At the End of the day, Collectors Affirm that They Really do not care About Provenance

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So at the end of the day somebody bought at least two of the three items under most question in today's Christie's sale (Sale 2323). As a Christie's statement boasts: “We saw determined bidding from both Europe and the US in the packed saleroom, on the telephone and through Christies LIVE™. Out of 166 lots, 106 were sold, many of the top prices were offered by buyers described as "European private" (as opposed to European museum?). "The top end of the market (sic) to perform exceedingly well". If this is the top of the market, then what does the bottom look like ? Maybe Christie's would like to explain whether they see the differentiation only in terms of how much cash the bits and bobs go for. The items from the so-called "top end of the market" discussed here previously were:

Lot 104: AN APULIAN RED-FIGURED RHYTON CIRCA 350-340 B.C. Identical to one shown in photo in Medici Archive: Put on sale by anonymous "American" collector [Estimate $25,000 - $35,000 Price realised not stated] - or perhaps bidding was not high enough and the object was one of those not sold? Its an ugly old thing anyway.


Lot 112: A GREEK TERRACOTTA GODDESS CANOSAN, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY B.C. Identical to one shown in photo in Medici Archive: Sold by anonymous "English collector" to anonymous buyer [Estimate $6,000 - $8,000, Price Realized $7,500 (Price includes buyer's premium)]

Lot 139: A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF A YOUTH CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Identical to one shown in photo in Medici Archive: Sold by anonymous Massachusetts collector to anonymous buyer [Estimate $20,000 - $30,000 Price Realized $20,000 (Price includes buyer's premium)]

So basically it seems collectors in New York auction houses could not give a monkeys where the objects they spend thousands of dollars on actually come from. But I think we could have guessed this ages ago. It seems we can draw the conclusion that for these buyers "provenance" is a word that looks nice and comfortably technical but in actuality has no real meaning whatsoever.

Vignette: the end of the day at Christie's. I do not think this is one of those that bid on the "Medici Three", I imagine they were let out of the back door shielding their faces with their catalgues.

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