Baltic Beauties
Winning Hand
Ê Bonhams Hong Kong has sold what it describes as
“the rarest collection of Japanese whisky” for
£753,000. The Hanyu Ichiro Full Card Series
comprised 54 bottles, each labelled with the image of
a different playing card and filled from individual
casks of premium whisky produced by the acclaimed
Hanyu distillery. Bonhams became the first auction
house to sell a Full Card Series in 2015 for £403,000 and
established a record for a Japanese whisky collection. It is
thought that only four sets of the Full Card Series exist. The
Hanyu distillery was established in 1941, but closed in 2000, with the contents sold
to businessman Ichiro Akuto, who saved 400 casks of single malt.Peter Wallman, the former CEO of RM Sotheby’s, has
launched a website called LastBid that is designed to give
buyers another chance to compete for unsold auction
lots. The site features thousands of items across all
collecting categories—from wine to jewellery and classic
cars—that have failed to ind buyers in auction rooms
around the world. LastBid users can bid for them online,
with ive opportunities to increase their offer. Successful
bidders will be contacted directly by the relevant auction
house to arrange payment and collection. “It’s a bit like a
trove of missed opportunities,” says Wallman. “Buyers
can ind all sorts of items under one
roof, everything from ine art
to cars, wine and
jewellery.” lastbid.com
BRUUN RASMUSSEN AUCTIONEERS HAMMERSHØI; ISTOCK HAMMER; © DIX NOONAN WEBB COINS; JON KOPALOFF/WIREIMAGE RODRIGUEZ AND LOPEZBONHAMS VILLA, CHANDELIER, ENCOIGNURE, RODIN, AUCTION SCENE, WHISKY BOTTLES
October
4 Christie’s, Post-war and Contemporary
Art (evening) London
Christie’s, Thinking Italian, London
Phillips, 20th Century and
Contemporary Art (evening), London
Sotheby’s, Contemporary Art, London
7 Sotheby’s, Magniicent Jewels and
Jadeite, Hong Kong
10 Bonhams, Impressionist and Modern
Art, London
10 Bonhams, Contents of a Virginian
Country House, Los Angeles
15 Bonhams, Prints and Multiples, Los
Angeles
Sotheby’s, Modern and Contemporary
African Art, London
16 Bonhams, Scottish Art, Edinburgh
16 Christie’s, Design, London
17 Phillips, Design, London
Sotheby’s, Impressionist and Modern
Art, Paris
24 Christie’s, Art of the Islamic and Indian
Worlds, London
25 Phillips, Editions and Works on Paper,
New York
Phillips, Photographs, London
29 Sotheby’s, Gold: The Midas Touch,
London
28 Christie’s, European Art, New York
Sotheby’s, Pre-Columbian
Treasures, Paris
November
7 Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London
11 Bonhams, African, Oceanic and
Pre-Columbian Art, New York
12 Bonhams, Impressionist and Modern
Art, New York
12 Christie’s, Magniicent Jewels, Geneva
14 Phillips, 20th Century and
Contemporary Art (evening), New York
20 Bonhams, Modern British and Irish Art,
London
20 Christie’s, American Art, New York
21 Christie’s, Modern British, London
25 Christie’s, Important Russian Art, London
26 Sotheby’s, Russian Works of Art and
Pictures, London
Sotheby’s, Fine Jewels, London
27 Bonhams, Important Design, London
27 Bonhams, The Russian Sale, London December
4 Sotheby’s, Contemporary Art
(evening), Paris
4 Bonhams, Jewels, London
9 Phillips, Jewels, New York
9 Bonhams, Jewels, New York
10 Sotheby’s, Asian Art, Paris
17 Phillips, Design, New YorkAUCTION CALENDAR
NOT GONE YET
H
ouse sales are becoming
rarer, but this month
Bonhams will auction the entire
contents of a Latvian villa on the
shores of the Baltic Sea. Everything must
go from the Riga property, which has been
described as “palatial”, including one of the nest
collections of 19th-century revivalist furniture in private hands, a cellar
full of Dom Perignon and Petrus wines, and a pair of vast Russian
chandeliers. And there’s no need to travel to Latvia to see it all,
because Bonhams has carefully installed the entire collection in its
Bond Street galleries, where it
will be sold. The
Contents of a 19th
Century Baltic
Villa is on view
from October
14-16 (day of sale).
bonhams.comNOVEMBER 2019 VANITY FAIR ON ART11-19-Auction-Report.indd 41 18/09/2019 09:4241