Biz Unusual

$3.8m Chinese clock tops Sotheby's auction

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-10 15:41

RICHMOND, Virginia - An ornate Qing Dynasty Chinese table clock sold for nearly $3.8 million at auction at the country estate of socialite and vintner Patricia Kluge, and bidders worldwide also paid top prices for paintings, furniture and other pieces in the collection.

The clock, one of the top showcase pieces of Sotheby's event at Albemarle House in Charlottesville, sold Tuesday for a price more than triple the $1 million estimated top value after a heated telephone bidding session. A Chinese collector jumped in with an offer of $1.2 million for the nearly 200-year-old gilt-brass-and-enamel timepiece, then cast the winning bid of $3.78 million several minutes later.

Sotheby's officials expected about $9 million in sales to onsite and remote bidders during the two days. But that was surpassed Tuesday, and rose to $15.2 million by the auction's close on Wednesday.

The Qing Dynasty Chinese table clock sold for nearly $3.8 million at auction [sothebys.com]

A pair of classical landscapes by Hubert Robert was purchased for $434,500, more than $130,000 higher than the top estimated price; a six-piece set of Holland & Holland wildfowl-engraved shotguns sold for $350,000; and a George III mahogany chest attributed to cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale sold for $338,500.

A George III mahogany bed that came from Hedingham Castle in Essex, England, sold Wednesday to an undisclosed phone bidder for $86,500. Built in the late 1700s, it was commissioned for Elizabeth Ashhurst. Castle officials had been hoping for a benefactor to help them to reacquire the bed, which they sold years ago to raise money and ended up in Kluge's master bedroom.

Other items included a circa-1780 Louis XVI Giltwood Sunburst Clock that went for $27,500, more than double the high estimate; a 1954 set of "The Lord of the Rings" books by J.R.R. Tolkien, which brought $17,500, far exceeding the top estimate of $6,000; and a $3,400 mounted bison head.

Sotheby's previewed the 900-item collection for a week before the sale, and more than 2,000 visitors who paid $65 for the 620-page auction book attended the public exhibition to examine the collection at the 23,000-square-foot (2,136-sq meter) English country manor.

Related readings:  Calligraphy masterpiece sets record at 436.8 million yuan  "Iconic" Diana dress fetches $276,000 at auction  Christie's auction fetches $294m on mainland bids  Mainland buyers push Christie's HK auction to $294m

The preview and auction also was a showcase for the 45-room brick Georgian, which also is on the market. Kluge acquired Albemarle House, its accouterments and 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) in the settlement of her 1990 divorce from billionaire media mogul John W. Kluge. The couple had been married for nine years.

Sotheby's International Realty has listed the estate at $48 million, reduced from $100 million last fall. The property also includes about 300 acres (121 hectares), multilevel English gardens and fountains, a swimming pool and a rustic guest cabin.

Kluge and her husband, William Moses, have moved to a 6,400-square-foot (594-sq. meter) home elsewhere on the estate grounds. She said that they wanted to scale back so they can focus on traveling and running their winery business.