimate of £25,000-35,000, made £51,200 The sale made a total of £1,540,270. OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1 July, live auction at New Bond Street Leading the sale was portraiture of the late 16th and early 17th centuries represented by Robert Peake the Elder's Portrait of Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham (estimate £150,000–200,000), depicting the prominent courtier and close confidante of Queen Elizabeth I, which sold for £190,900. Strong prices were achieved across the sale, with a Studio of Sir Anthony van Dyck portrait of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, which realised £140,100 against an estimate of £30,000–£50,000. A watercolour by J.M.W. Turner RA also outperformed expectations, selling for £89,300 compared with its estimate of £40,000–£60,000. The sale made a total of £1,188,584. A LIFE IN CERAMICS: THE PETER AND MARY WHITE COLLECTION 1 July, live auction at New Bond Street Leading the collection was a rare Staffordshire slipware owl jug and cover, circa 1700, decorated in combed cream, orange and brown slips, an early example of English slipware estimated at £20,000–30,000, and sold for over double the high estimate at £70,250. Early Chelsea porcelain attracted particularly competitive bidding. A Chelsea white basket, circa 1745–49, achieved £63,900 against an estimate of £5,000–£8,000, while an extremely rare Chelsea white 'teaplant' beaker, dating from the same period, realised £27,520, substantially surpassing its £1,500–£2,500 estimate. The European section of the sale was anchored by rare Böttger stoneware leaf-shaped dish selling at £20,000 against a £3,000 – 5,000 estimate. The sale made a total of £639,046. ANTIQUITIES 2 July, live auction at New Bond Street A Roman marble figure of the Muse Erato or Terpsichore led the sale, achieving £140,100 against a pre-sale estimate of £40,000–60,000 and selling for more than twice its high estimate. Strong results continued with an Egyptian wood mask with inlaid eyes, which realised £62,630 against an estimate of £5,000–8,000, achieving nearly eight times its high estimate after attracting exceptional bidding interest. The sale made a total of £1,027,768. FINE DECORATIVE ARTS 2 July, live auction at New Bond Street The sale featured several exceptional lots, led by a rare and impressive Greek icon by Georgios Klontzas, The Fall and Redemption of Man (the Spada Triptych), which carried an estimate of £100,000–150,000. One of several important Greek icons offered in the auction, the work dramatically surpassed expectations, achieving £1,863,400 and emerging as one of the sale's standout results, setting a new world auction record for a Greek icon. Strong prices were achieved across the sale's selection of Greek icons. A double-sided triptych depicting The Disputation on the Holy Sacrament (The Triumph of the Eucharist); The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost); The Conversion of Saul; and In Thee Rejoiceth, by the Ionian (Heptanese) School and dating to the second half of the 17th century, realised £190,900, significantly above its estimate of £30,000–40,000. Likewise, a Cretan School Triptych Icon with the Three Hierarchs, Feasts of the Liturgical Year, the Prophet Elijah, Saints Kosmas and Damian, and Saint Catherine, also from the second half of the 17th century, achieved £152,800 against an estimate of £40,000–60,000. The sale also saw strong demand for early English works of art and craftsmanship. A rare and important set of four English carved oak heraldic newel post finial beasts, representing the royal arms as a lion, unicorn, dragon and hound, and dating from the Late Elizabethan or early Jacobean period, circa 1600, sold for £127,400, more than eight times its high estimate of £15,000. This exceptional result highlighted collectors' appetite for rare and historically significant examples of British decorative arts. Additionally, a rare and important mid-17th-century Norwegian provincial silver peg tankard by Anders Andersen Heins of Trondheim, circa 1650 (estimate £15,000–25,000) sold for £19,200. The tankard bears the arms of Thomas Hammond, an English-born merchant who settled in Norway and became one of Trondheim's most prominent 17th-century figures through his involvement in the timber trade. The sale made a total of £3,096,746. Online sales: Fine Books, 22 Jun - 1 July, Online - Top lot of the sale was William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (the Fourth Folio edition), which achieved £121,050 against a pre-sale estimate of £60,000–80,000, underscoring continued demand for landmark works of English literature. The Classics Online continues this week with: The Classics Online: Antiquities & Clocks, 22 Jun - 7 July Travel & Exploration Online, 6 - 15 July