Russian art sales shoot up at Sotheby’s

London auction house Sotheby's is holding its biggest-ever sale of Russian art. Those sales have risen more than twenty-fold since 2001 and totalled $US 153.5 MLN in 2006, attracting the attention of connoisseurs from all over the world.

The top lot is neo-primitivist 'Still Life with Jug and Icon' by Mikhail Larionov. The painting has come from a private Swiss collection and is sold for over GBP2 MLN.
 
'Picnic' by Boris Kustodiyev, one of the best-known members of the 'World of Art' (Mir Iskusstva) group, costs over ?1 MLN.
 
But it is not only Russian artists who are key players at the world's most famous auctions. Russians are the most enthusiastic buyers as well.

“Thanks to this rebirth of interest in Russian art, we now see not only English, Swiss, German or Scandinavian collectors, but also Russian. And they are incredibly interested in Russian art,” noted Marina Zantman, a gallery owner.

Among other items, Sotheby's is selling 124 Faberge pieces – the largest group of Faberge at a Russian sale in London. The top lot is a silver and wood vitrine made in St. Petersburg in the late 19th century.
 
Faberge has become extremely popular since the private sale of the Forbes collection of Faberge to Viktor Vekselberg in February 2004.

Some say it is also good business sense.

“The investment into these works sometimes pays out better than investing in shares. But also lately there are fewer fakes on the market. Five years ago 50% of Russian avant-garde for example was counterfeit. It was holding the market back. What we see now is active growth,” said Aleksandr Konov from Pyotr Konchalovsky Foundation.