Submitted by Nick Gilbert on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 09:25
Georgiana Aitken, Head of Sale, Antiquities at Christie’s South Kensington, was kind enough to answer my questions about auctioneering.
HK: Is it possible for an ordinary person to acquire items from antiquity? If you had, say, a few thousand pounds to spend?
GA: Yes absolutely, antiquities are much more affordable and accessible than people would think. Estimates in our sales start at £500.
HK: How healthy is the antiquity market at the moment from the point of view of the vendor and auctioneer? Has it been hit by the global economic downturn?
Submitted by Nick Gilbert on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 18:27
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
“Hmm, that bust of Diocletian would look lovely on my fireplace”, or “That middle kingdom Sarcophagus would really set off the dining room wall paper.” Sadly for most of us, in these convalescent economic times, we must make do with Ikea.
Indeed, the recession hit collectors across the board, and unsurprisingly, with big spenders spending less, the recession hit auctioneers hard, and in 2009 Christie's announced significant job cuts.
But let's escape from these times of frugality, back to the days when antiquities were fetching record prices in the glamorous auction rooms of the world, with a this compilation of great sales from the rich history of Christie's auction house:
Christie's 'Ancient Art and Antiquities' department offers ancient art from the dawn of civilization to the Dark Ages, ranging from Western Europe to the Caspian Sea, embracing the cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Near East.
Sales are held four times a year, twice in New York and twice in London.
Christie's 'Ancient Art and Antiquities' department offers ancient art from the dawn of civilization to the Dark Ages, ranging from Western Europe to the Caspian Sea, embracing the cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Near East.
Christie's London holds the world auction record of £7,926,650 for the Jenkins Venus from Newby Hall, England. This Roman marble statue was sold in 2002 for the highest price ever achieved for an ancient classical marble sculpture at auction. Other famous artefacts sold are The Schuster "Stargazer", an Anatolian marble female idol from the Chalcolithic Period, which fetched $1,808,000, and the Celtic gold warrior Fibula from the 3rd Century BC which was bought by the British Museum for £1,103,750 in April 2001.
Sales are held four times a year, twice in New York and twice in London.
A hat-trick of victories have been won around the world this week in the global fight against the theft and sale of archaeological artefacts – a multi-million dollar international industry. The arrest of three men in Bulgaria in connection with their possession of a number of precious Roman coins and other items is particularly heartening, since it offers some sign that the tide might be turning in the struggle against a black-market industry that has been destroying the country’s rich ancient heritage.
Georgiana Aitken, Head of Sale, Antiquities at 
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
