LONDON.- The Gordon Collection of Portrait Miniatures sale realised £556,488 and was 92% sold by value. The top lot was Nicholas Hilliard (British, 1547-1619), A young lady aged 16, probably a member of the Strangways family, which realised £120,500 and was bought by The Friends of The Louvre for the Louvre collection.

Comment: Jo Brooks, Head of sale: “The private collector dominated today’s sale of The Gordon Collection of Portrait Miniatures and the results reflect the continuing demand for works of exceptional quality, among which was the superb portrait miniature by Nicholas Hilliard that realised £120,500 and which has been bought by The Friends of The Louvre for The Louvre collection . In addition to bidders from the US, Switzerland, Italy, France and Austria were collectors from Ireland and Jersey who have followed the trend of ‘buying back’, enabling works from the Gordon Collection to be enjoyed in the artists’ countries of origin. We look forward to our next sale of Important Portrait Miniatures, featuring a Russian Collection, and Gold Boxes next at Christie’s London on Tuesday, 27 November 2007.”