Featured How and where to sell?

So just recently I went to sell a unknown carved plaque at Christie's auction, perhaps not surprisingly they turned it down, I went away thinking that it might be because they didn't know anything about it.
I then had a breakthrough and found the artist who carved it (Pietro Giusti) I then did a whole raft of research and sent it back to Christie's expecting them to reconsider their initial refusal.
Today I was very shocked when they still turned me away by saying they could have someone to appraise the piece for the bargain price of £3000.
Perhaps it's because I've never used any auction house before but I expected them to welcome a almost certainty that it was by Pietro Giusti and do that last bit of authentication (for their own safety) and enter it into their auction.
I am now sure these high end auction houses are there for people with more money than sense. Am I just being naive?
Anyway I'm now left with enough evidence to convince the most sceptical buyer it is what it is but where, and how do I go about selling it?

 

Today I was very shocked when they still turned me away by saying they could have someone to appraise the piece for the bargain price of £3000.

I'm sorry, but that just doesn't sound right.....

Is that a typo.....Or am I missing something?

Did they want you to fly in a person from across the globe ?

In any case......if you really think you know what it is.....try any other high end houses that may deal in this type of work....and see what they think .

 

Where do you live? Do you have any high end and knowledgeable auction houses near you? How about ones that deal in European antiques? We have several here.
Patd

 

Yes & yes. It wasn't that long ago that I too, without any experience or genuine knowledge of the workings of the big name auction houses, accepted them as they would like to be perceived. Have learned they are neither as knowledgeable nor as ethical as they would have you believe. And, if you have only a single item to consign, in order to have anything left over from the proceeds, it better fetch way more than you paid.

I had to do a little quickie research into Giusti, but pieces seem to have been marked & he was not the only one making carved wood frames in Siena at the time. What convinces you this is his? And what is the nature of the plaque it is framing?

Agree that a house like Skinner or Doyle might serve you better than Christie's, Sotheby's or Bonhams.

 

I guess it is the first time you went to work with famous auction houses.
It is very normal for them to turn down your consignment. Because the market is flooded with replicas, and there're tons of ways to produce very real replicas through developed technology nowadays.
They would like to work with famous antique dealers because these dealers are well knowledged, have sharp eyes and sensitive smell, they always can provide nice stuffs which can get a good result in large auction houses(they know what can exactly sell good, not what is really collectible). In addition, large auction houses like to resell the antiques which had sold in their auction house before. Also, large auction houses have their own stuffs to sell, that is a great portion where their profits come from.

I know what you are worrying about, you want to sell it at a good price. I agree good platform is very important, but the right platform is even more important. Sell in tier 2 or tier 3 auction houses with more compatible and attractive items often lead to a great result.

The right path for you is trying to find a tier 3 or tier 2 auction house such as: skinner, james d julia, freeman, etc... and build relationship with them. After that, you can probably get involved in this swimming pool and get more recognition.

 

Think it was recently pointed out in another thread that Julia going out of business.

 

"Thank you for your inquiry. To help us provide the best advice for you, can you please let us know whether you wish to have a formal written appraisal for estate or insurance purposes. If you are interested in receiving a written appraisal, our appraisal service start from $3000 for each property. Please kindly confirm if this is the service you are requesting?"

 

I live in Ramsgate, but I would have been happy to drop it in London, I have seen one frame by him go through a small out of the way auction house and it made only £700, the same frame was re-entered into a international auction and it made £3600

 

I doubt it will see a loss for me but if I went with the appraisal service I might lose half the value.
I understand that fakes are out there but it's near impossible to fake original 3d wood carvings and then make the wood look old. Added to that Giusti wrote down every work he ever produced, about 30 years after his death his papers were given to a library in Siena. I think the bronze in the middle is by him as well, there is another plaque by him with a ivory carving in the middle.
http://www.eurodecart.com/european-ivories-19c/siena-primavera-wall-plaque

 

There are 2 labels on the back of these, one clearly denoting Giusti and another smaller one with the number on, mine has the remnants of the smaller label on and also the hanging eye is almost the same. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIETRO-G...350369?hash=item362b756ee1:g:0V0AAOSwPOhaedGr

 

Looks like they thought you were just looking for an appraisal, which they do as well, separate from their auction related activities.

 

I may have missed it, but don’t see anything similar having sold at Christie’s. Maybe this simply isn’t something they think they can sell. Plus the email they sent you looks like they think you are looking for a written appraisal, and not to sell the piece at one of their auctions - you should clear that up with them if you haven’t already.

Contact the international auction house you found that sold the similar frame since they are more likely to have experience and interest (which one was it)? What was their auction estimate on the similar frame?

 

Try a slightly smaller auction house, like Toovey's or Roseberys. I've had very good experiences with both.

 

Hi,
Do not lose heart. I had a wonderful piece sent to Sotheby's and they turned me down, went to a few small places, they turned me down. I became very depressed and in an inspiration sent it to Bonhams. They took the piece but was not impressed. It was listed for 4 thousand. When the auction went off it was slow until the end and with a telephone fight between three bidders it sold for 27 thousand. It seems unless it gets some attention to the right people you never know. The piece went to a museum in Los Angeles. I knew it was a good piece but never dreamed it was that good. It took a year from when I bought it for 300 dollars until it sold.
greg

 

Agree, I had the similar experience, consigned to a small regional auction house,listed for 250, bid fight until the end and sold for 5850 with buyer premium at last.

 

Thing is, Christie's has a $5000. USD min value for a single object, ditto Sotheby's. That is not to say everything they sell is worth 5k & up, it doesn't but for a single object sale/evaluation, it must be worth 5k or more or they are not interested.

 

James Julia was acquired by Morphy late last year

 

Exactly. Their reply indicates they thought maybe you wanted to have it appraised & so gave you the minimum.

Since you cannot provide provenance linking it to Giusti or indicating its potential value at auction would meet or exceed their minimum, they would have to appraise it to decide whether or not it qualifies, & they do not want to give away a $3,000 service to make the decision whether or not to accept it.

In the end, this is everything. As you look into other possible auctioneers, look at descriptions of lots from previous auctions that would fall into the same category & see how well you think they worded & illustrated them.

Siena-Primavera Wall Plaque by Pietro Giusti (?)
THE WOOD INSCRIBED SIENA

The carved frame with the ivory plaque is only tentatively attributed to Giusti, even though the inscription of 'Siena' is consistent with others more firmly attributed to him. If no inscription of any type can be found on yours, the attribution is always going to be conjectural, even in a $3,000 appraiser's opinion. The text mentions a couple of other peers/competitors.

They make no claim at all about the ivory, but I can easily imagine Giusti or one of his contemporaries as the author, since skill & artistry in walnut would readily translate to tusk. Conceivable he did the original work that became the bronze; unless you can find another authoritatively attributed to him (& I have learned not to accept the say-so of any 'authority' without evidence) this is a harder case to make.

 

This came in while I was typing last message. Did you read the full description of the shelves at your link? Emphasis mine:


Pair of carved wood Corbels important, amazing quality
created by Linda Garcia (1822-1878), prof. carving in Real Italian industrial Museum of Turin
honored in all exposures, gold medal in Paris, three decorations.
Signed and dated at the back 22 February 1877, where there is applied a descriptive title
works in perfect condition, one has a small lack as can be seen from the photographs.