LONDON.- This afternoon the Single Owner sale of property from The Collection of Giovanni & Gabriella Barilla: Important Porcelain, Venetian Fine and Decorative Arts from their Residence in Geneva realised 4,575,733 / $7,173,834 / €5,503,686 well above the pre-sale estimate of 2.5 – 3.8 million. The auction was 89 % sold by lot and 96 % sold by value. The top lot was A Capriccio of Classical Roman Ruins by Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, which sold for 349,250 - almost twice its pre-sale high estimate of 120,000-180,000.
Descendants of the founder of the most important pasta producer in the world, Giovanni Barilla and in particular, his wife Gabriella, created one of the greatest collections of ceramics and porcelain in Europe. In an auction which attracted buyers from across the globe, tense bidding between collectors resulted in some spectacular prices for the Barillas’ exceptional early Meissen figures. A figure of Harlequin Alarmed, modelled by J.J. Kndler, circa 1738-40 realised 121,250, more than three times its pre-sale estimate of 25,000 - 35,000.
Mario Tavella,
Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Europe, said: “It was a great honour for Sotheby’s to present the Barilla Collection and we are delighted with the outcome of today’s sale. Gabriella and Giovanni, who built this collection with such dedication and connoisseurship over many years, would have been thrilled to witness its enthusiastic reception by the market and the intensity with which bidders competed is testament to the Barilla’s passion and the quality and extreme rarity of these works.”
Other highlights include:
• A very fine mid eighteenth-century Italian fruitwood inlaid walnut and burr walnut bureau cabinet estimated at 100,000 - 150,000, which sold for 265,250.
• Marco Ricci, The rehearsal of an opera, oil on canvas, which sold for 103,250 against a pre-sale estimate of 60,000-80,000.
• A very fine Italian walnut and parquetry cupboard, Venetian, circa 1730, which realised 103,250, against a pre-sale estimate of 15,000-30,000.
• A Meissen group of Pantalone and an actress, modelled by J.J Kndler, circa 1738, estimated at 20,000-30,000 which sold for 87,650.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium.
