IN PERSON

To bid in person at auction for the first time please register for a bidding paddle in advance by filling out and submitting a registration form at our front desk. When registering in person we require photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.

ABSENTEE BIDDING

If you cannot attend the auction in person we can bid on your behalf. You can leave an absentee bid on our website.

The amount you bid should be your maximum bid. We will bid up to that limit for you, and remember you may end up paying less than your limit, depending on other bidding on the day.

You can leave an absentee bid up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same amount, the first bid received will be the one taken.

LEAVE COMMISSION BIDS ONLINE

If you would like to leave a commission bid on our website you can do so up until 30 minutes before the sale starts. Leaving a commission bid through sworder.co.uk is free for all registered clients. Thereafter you may register bank card details under your account in order to bid live. Click here to register an account.

BID LIVE ON sworder.co.uk

You can bid live at our auctions from the comfort of your home or office using bidding platform Sworders Live.  It is easy to register and you can watch the auction live as it happens.  A 'Bid Live' button will appear on the auction on our website homepage when a sale is live; simply click the button to sign in or register with your card details. There is no additional charge for this service. 

For further instructions on registering to bid live, please click here.

TELEPHONE BIDDING

If you would like to bid by telephone please contact our team prior to the auction with your details of the lots you are interested in and your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Once our team have entered your bid request you will receive an email confirmation. We will contact you during the sale and one of our team will bid live with you over the phone.

Please note that we normally offer this service for lots with an estimate of £500 or higher and all telephone bid requests must be received by close of business the day before the auction.

Auction: ICONASTAS: Fine Russian Art & Antiques from the Renowned London Gallery, 1st Dec, 2021

We are delighted to be able to welcome you to our latest sale, held as part of Russian Art Week: Autumn 2021.

The Piccadilly Arcade gallery was established by Chris Martin-Zakheim and John Gaze in 1974, specialising in Russian icons, works of art, and antiquities, until it closed its doors in 2018, having cemented a reputation as one of the industry’s leading specialists.

This sale, which is the first of several auctions of Iconastas stock, includes icons dating from the 14th to 20th centuries, soviet porcelain, works of art and propaganda, and also features icons from the personal collection of the late Chris Martin-Zakheim, whose premature passing after a brain-tumour diagnosis prompted the gallery’s closure.

Particular highlights of this sale are two icons formerly in the collection of George Hann (1890-1979), a pioneer of American aviation who assembled one of the world’s finest private collections, previously sold in a landmark auction at Christie’s after his death. He acquired many pieces directly from the Russian State in the 1930s, when the Soviet government sold a great number of artworks from the nation’s important collections. The two icons bear labels and inventory numbers for the State Tretyakov Gallery.

We are grateful to Nathalie Farman-Farma of the design studio Décors Barbares, who has kindly provided a selection of Russian, Central Asian and Eastern-inspired textiles, which have been used throughout the catalogue to highlight and accentuate the colours and motifs of the artworks, proving also that works of such distinguished heritage can be blended seamlessly into a modern decorative setting.

In person bidding is available, please visit below to book or call 01279 817778.

Book Your Space

Viewing

VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT

We will be offering viewing by appointment only, to be held at our London Gallery, 15 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ.  One hour time slots will be available from:

Thurs 25 Nov, 10am - 7pm 

Fri 26 Nov, 10am - 5pm

Sat 27 Nov, 12 noon - 4pm

Sun 28 Nov, 12 noon - 4pm

Mon 29 Nov, 10am - 5pm 

Tues 30 Nov, 10am - 5pm 

Book Appointment

All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description. 

ATTEND THE LIVE AUCTION

To book your place to be at the Stansted saleroom in person, please book an appointment: 

Book Appointment

View all lots in this sale

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Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here