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.
Country: Sweden
Year: 1674
Date:
Source: https://www.auktionsverket.com/en/our-history/
History of Auctioneering
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
A record 56 dresses and evening gowns that had been worn to Academy Awards ceremonies by actresses such as Elizabeth Taylor (UK), Sharon Stone and Uma Thurman (both USA) were auctioned at "Unforgettable: Fashion of the Oscars" at Christie’s, New York, USA, on 18 March 1999.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
A limited edition Swatch watch – one of only 140 made – designed in 1984 by French artist Christian Chapiron (known as Kiki Picasso) sold at auction at Sotheby’s, Milan, Italy in 1989 for $45,000 (£27,450).
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
The earliest official online game auction site was Station Exchange. Launched by SOE in June 2005, it provided a legitimate means for players to buy and sell characters, items and money to other players, for real money, woth SOE making a cut from the profits. As well as raising revenue for the company, Station Exchange provides players with a safe way of performing transactions, without having to use third party websites.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
A Hong Kong based investor paid US$2.1 million (?1.3 million) on 28 June 2008 for a lunch date with Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man. Zhao Danyang (Hong Kong) enjoyed a meal for himself and seven friends accopmanied by Mr. Buffett at Smith & Wollensky’s steakhouse in New York.
All proceeds from the auction went to a charity which helps the poor and homeless in San Francisco.
Warren Buffett is an American investor and the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
The most expensive music single sold at auction is a rare seven-inch copy of unreleased 1965 single Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson (USA). It sold for £25,742 ($39,294) to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. Seller Kenny Burrell, a DJ and record collector stated that he was selling his copy in order to gain credibility as a record expert.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), painted by British artist David Hockney (b. 9 July 1937) in 1972, sold for $90,312,500 (£69,547,900; €79,919,300) – including buyer’s premium – at Christie’s auction house in New York City, USA, on 15 November 2018. This makes the acrylic-on-canvas the most expensive painting by a living artist sold at auction to date.
The dimensions of the painting are 213.5 x 305 cm (84 x 120 in).
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) takes this record from Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange) – a 3.6-metre (12-foot-high, orange-tinted, stainless-steel sculpture resembling a dog made from balloons that sold at Christie’s in New York City, USA, on 12 November 2013 for $58.4 million (£36.49 million; €43.6 million).
Hockney first created a painting based on this composition in 1971, but unhappy with the results, he destroyed it. The current work was a second attempt, created in April 1972 in just a few weeks (working for up to 18 hours a day) for an exhibition at the André Emmerich Gallery in New York City, USA.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
The most expensive book illustration sold at auction is E.H. Shepard’s “Original Map of the Hundred Acre Wood”, which sold for £430,000 ($571,369; €485,860), including premium, auctioned by Sotheby’s in London, UK, on 10 July 2018.
Ernest Howard Shepard is a renowned English artist, best known for his illustrations in The Wind and the Willows and Winnie-the-Pooh.
The “Original Map of the Hundred Acre Wood” illustration was created for Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh woodland setting. The illustration is supposed to be the work of the character Christopher Robin and includes locations on the map purposely misspelled (“Big Stones and Rox” and “Nice For Piknicks”). The map is signed off by Christopher with “Drawn by me and Mr Shepard helpd”.
The illustration has remained in a private collection for the past five decades.
The record title was previously, held by E.H. Shepard’s illustration “For A Long Time They Looked At The River Beneath Them…”, a drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin playing Poohsticks, which sold for £314,500 ($492,727; €398,031).
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
Mecum Auctions, Inc. is an American auction company specializing in collector cars and motorcycles. It was founded by Dana Mecum in 1988, and was originally based in Marengo, Illinois. Since 2011, it has been headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin. The company hosts various auction events across the United States. Television coverage began in 2008, contributing to the popularity of the events.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source:
Mecum Auctions, Inc. is an American auction company specializing in collector cars and motorcycles. Since 2011, it has been headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin. The company hosts various auction events across the United States. Television coverage began in 2008, contributing to the popularity of the events.
Country:
Year:
Date:
Source: