Successful Opening of Lempertz’s Cologne Spring Auctions: €7.5 Million in Total Sales During the First Auction Week

The first Cologne auction week of Lempertz’s Spring Auctions has concluded with a strong result. Across the categories of Jewelry & Watches, Decorative Arts, and Old Masters & 19th Century Art, the auction house achieved total sales of approximately €7.5 million, underscoring the continued strong demand across a wide range of collecting categories.

The Jewelry & Watches auction on May 19 generated €1.22 million with a deliberately focused selection of just 181 lots. The top lot was an important Belle Époque diamond necklace, which sold for €95,250. Strong results were also achieved by high-end branded watches and sought-after collectibles in the form of Hermès bags.

On May 20, the Decorative Arts auction highlighted important collections of historical mortars and porcelain. The highest hammer price, however, was achieved by a rare negotiation table by David Roentgen, which sold for €165,100. From the same workshop, an architect’s table by Abraham Roentgen also performed strongly, realizing €101,000.

Lempertz once again demonstrated its particular expertise in the tapestry category: the carefully curated offerings attracted considerable interest and intense bidding competition. Especially impressive was the sale of a large-leaf verdure tapestry, which multiplied its estimate of €10,000–20,000 to achieve an outstanding €124,000.

As is tradition, Lempertz also delivered strong results in silver. Leading the category was a rosewater bowl made for the Counts of Preysing, which achieved €69,850.

Lempertz further reinforced its position as one of Europe’s leading addresses for Old Master paintings during the Old Masters and 19th Century auction on May 21. The highlight of the sale was Portrait of a Nobleman by Bernard van Orley, which achieved €845,000 against an estimate of €100,000–150,000.

Attention is now already turning to the next highlights: beginning May 30, Lempertz will open the preview exhibition for the upcoming Modern and Contemporary Art and Photography auctions. These sales will also include four works from the Worcester Museum of Art — among them an oil painting by Auguste Renoir — offered to finance a new acquisition intended to fill a gap in the museum’s collection.