Jun 29, 2025

Welcome back to Wall Power. Tonight, I’m handing the keys to Julie Davich, who’s been tracking last week’s sales and has the results on Lincolniana, daguerreotypes, Ferris Bueller’s sweater-vest, Magdalene Odundo’s ceramics, and a dress worn by Princess Diana. If all that isn’t enough, Julie also previews the Old Master sales, starring a £20 million Canaletto, this coming week in London.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Let’s get started…

Julie Brener Davich

While the auction world focused on the modern and contemporary art sales in London this past week, there were prices popping in other categories and salerooms.

A Lincolniana mystery buyer: Sotheby’s New York sold a copy of the Thirteenth Amendment signed by Abraham Lincoln for $13.7 million against an estimate of $8 million, as well a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, also signed by Lincoln, for $4.4 million against an estimate of $3 million. (The previous records for each were $2.4 million and $3.8 million, respectively.) Sotheby’s chairman Jodi Pollack was on the phone with the winning bidder for both lots. No word yet on the identity of the buyer, although Ken Griffin recently announced he’s loaning his copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, along with a $15 million gift to fund a new exhibition. Last summer, Griffin turned out to be the winning bidder—over the phone with Pollack—when Sotheby’s auctioned the stegosaurus fossil Apex, for which he paid $44.6 million before promptly loaning it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. A Sotheby’s spokesperson told me they’re not revealing the buyer of the Lincoln signed documents at this time.
Pottering around in London: Sotheby’s London’s sale of the late Sydney Denton’s ceramics collection achieved £1.8 million against an estimate of £750,000. Two-thirds of the sale total came from two vases by Magdalene Odundo—one achieved a new world auction record for the artist at £723,900, while the other sold for £495,300. A third vase estimated at £60,000 failed to sell. A new world record was also achieved for John Ward when a large green and white disc pot sold for £38,100—nearly five times the estimate.
A dynamite Napoleon: After a global tour, Sotheby’s Paris auctioned a collection dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Empire, reportedly a distressed sale by antiques collector Pierre-Jean Chalençon. The top lot was a painting of the emperor on a piebald horse by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse, which sold for €863,600, or 29 times its estimate of €30,000, and 46 times the artist’s previous record of €18,750, set in 2008. The work is a smaller version of Jacques-Louis David’s iconic monumental composition Napoleon Crossing the Alps.
These dags didn’t hunt: The results from Christie’s sale of the Lynn and Yann Maillet daguerreotype collection were mixed, with buyers gravitating toward portraits, and away from landscapes. A circa 1840-1842 Portrait of a Woman, by Robert Cornelius, sold for $60,480—20 times its estimate of $3,000. A circa 1851 image of a California gold mine sold for $44,100 against an estimate of $12,000. But the five lots with the highest estimates—all landscapes, ranging from $60,000 to $150,000—failed to sell. An expert in the field had told me that perhaps the daguerreotypes should have been dispersed across thematic sales, like Americana and military items. But most likely the goal for Yann was not to maximize prices, but rather to create an event that paid tribute to the collection he and his wife formed together over decades. That is best done with a single-owner sale. By that measure, it was a success.
Other odd lots: Sotheby’s held the third and final auction of T. Kimball Brooker’s collection of Renaissance-era Aldines—i.e., books published by the Venice printing house that Aldus Manutius established in 1494. A 1501 Aldine of Virgil’s poems—the first book printed in italic type—sold for $1 million against an estimate of $150,000. Meanwhile, Ferris Bueller’s sweater-vest sold for $279,400. It was less than the estimate of $300,000, but represents a tidy profit on the $143,750 that the consignor, Darren Rovell, paid at Heritage two years ago.Not to be left out, Julien’s auctioned fashions from the late Princess Diana in Los Angeles. A 1988 Bellville Sassoon floral day dress sold for $520,000 against an estimate of $200,000. It’s the dress Diana was wearing on the day that the winning bidder, Renae Plant, founder of the virtual Princess Diana Museum, met her as a teenager in Sydney. It’s not the most expensive item ever to sell from the late princess’s wardrobe, however; that distinction belongs to her “black sheep” sweater, which sold at Sotheby’s in 2023 for $1.1 million.

Now to the main event…

Old Masters, New Tricks

London is gearing up for a week of spectacular Old Masters and unusual antique sales, as the market digests a new anti-trafficking rule—provenance matters now more than ever—and strives for new heights.

Julie Brener Davich

In London, the top auction houses have worked through a heat wave to swap out their inventory from last week’s modern and contemporary sales, where Sotheby’s posted a £62.4 million evening, to prepare for the arrival of the antiques crowd. Christie’s will go first, on Tuesday, with its Exceptional Sale and Old Masters evening sale, followed by Sotheby’s and Bonhams on Wednesday. Christie’s has 42 lots in their evening sale, estimated to bring in £39.6 million. These auctions will be the first since the E.U.’s new anti-trafficking regulation—which requires more provenance information for imported goods—went into effect. Objects that are more than 200 years old and valued at more than €18,000 will now need to meet the stricter criteria. The rule places an additional bureaucratic burden on a European art market already drowning in paperwork after Brexit, but it remains to be seen whether it will hamper European collectors from transacting abroad. Both Old Masters and antiquities specialists told me they’ve seen increased Asian buying in their categories at the middle-market level in recent years, which might help offset any declines.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

