Stockholms Auktionsverk was founded in 1674, on the initiative of Baron Claes Rålamb, who was Governor of Stockholm at that time. As such, we are the oldest auction house in the world still operating today. We have sold items in styles now known as Baroque, Rococo and Gustavian while they were contemporary. Our list of distinguished customers over the centuries features names such as King Karl XI, King Gustav III, our Swedish national bard Carl Michael Bellman, and authors August Strindberg and Selma Lagerlöf.
Today, Stockholms Auktionsverk is a leading Nordic marketplace for art, crafts, and antiques from a variety of ages and epochs. Stockholms Auktionsverk has auction houses in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Helsingborg, as well is in Finland and Germany.
Stockholms Auktionsverk is a “stock exchange trading floor” for Swedish and international art, antiques, and design. Our business is built on confidence, knowledge, tradition, and personal contacts. Our staff are highly educated experts in a range of specialist areas, different cultures and historical periods in art, applied art and antiques. Since May 2021, Stockholms Auktionsverk is owned by Auctionet. Our network of Swedish and international customers, dealers, and collectors is large and constantly growing.
On February 27, Stockholms Auktionsverk celebrates its 350th anniversary, marking a historic milestone for the world’s oldest auction house. Founded on the initiative of Baron Claes Rålamb – governor-general of Stockholm and a pioneer in the auction world – who issued the founding auction chamber ordinance in 1674.
“Over the years, Stockholms Auktionsverk has been a staple marketplace, but also a meeting place for Stockholmers and, in recent years, for the rest of the world as well. With us, items have changed hands for 350 years; someone’s unwanted possessions become someone else’s beloved treasures. We have auctioned off some of the country’s finest art treasures, which not only represent significant monetary value but are also highly valued on a cultural-historical level. Works that manage to capture the Swedish soul, art that is an honor to be around but also constitute important work for us to preserve for future generations,” says Victoria Svederberg, head of the art department at Stockholms Auktionsverk.
For three and a half centuries, Stockholms Auktionsverk has been a focal point for extraordinary artworks and antiques – each a small part of history. When Anders Zorn’s “Omnibus” was sold to the National Museum for 1.2 million SEK in 1981, it was the most expensive Swedish painting ever auctioned. However, the most famous painting ever sold at Stockholms Auktionsverk is Rembrandt’s “Kökspigan” from 1651. During the 18th century, it was owned by Eva Bielke, but after her passing it was sold at Stockholms Auktionsverk in 1779, along with several other artworks, to a new renowned owner – King Gustav III, who received the royal privilege to choose first from the private art collection auctioned at Stockholms Auktionsverk in 1779. In 1866, “Kökspigan” was transferred to the National Museum’s collections, where it still resides.
Behind the doors at Nybrogatan 32 stands the clock that has signaled auctions at Stockholms Auktionsverk for 310 years. From 1727, the bell was used to summon the public to auctions twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. After 1858, the number of days doubled, and during the peak seasons – now referred to as the spring and fall auction seasons – auctions could take up to six days of the week. The auction chamber was state-run and operated between 1674 and 1790 from Själagårdsgatan 19 in the Old Town. In 1790, it moved to the Polus house on Myntgatan and in 1836, further to Birger Jarls torg on Riddarholmen, where it remained for over a century. In 1949, it moved to the Bonnier house on Torsgatan, ten years later to Norrtullsgatan 6, and in 1977 to Stockholm city and Beridarebansgatan in the premises under the Gallerian. In 2002, it moved to its current location at Nybrogatan 32.
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Year: 1674
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Source: https://www.auktionsverket.com/en/our-history/
History of Auctioneering
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Damien Hirst (UK) made $200.8 million (£111 million) during a two-day auction on 15 and 16 September 2008. 167 of his works went on sale at Sotheby’s in London. Only three of the 167 items available failed to find buyers.
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eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California on September 3, 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which was in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of 13.81%.
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In June 2000, eBay acquired Half.com for $312 million in stock.
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Pursuant to 24 Del. C. § 2901, “the practice of providing real estate services” is reserved for those “duly licensed under this chapter.” Section 2901 enumerates several exceptions to the licensing requirement for providing “real estate services,” including one for “auctioneers.” In its Complaint, Plaintiff Delaware Auctioneers Association challenges regulations promulgated by Defendant Delaware Real Estate Commission concerning the 24 Del. C. § 2901(e)(4) exception for “auctioneers.”3 Specifically, Plaintiff asserts that § 2901(e)(4) is a blanket exemption for “auctioneers,”4 and, therefore, Defendant does not have the authority to implement regulations which purport to clarify “the complete, clear unambiguous and blanket exemption provided to ‘auctioneers.’”
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The Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers (IAPA) was organized in 1981 to promote professionalism and the auction method of marketing. All members are in good standing and subscribe to the code of ethics set forth by the IAPA. The Association offers leadership, support, information and assistance to its members through its various committees and services, and lobbies to protect and enhance auction interests in the State. Members in good standing in the Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers abide by Idaho Auction Law, IAPA By-Laws and a strict Code of Ethics.
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Based on users, the largest auction website is eBay (USA), with an estimated 157 million active buyers worldwide as of 9 October 2015, according to Forbes.
eBay was launched on 4 September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar (France) and has its headquarters in San Jose, California, USA.
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“Jimson Weed: White Flower No. 1” by American Modernist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) became the most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction, when it made $44.4 million (£28 million) at Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 20 November 2014.
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The most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction is £192,000 ($304,375), which was paid for a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, and sold at Christie’s, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 November 2010. The bottle was sold to a private collector smashing the previous estimates. The wine is of Bordeaux variety.
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The most expensive piece of wireless related equipment is a German Enigma coding (ciphering/enciphering) machine sold for £24,172.50 ($38,047.50) when it came to auction at Phillips Bond Street, London, UK, in April 1993. The above amounts are equivalent to £29,385.80; $45,355.26 in the year 2000.
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