CNBC Business | AUCTIONS: JANUARY 2007

AUCTIONS: JANUARY 2007

Dorotheum anniversary; Patek Philippe

AUCTION HOUSE AN ANTIQUE VIENNA: This year Vienna-based Dorotheum, one of the mainstays of Europe's traditional art auction houses, celebrates 300 years since its foundation by Emperor Joseph I. To celebrate, the auction house is now accepting consignments for the special tercentenary auctions in the spring. Further information and advice are available at www.dorotheum.com WINDING UP IN PROFIT GENEVA: A 1952 Patek Philippe wristwatch fetched €1.38m during a Sotheby's auction in Geneva shortly before Christmas. The timepiece, which Sotheby's said had been little worn and was in perfect condition, was expected to sell for €408,000â€“€533,000. The Patek Philippe was part of a watch auction that fetched €6.67m for Sotheby's. The auction house registered its best results ever for timepieces in 2006, with a total €10.46m sold. However, another Patek Philippe watch, this one from 1925, landed an even higher price, €1.49m, for rivals Christie's at another auction in the Swiss city the same week. That auction of bracelet and pocket watches raised some €12m. UNDER THE HAMMER IN ISRAEL TEL AVIV: Israel's most successful art auction house is preparing for the largest auction of Israeli, Jewish and international art auction to ever to take place in the country. The auction, being organised by the Matsa auction house, is scheduled to take place on 28 January and will include around 350 pieces. In excess of €5m is expected to be raised by the event which will feature work from Reuven Rubin and Marc Chagall. A similar event last June raised more than €4m. Matsa was established 30 years ago, and now only handles paintings and sculptures. Most art buyers today come from outside Israel, almost 70% from Europe and North America and the company has several online art auctions. www.matsa.co.il ABOVE: sold for €1.38m, a Patek Philippe wristwatch. LEFT: Reuven Rubin's The Walled City of Jerusalem is expected to reach €150,000â€“ €230,000 MUSEUM PIECES ON SALE NEW YORK: The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, one of the world's best modern art collections, is offloading millions of euros-worth of antiquities this year to focus on works which better fulfil the gallery's remit. This means that Sotheby's will be handling an extraordinary collection of classical, Roman, Egyptian, Indian, South-East Asian and Chinese antiquities, as well as African, Pre-Columbian and European works of art and Old Master paintings in its regular auctions, with a separate catalogue featuring the top 40 highlights. Total sales are estimated to bring in more than €15m. The initial sales will take place during March's Asian Art auctions and fairs in New York and included in the sale are Chinese archaic bronzes, tomb pottery and stone sculpture. One bronze wine vessel alone from the Shang Dynasty is estimated to sell for €3m. Toplining the 23 March sale of Indian and South-East Asian Works will be a rare 10th-century granite figure of the god Shiva, which Anu Ghosh-Mazumdar, Sotheby's Indian and South-East Asian Art expert,