23/10/2001

Sotheby’s enjoyed a sale success of 80% hammered when their Italian auction was offered on the 22nd of October in London with buyers enthusiastically following the auction house’s quotes. The best prices at the sale were for Lucio Fontana’s painted iron sculpture Concetto Spaziale which sold for $ 631,140 (€ 708,530) against a pre-sale quote of $ 426,930-569,220 (€ 479,280-639,000) followed in second place by Giacomo Manzu’s triple bronze sculptural series Cardinale seduto which fetched $ 614,790 (€ 690,200) against an estimate of $ 355,810-498,120 (€ 399,450-559,240). Alberto Burri’s Plastica Rossa sold for $ 302,440 (€ 339,550) against an estimate of $ 170,790-213,490 (€ 191,760-239,700). However the success these sales met with was paradoxically offset by Luciano Fabro’s Italia Cartoccio which sold for just $ 130,230 (€ 146,220) against an estimate of $ 284,650-426,980 (€ 319,630-479,460). It was also interesting to see how the better known “Arte Povera” artists such as Jannis Kounellis and Giulio Paolini failed to find buyers with the London trade preferring more classic and financially durable artworks. (Andrew Moore)