PRESS INFO

Baroque throne sold for 750% over the reserve
Prague 27.11.2004

The biggest sensation at the recent auction held by Dorotheum Praha at the Renaissance Prague Hotel on 27.11.2004, was a 19th century wooden throne in the baroque style from central Europe. Two bidders fought it out over the telephone, with the throne finally being sold for 340,000 crowns, an amazing 750% over the reserve. Overall the auction made over 9 million crowns, including commission. Items auctioned included paintings, graphic art, drawings, statues and sculptures, glass, porcelain, weapons, oriental art, clocks and furniture. Forty seven percent of the 380 items on sale found new owners.
The baroque throne was also the most expensive item sold on the day. A close second was an unusually large gouache by Josef Lada entitled Koledníci (The Carol Singers), dated 1942, with a reserve of 260,000 crowns, which was sold for 320,000 crowns. Several bidders showed interest in the picture, which was finally purchased by a bidder in the actual auction room. The next highest price was paid for an oil painting by excellent Austrian 19th century painter, Josef Lauer, Zátiší s ovocem a pohárem (Still Life with Fruit and Goblet), dated 1851, with a reserve of 180,000 crowns and sold for 280,000 crowns. Like the artist’s other work, the painting is characterised by its fascinatingly naturalistic depiction of fruit and flowers.
Another still life, Kytice ve váze s housenkou, lasturou a můrou (Bouquet in Vase with Caterpillar, Shell and Moth) by a late 17th century central European artist was sold for 260,000 crowns, while a realistic oil painting by Vojtěch Bartoňka from the second half of the 19th century Malá družička s dědou (Little Bridesmaid with Grandfather) was sold for 220,000 crowns. Not only distinctive for its interesting theme, Bartoňka’s painting is also characterised by its exceptional execution of individual details. A work entitled Stádo v horské krajině se zříceninou (Herd in Mountain Landscape with Ruins) attributed to the noted 17th century German artist, Johann Heinrich Roos, was sold for the same price. An oil painting by Václav Radimský, Cesta zimním lesem (Journey Through a Winter Forest), which is a fine example of his later work, sold for 200,000 crowns.
A collector’s piece, a composition study by Václav Brožík for the famous painting Tu felix Austria nube, currently on display in Austria’s Belvedere, found a new owner for 180,000 crowns. A silver cutlery service for twelve people and a baroque case clock, often called a „Bracket Clock“, also sold for the same price.
Lovers of classic antiques showed great interest in two soup terrines in the collection of Viennese 18th century porcelain, which were sold for 85,000 and 75,000 respectively, 150% and 200% over the reserve. A flintlock rifle with an oriental barrel by famous Bratislava gunsmith Fischer, once owned by the aristocratic Pálffy family, also found a new owner for 80,000 crowns.
Ninety-one bidders attended the auction, while another 42 bidders left bids on the book or took part via the telephone. The auction ran for almost four hours, with Petra Kydlíčková - Hajská and Miroslav Zíka alternating as auctioneers.