Auction Results

Australian artist Arkley sets new auction record

A new artist auction record of just over $1.5 million awaited Australian artist the late Howard Arkley when Menzies winter sale got underway on June 27 in Melbourne.

The result eclipsed his previous record of $646,000 set in 2016 for a similar work to Deluxe Setting, 1992 (lot 32) which was the subject of intense bidding on the night.

Dying tragically early in 1999 after representing Australia at that year’s Venice Biennale, Arkley became famous for...

German artist and Chinese figure tie for top auction price

A painting by German artist Oscar Merte (1873-1938) entitled Riders in the Park (lot 250) and an 18th century Chinese carved wood and polychromed figure of Guan Yin (lot 276) shared first prize spoils at Leski Auctions June Decorative Arts & Collectables Melbourne sale – each selling for $7500 hammer price.

Standing on a rocky outcrop, the Chinese figure was converted to a table lamp early in the 20th century.

An Anglo-Indian Vizagapatam ivory...

Australian sculptures and paintings fetch top billing at Melbourne auction

Australian sculpture John Kendrick Blogg’s (1851-1936) work Old Cronies (lot 27) and Frederick McCubbin’s (1855-1917) painting Untitled (Bush Study, Mount Macedon) (lot 165) shared top billing at Gibson’s Auctions June Melbourne sale entitled The Australian Collection.

Both sold for $9936 (including buyer’s premium) as buyers were keen to snap up as many of the offered lots as possible.

Blogg’s picture frame carved in high relief with a leafy gum branch and...

Colonial artists to the fore in history auction

Works by two colonial Australian artists – Emanuel Philips Fox (1865-1915) and Ludwig Becker (1808-1861) – brought the highest prices at Leski Auctions Melbourne sale on Sunday May 26.

Fox’s Reclining Nude (lot 592) went under the hammer for $10,000 followed closely by Becker’s Melbourne and the old Princes Bridge (lot 596) for $9000.

A 19th century yellow gold brooch (lot 697) – featuring a kangaroo, emu, possum and bird – attributed to Lamborn and...

Phar Lap auction mementos prove popular with buyers

Australian horse racing icon Phar Lap mementos proved popular with auction goers at Abacus Auctions Melbourne sporting memorabilia sale on May 19 with his 1930 horseshoes (lot 376) going under the hammer for $25,000.

This was the year that Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup as the only horse ever to start the race odds-on favourite – along with a major race on each of the four days of the Victoria Racing Club Spring calendar, a feat never since replicated.

During his distinguished...

Rare Chinese vases bring top auction price

A rare pair of Chinese bronze and enamel vases (lot 347), decorated with birds (including peacocks), lotus and flowering peony and iris, was the top selling lot at Leski Auctions May 5 Melbourne sale of the iconic Joshua McClelland Print Room and family associated Rathdowne Galleries (which closed in 2018) comprehensive range of prints, paintings, porcelain and furniture – going under the hammer for $19,000 on a $10,000 high estimate.  

The leading art work was...

Country auction items sell above estimates

Gibson’s Auctions Red Hill sale on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula on April 28 saw many items sell well above their catalogue estimates.

Perhaps the most remarkable was an untitled painting circa 1835 from the Australian School, showing a view of Hobart with St David’s on the left (lot 155), that sold for $5612 including buyer’s premium – more than 11 times its listing.

Among the jewellery on offer, a nine-carat gold and diamond curb chain link changed hands for $3172 (lot 306...

Auction records aplenty at Sydney sale

With everyone including the auctioneer keeping their fingers crossed, Ian Fairweather’s Barbecue, 1963 (lot 23) set an auction record for the artist when it was knocked down for $1.4 million ($1.708 million including buyer’s premium) at Deutscher and Hackett’s Sydney April 10 sale, which totalled $9 million or 100 per cent by value and 87 per cent by volume.

Unlike Sotheby’s failed attempt the night before to sell Charles Blackman’s Sleeping Alice,...

Finding your way around the planet and stars still a popular auction pastime

It appears that finding your way around the planet and the stars is as popular as ever given that a pair of circa 1865 30-centimetre terrestrial and celestial library globes was, at $26,840, the top selling lot (341) at Gibson’s Auctions April 1-2 Melbourne sale.

A 19th century French bronze mounted Boulle tortoiseshell striking eight-day mantel clock was another popular attraction, changing hands for $10,370, in an auction that realised 80.2 per cent by value.

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Australian colonial artist a hit with auction goers

The family collection of well-known Australian colonial identity and professional artist Thomas Balcombe (1810-1861) was a hit with auction goers at Menzies March 28 Sydney sale – with the only known self-portrait selling for $28,000, more than three times the upper catalogue estimate $9000.  

The collection comprised more than 100 sketches, drawings and watercolours passed down through four generations of the family since their original production in the 1850s.

Lot 57,...

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