Hamburg, 28 October 2008, (kk) - The proceeds from the autumn Modern Art & Post War and Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century /Marine Art auctions held at Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg on 24 and 25 October 2008 amounted to more than € 2 500 000*. The autumn proceeds almost match those achieved at the spring auctions and, even though the overall sales quota did not quite come up to expectations, top sale prices of individual lots and substantial rises over estimates were achieved.

"What wasn't exactly flying off the shelf a year ago is staying put today. By contrast, what sold well last year is selling even better now," Robert Ketterer puts it succinctly. "Only top quality works of the kind no longer available are today really interesting," adds the auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst.

In the Old Masters division, Timoleon von Neff's 1843 oil painting of "A Young Mother" (148 x 117.5cm) fetched six times the estimate of € 50 000. A dealer from Russia present in the auction room was willing to part from € 305 000* for it. He not only outstripped bidders on the telephone and in writing from Belgium, Germany, Estonia, France and Ukraine but also ensured that a work by this artist set a new world record.**

A small (33.7 x 26 cm) 17th-century Italian oil painting of the "Madonna and Child with Saints" also attracted bidding on an international scale. A dealer from France outbid competition from Germany, the UK, Italy and Monaco to take home this expressive work for € 55 000*.

Whereas the Carl Spitzweg oil painting "Lagernde Karrner" ["Gypsies Resting"] fetched € 49 000* (estimate: € 40 000), paid by a new client from the Czech Republic, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn's celebrated "Hundred Gilder Print (Christ Healing the Sick)" went across the Atlantic to America for € 34 000* (estimate: € 30 000).

Also well worth a mention in the Old Masters & Art of the 19th Century division:

In the Modern and Contemporary Art division, it turned out that interest in decorative prints, for instance by Dalí, Rouault and Miró has declined except in the case of very rare works. What sold successfully here were original works of high quality.

Bidders on the telephone and in the commission book contended for a "Grande Nature Morte" measuring 130 by 97 cm by Helmut vom Hügel called Kolle (estimate: € 12 000). The bidding skirmish for the oil painting stopped at € 82 000*, when a collector from northern Germany set a record for it**. The hitherto highest hammer price for a work by this artist was € 21 000.

"Composition" by Almir da Silva Mavignier, who was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in Hamburg, also climbed to unexpectedly dizzy heights. A Brasilian collector quadrupled the estimate of € 12 000 to a highly respectable€ 48 000* and left behind a field consisting of competitors from France, Italy, Austria and the US, not to mention two compatriots.

Antoni Clavés "Le coq" (1945), on the other hand, stayed in Germany. The oil painting was snapped up by a collector from northern Germany bidding in writing for only € 41 000*, which might have left some scope for more.

Handsome rises were also achieved by:

Objects unsold at the auctions held at Meßberg 1, Hamburg, on 24 and 25 October 2008 can be acquired at post-auction sales until the end of December 2008. Auction results lists are available; please call +49 (0)40-3749610. For more information, visit us at www.kettererkunst.de online.

*) The sale price equals hammer price + 22 per cent surcharge.
**) Source: www.artnet.de

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Ketterer Kunst
Prinzregentenstraße 61
81675 Munich
Michaela Derra
Tel.: +49 (0)89-55244-0 or -152
Fax: +49 (0)89-55244-166
E-mail: m.derra@kettererkunst.de

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