Auction Highlights: Top Lots of 2016

Lot 84
BLUE & WHITE DRAGON STEM CUP
Sold for £3,600,000 (inclusive of buyer's premium)

In May of 2016, we hosted our first auction of Chinese Works of Art in Hong Kong, where this highly important blue and white 'dragon' stem cup went under the hammer to fetch over £3,000,000 after a long bidding battle. The Stem Cup was the highlight of a specially curated sale of Chinese Works of Art produced in conjunction with our sister saleroom, Freeman's of Philadelphia, America's oldest auction house. The Stem Cup's journey to Hong Kong began at Asian Art in London in November 2015 - with its first public exhibition in 20 years - followed by a trip to both Philadelphia and New York before travelling to Hong Kong in perfect time for the prestigious Asian Week Hong Kong festival this May.

Lot 53
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) | THE WEDGWOOD VASE
Sold for £290,500 (inclusive of buyer's premium)

In June, our Scottish Paintings auction included two private collections of important works. The major highlights included work by Cadell, Peploe and Hunter, known as the Wood Collection. A group of paintings purchased between the 1920s and the 1940s by the Edinburgh collector Walter Quarry Wood, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, with the advice of Duncan Macdonald of the renowned dealers Alex Reid and Lefevre and hung for many years in his family’s residence in the city’s New Town.

Lot 235
AN IMPRESSIVE SINGLE STONE DIAMOND RING
Sold for £93,750 (inclusive of buyer's premium)

Finally, we closed the year with an excellent price gained for this sparkling 20-carat ring in our December Select Jewellery & Watches auction. Held in the historic Mackintosh-designed Lighthouse, the evening auction was well-attended with lively bidding and standing room only. The Salvation Army band put attendees in the festive spirit, along with plenty of mince pies and fizz; all in all, a very good evening to commence the holiday season.

We look forward to our upcoming auctions in 2017, and we wish you a very happy festive season and a prosperous new year.