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
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Source: https://www.auktionsverket.com/en/our-history/
History of Auctioneering
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An automatic flowering rosebush made for illusionist/escapologist Harry Houdini (USA, b. Hungary) sold for $324,000 (£279,970) at auctioneers Potter & Potter in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 29 October 2022. This was nearly 13 times its estimated price. An intricate mechanical marvel, the rosebush was one of several complex tricks created for what turned out to be Houdini’s final American tour in 1926.
In performance, Houdini placed a pot on top of a metal table, planted a small red flower in it, and covered the pot with a cloth. On his command, the flower miraculously appeared to grow and flourish, developing into a bush, which Houdini then removed from the table and presented to the spectators. The trick was created for the master magician by New York craftsman R S Schlosser, possibly in collaboration with others.
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The most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction is Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit”, which sold for $91,075,000 (£70,408,300; €81,145,400), including buyer’s premium, and was sold by Christie’s in New York, USA, on 15 May 2019.
Created in 1986, it is one of the most iconic pieces ever created by Jeff Koons. One of three, it is the last remaining sculpture in the series to be in a private collection. The other two are located in The Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles, USA and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, USA.
According to reports, the Art dealer Robert Mnuchin, made the final bid for a client. This isn’t the first time one of Jeff Koons’ sculptures has held the record. In 2013, Jeff Koons’ “Balloon Dog (Orange)” – a 12-foot-high, orange-tinted, stainless steel sculpture resembling a dog made from balloons – was sold at Christie’s for $58.4 million (£36.49 million).
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The most expensive sculpture by a living artist sold at auction is Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit”, which sold for $91,075,000 (£70,408,300; €81,145,400), including buyer’s premium, and was sold by Christie’s in New York, USA, on 15 May 2019.
Created in 1986, it is one of the most iconic pieces ever created by Jeff Koons. One of three, it is the last remaining sculpture in the series to be in a private collection. The other two are located in The Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles, USA and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, USA.
According to reports, the Art dealer Robert Mnuchin, made the final bid for a client. This isn’t the first time one of Jeff Koons’ sculptures has held the record. In 2013, Jeff Koons’ “Balloon Dog (Orange)” – a 12-foot-high, orange-tinted, stainless steel sculpture resembling a dog made from balloons – was sold at Christie’s for $58.4 million (£36.49 million).
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The Ohio Auctioneers Association is a non-profit organization, founded in 1942. Since that time, it has continued to grow in strength and fellowship and is an association committed to improving and promoting higher standards in the auction profession.
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The most valuable Christmas card in the world was sold at auction in Devizes, Wiltshire, UK on 24 November 2001 for £20,000 ($28,158) and bought by an anonymous bidder. Measuring 13 x 8 cm (5 x 3 in) it was sent by Sir Henry Cole, a Bath-born businessman to his grandmother in 1843 and is hand-coloured by the London illustrator John Calcott Horsley.
The Christmas card is also considered the world’s first Christmas card. A total 1,000 were lithographed and sold at a shilling each. The card shows a Christmas dinner with three generations of a family enjoying a Christmas party. The side panels show charitable scenes with people clothing and feeding the poor. There are only 12 of the original 1,000 cards still in existance. At one shilling each, an average man’s weekly wage, they were only bought by the wealthier classes.
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A pair of flesh coloured foam and cotton bra pads once belonging to Marilyn Monroe, sold at auction for $5,000 (£;3,149) in Bedford, New Hampshire, USA on 15 April 2000.
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An original pair of Levi Strauss & Co (USA) 501 jeans aged over 115 years old were sold by Randy Knight (USA) to an anonymous collector (Japan) for $60,000,00 (£33,230) through internet auction site eBay on 15 June 2005. There are said to be only two or three complete pairs of authentic pre-1900 Levi’s 501 jeans in existence and these are the first pair found that is still wearable. This particular pair of jeans was found by four friends in an abandoned-silver mine in the Mojave Desert, California, USA in 1998. They feature the distinctive Levi’s Arcuate stitching on the back of one pocket, the two horse leather patch (still intact), a watch pocket, a button fly and copper rivets. When found, the jeans had never been washed and it is thought that the slurry and mud from the mine helped with their preservation. They have since been washed and wrapped in unbleached muslin material to store them.
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The record for the most expensive jigsaw puzzle sold for a charitable art auction to benefit a non-profit organization The Golden Retriever Foundation at a bid of $27.000 (£14.589). The hand-crafted wooden jigsaw puzzle was custom made by Rachel Page Elliott (USA). The charity event was held at the Eisenhower Conference Centre, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA on 28 September 2005. At the time, Rachel Page Elliot was 92 years old. She has lectured around the world, and just updated her world-renown book and video on canine anatomical structure and movement. In puzzle circles, she has received national awards from her fellow puzzlers and is renowned for her detailed craftsmanship. The puzzle consist of 467 interlocking pieces, many cut in her unique designs of birds, cats, horses, and, of course, Golden Retrievers in various poses. It features a signed print entitled “The Outing” depicting a Golden Retriever female and five puppies playing in the grass. (A photo is available upon request).
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On 13 December 2007, one of seven limited-edition handwritten copies of a manuscript entitled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by Harry Potter author J K Rowling (UK), sold for £1.95 million ($3.97 million; including buyer’s premium) at Sotheby’s auction house in London, UK. The book was purchased by online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. (USA).
The lot was originally predicted to make in the region of £30,000 to 50,000 ($60,000 to $100,000).
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of children’s stories which is referenced in the final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.
The limited-edition books, about 160 pages long, were bound in brown moroccan leather with silver decoration and moonstones mounted on the covers.
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