Bonhams Achieves $1Billion Turnover in 2022 and for First Time in Its History

Bonhams now has 14 salerooms around the world, with 34 offices and 60+ departments, making it one of the largest international auction houses, both in the range of categories and in global reach.

Bruno Vinciguerra, Global CEO for Bonhams, commented: “This has been an extraordinary year. It is the largest turnover Bonhams has achieved in its history and we are very proud of the result. We saw particular growth in our digital activity: 91% of items were sold through online channels, and this accounts for 44% of value. In addition to acquiring four auction houses – three in Europe and one in the US – this year, Bonhams’ turnover was divided across the globe with North America: 33%; UK: 19%; Continental Europe: 33% and Asia-Pacific: 16%. It shows the company has continued to develop its footprint internationally. Bonhams has seen a continuing increase in registration levels, up by 57% this year and almost four times the pre-pandemic level. In 2022, 52% of buyers at Bonhams bought from the auction house for the first time.”

In 2022, Bonhams offered landmark single-owner collections, including the white glove sales of Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, Sir Terence Conran: The Contents of Barton Court, Personal Property of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and The Robert & Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting. Other notable single-owner sales included Siegfried & Roy: Masters of the Impossible; Style and Substance: The Collection of George and Charlotte Shultz and The Claude de Marteau Collection.

Top lots for 2022 included a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder (Sold for US$4,185,000), a pair of blue and white octagonal candlesticks (Sold for HK$30,453,000/ US$3,910,000), La femme en rouge au fond bleu by Chaïm Soutine (Sold for £1,842,300/ US$2,237,000), and a rare emerald and diamond Cartier bracelet (Sold for US$3,240,375).

FACTS AND FIGURES FOR 2022

Bonhams and the Bonhams Network achieved $1,003,670,000 in 2022

14 Salerooms: UK: New Bond Street, London; Knightsbridge, London; Edinburgh. US: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Marlborough. Hong Kong: Admiralty. France: Avenue Hoche, Paris; Rue de la Paix, Paris. Belgium: Brussels; Denmark: Copenhagen. Sweden: Stockholm and Australia: Sydney.

Number of Departments: 60+

Number of Offices: 34

Number of Sales: 710 (325 live auctions; 385 online-only)

Number of Lots sold: 317,042

Number of lots sold over $1m: 33

Top 10 Lots over US$1M (with Premium) in 2022

1. 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, coachwork by Wendler. Sold for $US4,185,000. The Amelia Island Auction, Fernandina Beach Gold Club, Florida, US. 3 March 2022

2. Yangcai painted ’Imperial poems and landscapes’ incised celadon-ground lobed oval vase. Sold for HK$32,253,000 (US$4,143,136). Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, Admiralty, 29 May 2022

3. Pair of blue and white octagonal candlesticks. Sold for HK$30,453,00 (US$3,911,913). Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, Admiralty, 29 May 2022

4. Bodhisattva, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). Sold for €3,342,375 (US$3,550,237). The Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris, 25 October 2022

5. Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), Let There Be Light (And the Sun Beautiful as She Was and Pregnant – Scattered Her Colours All over the Earth), 1955-1961. Sold for US$3,300,375. The Estate of Melvin S. Rosenthal, New York, 16 November 2022

6. Cartier, a rare emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1926. Sold for US$3,240,375. New York Jewels, New York, 24 May 2022

7. A gilt copper alloy figure of green Tara. Sold for US$2,310,312. Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art, New York, 22 March 2022

8. 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari Coupé. Sold for €2,200,000 (US$2,337,038). Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris, Paris, 3 February 2022

9. La femme en rouge au fond bleu by Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943). Sold for £1,842,300 (US$2,236,940). Expressionism: Germany, Austria and Beyond Sale, London,16 November 2022

10. 1927 Bugatti T35 B. Sold for €2,000,000 (US$2,124,580). The Monaco Sale ’Les Grandes Marques à Monaco’, Paris, 13 May 2022

Enquiries

For further information, email press@bonhams.com

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and collectables, collectors’ cars and a luxury division, which includes jewellery, designer fashion, watches, wine, and whisky. In 2021 and 2022, Bonhams made a number of important acquisitions which form the wider Bonhams network. These include: Bukowskis, Bruun Rasmussen, Bonhams Skinner, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr and The Market by Bonhams.

For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com

The Bonhams Network

Bukowskis

Established in 1870, Bukowskis offers fine art and collectables from its saleroom in Stockholm as well as online. In 2021, it sold 11 of the 15 most valuable artworks in the Swedish market – achieving the highest price for a Swedish artwork ever sold at auction – while their innovative digital presence attracts more than one million users every month.

Bruun Rasmussen

From its Copenhagen saleroom and online, Bruun Rasmussen sells more than 75,000 lots each year across categories from furniture, paintings and modern design to silver, wine and collector’s items such as books, arms and armour, stamps and coins.

Bonhams Skinner

Renowned New England auction house Bonhams Skinner holds some 80 auctions a year in 20 collecting categories – including Americana, fine art, collectables and wine, and ranging from fine violins to contemporary paintings – at its salerooms in Boston and Marlborough, Massachusetts, as well as on its highly effective digital platform for online sales.

Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr

Established in 1973, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr is famous throughout the auction world for its high-profile single-owner sales. With salerooms in Paris and Brussels, it holds auctions in more than a dozen categories, including fine art, haute couture, Asian art, collectable cars, jewellery, watches and more.

The Market by Bonhams

The Market by Bonhams is the record-setting and fastest-growing online marketplace for classic and collectable cars auctions in the UK, Europe and the United States. Combining traditional auction practices with an innovative, exciting digital platform, they offer a five-star service, no buyer’s fees and the lowest seller’s commission in the industry.