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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.

Christie's London Sales
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. Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Julie Brener Davich
June 29, 2025

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.