by Hans Homm.
The first only carpet auction by Dorotheum was held on September 14, 2010 in their grand company Headquaters, Dortheergasse 17, Vienna.
Palais Dorotheum is a magnifficent building worth a visit anytime. The
full splendour of the old Habsburg monarcy.
The rugs were well presented. A fine match to the arcitecture.
The sale was well attended attracting a crowd of over 100.
The prices in the catalouge seemed to reflect the expectations of the
consigners. The auctioneer was accepting bids starting at approximately
half of the amounts stated in the catalogue. A different way of doing
things. But it worked.
Circa 40 % sold in the room. A further 10% will find new owners in the
aftersale which started the minute the auctioneer closed the sale with
circa 20 people charging up to the podium with inquieries. The grand
total circa 400.000 EUR.
A lot of the objects went to commission bidders. Bidders seem to trust
this institution. As a consequence the phone bids were not excessive
enabling a smoth progression of the sale. The top lot, Nr. 152 a
magnificent Khotan Silk Long Rug attracted circa 6 phone bidders. One
phone bidder prevailed over the room with a Hammerprice of 28.000 EUR.
A strong result was the 24.000 EUR for lot 1, a Karatchoph Kazak. A
good piece but not the best of the groop.
Lets hope this solid start will turn into a regular event in the future.
One has to congratulate Wolfgang Matschek for the professional catalogue
and the encouraging outcome. And praise has to go to the over 300 year
old institution Dorotheum for trying this.
Hans Homm