Art News

Magnificent Porcelain Snuff Box Sold for New World Record of £860,000 at Bonhams

LONDON.- The most important collection of porcelain snuff boxes assembled in the 20th century sold for a fantastic £1,700,000 at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London today (5.7.11). The top lot was a magnificent Meissen gold-mounted Royal snuff box made for Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. With an intricately detailed depiction of a Dresden landscape on the inside of the cover, painted after an engraving by Bernardo Bellotto, the box had attracted a pre-sale estimate of £100,000-150,000. After a protracted bidding battle on the telephones the hammer finally came down on the staggering price of £860,000. This is a world record price for a porcelain snuff box at auction. Nette Megens of Bonhams Ceramics Department comments, “We are absolutely thrilled with the results of this sale. It was a fantastic collection that attracted the global interest it deserved – evident by the fantastic prices achieved