Once again auction estimates were shown to bear little comparison with results, when a painting that was expected to fetch £3,000£5,000 last week eventually sold for £36,000. An Interior Scene by Sir William Llewellyn was included in the fine art auction held by Hamilton Osborne King at Dublin's RDS and the price achieved, says HOK's Sara Kenny, is a record for this artist.
Obviously it is not always possible to predict prices with complete accuracy because no one can know the level of interest in a lot prior to the sale. However, the consistent discrepancy between estimates and sums achieved in recent years ought to encourage auctioneers to revise their figures in future, based on a growing demand from purchasers and the Republic's strong economy. Otherwise, potential bidders will be discouraged from participating in sales because they will think they have no hope of achieving success. Further examples of the same problem arose at this sale when a flamed mahogany pedestal sideboard from the Dublin cabinet makers Williams & Gibton (circa 1835) more than doubled its pre-sale estimate to go for £14,000 and a pair of pastel studies of muses by Charles Fournier (estimate £600-£1,000) sold for £3,200.
Other prices more accurately represented their expectations, such as the £8,000 achieved for a Malton watercolour of Dublin viewed from Phoenix Park, £6,000 paid for a pair of early 19th-century mahogany desks and the £4,500 top bid for a French secretaire.
