Ronald Varney Fine Art Advisors is highly experienced in working with families and individuals in the sale of major private collections. These usually comprise paintings and sculpture as well as furniture and decorations. But we also handle single objects of all kinds. Some of these are of great rarity and distinction yet have been hidden away and long forgotten, their value alluring but unclear.
The art market today is both global and insatiable. Above all it craves a discovery story, a hook, a reason why something should stand out in the market and receive attention. Provenance is thus crucial, along with perhaps a romantic family association.
In the auction saleroom these objects of desire can often prompt fierce bidding and achieve startling results.
Here is an example from our firm’s past projects.
A lady wished to sell an exquisite piece of jewelry—a Cartier brooch from 1925—that had descended in her famous banking family over several generations. And while it carried sentimental value and fond associations from the past, the simple truth was that no one in the family wore jewelry of this sort any longer.
The jewelry market today is both robust and often shocking for the high prices achieved. While beautiful, this Cartier brooch needed to be carefully positioned in a sale that would most likely include many other and far more valuable jewels. And so we arranged for the brooch to be featured on the back cover of the catalogue for a sale of Magnificent Jewelry at a major auction house in New York. The sale would take place just before Christmas, an ideal shopping time for jewelry. Amidst spirited bidding, the brooch exceeded its high estimate in achieving $341,000.