Auction Set to Showcase Rothschild Family Treasures, With Potential Valuation of Astonishing $30 Million

A vast collection of treasures from the Rothschild family’s private collection is set to go up for auction for the first time in North America and could fetch a staggering $30 million.

Artworks, furniture, jewelry, ceramics and silverware belonging to the banking dynasty will be sold by Christie’s in New York in several auctions starting October 11.

The sale entitled Rothschild Masterpieces includes more than 600 objects that belonged to Baron James de Rothschild, his wife Betty and their sons, Baron Alphonse and Baron Gustav.

A 17th-century oil on panel titled “A Young Woman Holding a Hare with a Boy at a Window” is among the most coveted and is estimated to sell for between $3 million and $5 million.

Other Rothschild objects include a series of gilded leather panels “unseen in public for 150 years” and made by a Rembrandt follower, expected to sell for $1.5 million, and a pair of gilded wood armchairs and painted white from the late Louis XV period, valued at up to $1. million.

Artworks, furniture, jewelry, ceramics and silverware belonging to the banking dynasty will be sold by Christie’s in New York in several auctions starting October 11.

A 17th-century oil on panel titled “A Young Woman Holding a Hare with a Boy at a Window” is one of the most coveted and is estimated to sell for $3 million to $5 million.

Green porcelain dinner and dinnerware set expected to sell for up to $150,000

The treasures come from the Parisian residences of Baron James and the Château de Ferrières, so impressive that they bore the flavor of the Rothschild style that bears their name.

The objects remained in the hands of their descendants for decades.

“This auction week will make history,” said Jonathan Rendell, vice president of Christie’s. The New York Post.

“For the first time, one of Europe’s great collecting families is offering its important and intimate family heirlooms for auction in the United States. The quality of the more than 600 items in these sales is as extraordinary as the assortment.

“Throughout the 19th century, the Rothschild family’s collections were legendary.”

He added: “Rothschild’s masterpieces are already creating a sensation in the market. »

Other items for sale include a first-century Roman Sardonyx cameo portrait of Roman Emperor Claudius, which is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000.

Two bronze and marble busts of emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus that could sell for $400,000

Rare suite of soapworks panels from King Louis XV expected to sell for $150,000

The treasures come from the residences of Baron James in Paris and the Château de Ferrières which were so impressive that they bore the flavor of the Rothschild style which bears their name.

Painting of David’s Triumph worth up to $2 million

The last time this item was auctioned at Christie’s in 1899, it sold for around $4,500, worth around $496,000 today, before being purchased by the Rothschilds.

“These are things that have been kept away since the end of the 19th century. And if you didn’t know about this particular branch of the family, you wouldn’t have seen them,” Rendell said. CNN.

“It’s not the kind of thing that in New York we usually play with. You’re more likely to see a sale like this in Europe.

The Rothschild family’s set of porcelain tureens, lids and stands will also be auctioned and are expected to sell for up to $50,000.

Also up for auction are furniture, ceramics, silverware, tapestries and jewelry that demonstrate their unique taste, described by Rendell as “an extraordinary combination of sumptuousness and domesticity.”

“This is the kind of thing that 100 or 150 years ago the market would have been crazy for. We don’t put a lot of this type of stuff on sale anymore,” he added.

Those who are strapped for cash can bid on items online starting at $100.

Italian cabinet mounted in gilded bronze on foot that could cost up to $500,000

Piece painted by Francesco Xanto Avelli in a workshop from 1541

Portuguese silver-gilt ewer with an estimated value of $300,000

King Louis XV patinated bronze and gilt bronze mantel clock with an elephant – expected to sell for up to $90,000

Most of the items are currently on a world tour, but will be auctioned at Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters on the evening of October 11.

The sale will then continue on the mornings of October 12 and 13 with an online sale taking place from October 3 to 17.

Members of the French branch of the Rothschild family specifically reportedly wanted the sale to take place in New York. Part of the family lived in the United States during World War II.

Rendell pointed to “streamlining” and a “generational shift” as possible reasons the collection is being sold now.

“Not everyone lives like the Rothschilds of the 19th century, even the Rothschilds,” he said.