Sothebys Antiquities
July 28, 2008Sotheby's is the world's second oldest auction house in continuous operation (the oldest being Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674). Its predecessor, Baker's, was founded in London, England on 11 March 1744 when Samuel Baker presided over the disposal of "several hundred scarce and valuable" books from the library of a certain Rt. Hon. Sir John Stanley. This disposal however was not by means of auction and as Frank Herrmann and Brian Learmount observe,[citation needed] the business did not seek to auction fine arts in general until much later, their first major success in this field being the sale of a Frans Hals painting for 9 thousand guineas as late as 1913. The current business dates back to 1804 when two of the partners of the original business (Leigh and Sotheby) left to set up their own book dealership.
Click on the Picture Below for More Information:
 The Official Sotheby Parke Bernet Price Guide to Ant... |
 Sothebys Antiquites et Objects d'Art from deBehague |
 Byzantine Reliquary Cross, Intact with Both Halves |
 Celt - Iberian Bronze Fibula, 6th - 3rd Century BC |
 Chinese Han Dynasty Crossbow Trigger |
 Greek Bronze Bull Figurine, Temple of Poseidon |
 Iron Age Judaean or Hebrew Oil Lamp |
 Jewish or Hebrew Pomegranate Bead |
 Lot of 3 Neolithic Arrowpoints, 6-8,000 Years Old |
 Lot of Four Roman Handles or Lock Pins |
 Lot of Six Greek, Roman & Later Thimbles |
 Lot of Two Roman Spindle Whorls |
Today, the firm has an annual turnover of approximately $3 billion[citation needed], and offices on London's New Bond Street and Manhattan's York Avenue. This powerful position has been achieved through natural growth, acquisitions (most notably the 1964 purchase of the United States' largest auctioneer of fine art, Parke-Bernet), and smart management during the cyclical "art recessions" of the 20th century. Sotheby's New York completed renovations on its York Avenue headquarters in 2001 adding the unique capability to store works on the same premises as the specialist departments, galleries, and auction spaces. Christie's New York still employs an off-site storage facility for its Rockefeller Center offices. Sotheby's New York's offices are also unique in that they house Aulden Cellars (an in-house wine cellar) and the former Bid (an American contemporary restaurant and later bistro), which despite promising reviews closed due to poor attendance.
The company was purchased in 1983 by American millionaire A. Alfred Taubman, who took it public in 1988.
Sotheby's has an intense rivalry with Christie's for the position of the world's preeminent fine art auctioneer, a title of much subjectivity. In August 2004 Sotheby's brought its innovative SAP system online. Christie's is believed to be following suit late in 2007. In January 2007 Sotheby's adopted a higher buyer's premium policy, once again to be copied by Christie's. Sotheby's recently augmented its web services to focus more intensely on what its clients desired - in the form of MySotheby's - allowing them to track lots and create "wishlists" that could be automatically updated as new works became available. In May 2007, Sotheby's opened an office in Moscow in response to rapidly growing interest among Russian buyers in the international art market