Over the past three years, Il Ponte Auction House’s Furniture, Sculptures and Works of Art Department has recorded steady growth, achieving an average sell-through rate of over 80% and an increase in starting prices exceeding 150%. These results confirm the strong market interest in historic furnishings, sculpture and high-quality works of art.
Antique Furniture and Furnishings
Among the most significant results in the antique furniture auctions are the outstanding sales of a walnut and fir secrétaire by Giuseppe Maggiolini (€68,750), an architectural Marchigian trumeau (€50,000), and a pair of Sicilian chests of drawers with Breccia di San Bernardo marble tops (€25,200).
Also noteworthy is the sale of a pair of French gilt-bronze stools from the Valentina Cortese collection (€12,500).
Excellent results were also achieved for antique furnishings, including a Breccia di Sciro marble fountain with entwined dolphin decoration (€37,500), a patinated and gilt bronze jardinière attributed to the Chiurazzi Foundry of Naples (€50,400), a scagliola fireplace by Pelagio Palagi (€30,240), and a large lacquered Venetian mirror (€22,680).
Sculptures
A renewed interest among collectors has emerged in the field of antique sculpture, with remarkable results for two marble busts depicting Marcus Aurelius (€151,200) and Augustus (€113,400).
Significant prices were also achieved for a bronze Madonna and Child attributed to Algardi (€27,500), an 18th-century sculptural group representing Paris, Aphrodite and Cupid (€23,940), and a pair of 17th-century polychrome wooden sculptures of Adam and Eve (€18,900).
Works of Art
In the decorative arts category, particularly notable results include a 16th-century travelling chest entirely clad in damascened iron (€94,500), a German amber cup dating from the 17th–18th century (€80,640), and an alabaster high relief from the Nottingham school (€30,240).
Strong prices were also achieved for an agate cup with sapphires by Alfredo Ravasco (€30,240), decorative bronzes and candelabra, as well as more eclectic collector’s items such as a walking cane with an ivory skull handle (€3,780).
