SELL WITH BONHAMS
Private & Iconic Collections
Bonhams has a proven track record in holding successful Private & Iconic Collection sales, regularly achieving 100% sell through rates
Our international team in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles work with an extensive network of 60 specialist departments to deliver the most rewarding experience, whilst achieving maximum results with estimates regularly been exceeded for our clients.
If you have a significant collection including paintings, furniture, silver and works of art that you are considering selling, we would be pleased to discuss how Bonhams may be able to help.
Find out more about our recent Private & Iconic Collections auctions below, or contact us to discuss your collection.
The Private & Iconic Collection department:
• Comprises of senior Bonhams directors, who all have a wealth of experience working on many notable sales
• Oversees the entire auction process, from initial sale proposal through to cataloguing and marketing the auction
• Handles sales across a wide spectrum of collections from Scottish castles and English stately homes to French chateaux and Italian and Caribbean villas
• Can advise on insurance, tax and heritage advice, and selling to benefit charities
The Crown
Part I Live Auction | 7 February 2024, London
Part II Online | 11 January – 8 February 2024
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• Sale total 3.2x low estimate
• Highlights tour to 3 global locations
• 30,000 visitors in 3 weeks to The Crown exhibition in London
• 7,000+ bidder registrations across both sales
• Bidders from more than 50 countries
• 3,100+ press features across 74 countries
Highlights:
• 1987 Jaguar XJ-SC 3.6 Litre Cabriolet used to portray Princess Diana's personal Jaguar, sold for £70,250
• The world's only reproduction of the Gold State Coach, sold for £56,280
• Elizabeth Debicki (as Princess Diana): The dress inspired by Princess Diana's 'Revenge dress', sold for £12,800
The Personal Collection of Sir Roger Moore
4 October 2023 | London
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• £1,117,300 total, against a pre-sale high estimate of £415,300
• Sale total 4x low estimate
• 7-hour auction marathon
• 2,500 bidder registrants
• Bidders from 50 countries
Highlights:
• 20 Swatch 007 wristwatches with presentation case to commemorate the 40th anniversary of James Bond on film, sold for £76,000
• Sir Roger Moore's white ski suit from A View to a Kill, sold for £28,200
• Omega special edition 50 Years of 007 Seamaster, sold for £57,600
Barbara Walters: American Icon
6 November 2023 | New York
29 October – 7 November 2023 | Online
At a glance:
• $5 million total
• 99% sold for the 135-lot live sale
• 100% sold for the 238-lot online sale
• Bidding from around the world
Highlights:
• 13.84 carats Harry Winston diamond ring, sold for $699,000
• Childe Hassam (1859-1935), The Peony Girl, sold for $622,800
• William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), The Tenth Street Studio, sold for $508,500
Alain Delon: 60 Years of Passion
22 June 2023 | Paris
At a glance:
• €8 million total
• Double pre-sale estimate
• 98% sold for the 83-lot live sale
Highlights:
• Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), La baie de Sainte-Adresse, 1906, €1,016,400
• Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), Cheval arabe attaché à un piquet (Arab Horse tied to a stake), sold for €775,100
• Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916), Panthère grognant et feulant, sold for €508,400
Sir Terence Conran, The Contents of Barton Court
14 December 2022 | London, New Bond Street
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• £1,179,500 total
• Three times the pre-sale estimate
Highlights:
• Allen Jones (b. 1937), Sculpture for 'Mezzo' Restaurant, 1995, sold for £21,037.50
• Sir Terence Conran's desk, sold for £20,400
• Group of miniature Bugattis, sold as individual lots, totalled £160,267
The Library of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
19–27 January 2022 | Online, New York
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• $2,354,510 total
• More bidders than any other online auction in Bonhams history
• Every lot selling well above its pre-sale estimate
Highlights:
• Ginsburg's heavily annotated copy of the 1957-58 Harvard Law Review, the year she became a member, sold for $100,312.50
• Gloria Steinem's presentation copy of her memoir, My Life on the Road, sold for $52,812.50
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg's own copy of her collected writings, My Own Words, sold for $81,562.50
Michael Caine: The Personal Collection
2 March 2022 | London, New Bond Street
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• £847,000 total over 183 lots
• Sale total 4x low estimate
• 1,800 bidder registrants
Highlights:
• Sir Michael Caine's Rolex wristwatch, sold for £125,250
• Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Les Amoureux dans l'arbre, sold for £81,500
• L.S. Lowry (1887-1976), Peel Park, sold for £44,000
The Lauren Bacall Collection
31 March & 1 April 2015 | New York
At a glance:
• $5 million total
• Against a pre-sale estimate of $3 million
• More than 1,500 bidders from 34 countries
• Two-day marathon auction lasting 20 hours achieved $3.6 million, not including two Henry Moore bronze sculptures sold the previous year
Highlights:
• John James Audubon (1785-1851), American White Pelican, sold for $173,000
• An amethyst, turquoise and diamond ring by Jean Schlumberger, sold for $52,500
• Two landscapes by Albert York (1926-2009), one of which achieved a world record for the artist at $161,000
The Rory Gallagher Collection
17 October 2024 | London, New Bond Street
At a glance:
• 100% sold
• £2.54 million total including buyer’s premium
• 1,860 auction registrations
• 606 press articles in 30 countries, 97K website sessions
"One thing is for sure, if Bonhams was a record company, we would want Rory to sign with them."
Highlights:
• Rory Gallagher's legendary 1961 Fender Stratocaster. Sold for £889,400 (€1,068,956 / $1,156,793)
• A Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar, Known As Rory's 'Backup Strat', 1958. Sold for £127,400.
• A Martin D-35 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, 1968. Sold for £102,000.
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