In any event, the new rule doesn’t appear to have dampened excitement for the works on offer. Half the value of Christie’s evening sale is in one painting: Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, a Canaletto masterpiece estimated to fetch in excess of £20 million (with a third-party guarantee). “It ticks pretty much every box,” said Andrew Fletcher, global head of Old Masters at Christie’s. It’s from the early 1730s, the high point in the artist’s career, and depicts a quintessential view of Venice—centuries before its Bezos-Sánchez nadir. It’s in fantastic condition, with thick impasto, but even more of the painting could be uncovered with a light surface cleaning, Fletcher told me. Most impressive is its provenance, dating back to the early 18th century, when it was owned by Britain’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole, who displayed it at 10 Downing Street. It has only appeared at auction twice—in 1751 and 1993. The current record for a Canaletto painting is £18.6 million ($32.7 million), set in 2005. Fletcher said that collectors in today’s market are seeking truly unique works, unlike 10 or 20 years ago, when they tended to collect one genre in depth, like Dutch landscapes or medieval gold ground paintings. “It’s an image-driven market,” he told me, pointing to the 16th century Willem Key painting Woman with Two Beards as an example of something “weird and wonderful” that is highly sought-after by today’s collectors. Estimated at £300,000, it’s the most expensive work by the artist to ever appear at auction. It was put up for sale by New York collector Mickey Cartin, who has consigned four works—including one of three Vilhelm Hammershøi paintings being offered this week—estimated at a combined £950,000. Other highlights from Christie’s evening sale include an elaborate 17th century De Heem still life that hasn’t appeared at auction since 1997. It’s estimated at £3 million and carries a third-party guarantee. The silver and glassware in the painting are exquisitely rendered, including an ewer with the artist’s reflection at the far right. (Just last month, Sotheby’s set an auction record for the artist when a floral still life from the Saunders collection made $8.8 million.) From the same unnamed collection at Christie’s is a rare signed Titian portrait of a nobleman, also estimated at £3 million.

Clara Peeters, A presumed self-portrait (c. 1607-1621). Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Meanwhile, at Sotheby’s, George Gordon, the global co-chairman of Old Masters, sees collectors gravitating toward portraiture. “Images of us appeal across categories and geographical regions,” he told me. Indeed, two-thirds of the works in Sotheby’s evening auction depict human subjects, including Lorenzo di Credi’s Saint Quirinus of Neuss, estimated at £2 million, the highest sum ever assigned to a work by the artist at auction.

Five paintings in the evening sale come from the collection of Baron and Baronne Bertrand de Giey, in addition to 19 pieces of 16th-17th century Flemish silver that are being offered in a single-owner sale the following day. Their painting by Clara Peeters, estimated at £1.2 million, is one of only two by the artist, who is known for her still lifes, to include a female figure, presumably herself. None of the works in Sotheby’s sale carry guarantees.

Antique, Exceptional, and Unusual

Sotheby’s and Christie’s have taken different approaches to the antiquities market, where the number of objects circulating has shrunk due to stricter anti-trafficking regulations. At the same time, according to Claudio Corsi, Christie’s head of antiquities in London, demand has increased for lots that have clear and documented provenance. He pointed to a 1st century Roman marble torso, estimated at £50,000, with provenance dating to the 19th century. A more recent trend, Corsi told me, is ancient jewelry and glyptics (carved gems), a category where prices have been climbing. This week, Christie’s is offering a selection of ancient jewels once owned by the renowned Swiss collectors Marthe and Ernst Kofler-Truniger, such as the Hellenistic gold necklace with butterfly pendant estimated at £25,000. Altogether, Christie’s antiquities sale of 110 lots is estimated to bring just under £2 million. Sotheby’s no longer has a stand-alone antiquities sale this week; rather, they’re folding those objects into their Master Sculpture from Four Millennia auction, where highlights include a terracotta maquette by Statue of Liberty designer Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, estimated at £200,000. The maquette shows Bartholdi’s original vision for the statue, in which she holds broken chains, in a nod to the abolitionist movement, instead of a tablet. (On the actual statue, the broken chains lie at her feet.) Christie’s will also have its Exceptional Sale this week, which is formatted to showcase objects across millennia that are selected based on rarity, beauty, craftsmanship, and historic significance. The 44 lots are expected to bring £6 million. “Clients are consistently drawn to the unusual, one-off pieces that tell a story,” the sale’s head, Thomas Williams, explained. For example, a Victorian four-poster bed by F. & C. Osler in cut-crystal and ruby-colored glass, estimated at £100,000—“the stuff of fairytales,” he said—is currently trending on Christie’s website. Another lot garnering presale attention is a war-torn Union Jack from the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, estimated at £500,000. Finally, over at Bonhams, the British auction house will hold a two-day series of sales including Old Master paintings, antiquities, clocks, and 500 years of European ceramics. The 149 clocks on offer range from carriage clocks to longcase clocks. The top lot is a £100,000 gilt-engraved table clock from the late 16th/early 17th century. Likewise, the European ceramics sale spans 16th century Venetian maiolica to 19th century Sèvres porcelain, led by an 1888 Sèvres vase de Nîmes estimated at £80,000.

Thanks, Julie. More on Tuesday, M

The ultimate fashion industry bible, offering incisive reportage on all aspects of the business and its biggest players. Anchored by preeminent fashion journalist Lauren Sherman, Line Sheet also features veteran reporter Rachel Strugatz, who delivers unparalleled intel on what’s happening in the beauty industry, and Sarah Shapiro, a longtime retail strategist who writes about e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, D.T.C., and more.

Finally, a media podcast about what’s actually happening in the media—not the oversanitized, legal-and-standards-approved version you read online. Join Dylan Byers, Puck’s veteran media reporter, as he sits down with TV personalities, moguls, pundits, and industry executives for raw, honest, sometimes salacious conversations about the business of media and its biggest egos. New episodes publish every Tuesday and Friday.

D.C.’s Iran Split Screen

JULIA IOFFE

HBO’s New Bonus System

MATTHEW BELLONI

The Vogue Succession Shortlist

LAUREN SHERMAN

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news. You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with . To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.