Photo credit: sothebys.com
The auction of works of Russian decorative and applied arts has brought nearly three million dollars to Sotheby's, TASS reports.
The main lot was the icon of the Almighty Savior in a silver frame with enamel in the Art Nouveau style, made by masters of Carl Faberge. The icon was sold for almost half a million dollars, which is five times higher than the estimate. The icon is mentioned in the documents of the Imperial Cabinet as one of the possible gifts from Tsar Nicholas II to the King of Montenegro Nicholas I. However, the image was never presented to the Balkan monarch. The icon was later handed over to the tea merchant Nikon Molchanov, who, after the October Revolution, moved to Harbin.
Another icon went under the hammer for almost 90,000 dollars: the image of the holy martyr Alexandra of Rome in a gilded setting. Faberge desk clocks were sold for 75,000 dollars.
Russkiy Mir
reported that the total cost of Russian painting sold in early June exceeded 7 million dollars. Buyers appreciated Ivan Aivazovsky's Bay of Naples, which became the most valuable lot of bidding, sold for almost three million dollars.
Due to the unfavorable epidemiological situation and restrictions aimed at combating coronavirus infection, Sotheby's and other auction houses held the actions online.
Russkiy Mir
