Russian Icon Sets World Record at Christie's London Sale

Thursday, 14 June 2007 00:30

LONDON - Christie's London sale Icons and Artefacts from the Orthodox World on Monday 11 June 2007 was a great success. The top lot was St. Nicholas The Miracle Worker of Myra, Russian, signed by M. Dikarev, the oklad marked by Jakov Fedorovitch Mischukov (Moscow), 1894, which realized £434,000 setting a new world record for any icon at auction.

“Last Monday’s sale of Icons and Artefacts from the Orthodox World was very successful as it fetched over £2,224,000, an amount well over the sale’s high estimate. The Russian icon of St. Nicholas, which belonged to the Tsar Nikolas II, was sold for the astounding amount of £434,400, thus becoming the most expensive icon ever sold in an auction, proving that pieces of high artistic quality and excellent provenance are highly desirable.

This observation is further confirmed by the exceptionally successful sale of the 14th century Byzantine icon of the ‘Old Testament Trinity’, the Cretan icon of the Mother of God and the rare woodcarving from Mount Athos. The sale room was packed with private buyers and dealers from London, Europe, Russia and the US who actively participated in bidding. We do hope that our next Icons sale in November 2007 will do equally well,” said Maria Paphiti, Specialist and Head of Sale.

About Christie’s : Christie’s is the world’s leading art business with global auction sales in 2006 that totaled £2.51 billion / $4.67 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service, and international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie’s conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 600 sales annually in over 80 categories. Prices range from $200 to over $80 million. Christie’s has 85 offices in 43 countries and 14 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Hong Kong. Most recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging markets such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Dubai, Mumbai and Russia. Christie’s also offers its clients worldwide access to its sales through Christie’s LIVE, its unique, real-time online bidding service. Visit : www.christies.com