The outcome of the auction, held on three digital sales platforms (Invaluable, Drouotlive and bernaerts.live.eu) has proven that there is an enormous interest in the eclectic universe of interior designer Gert Voorjans. Fortunately we could welcome physically present bidders again. 

It was permitted to visit the exposition in person, with reserved timeslots. Those who could not make it, could request extra photos and written information from our experts. This auction, with viewing in our venue, Verlatstraat as well as on Leopoldplaats, also got promoted with videos on Bernaerts’ Youtube channel and social media (Facebook and Instagram). Traditional media payed lots of attention to our auction likewise (DSMagazine, DeMorgen, GVA, ATV, Sabato, Nieuwsblad and even Financial Times). Three times more people than usual registered on live.bernaerts.eu to carry out bids online.

The first auction session of 12 October comprised 212 lots and rapidly caught fire, with ‘Djingis’ by Gust Romijn (lot 7) getting sold at four times the estimated hammer price, € 9.500. An extensive collection of minerals and seashells (lot 16), as well as a pair of big Imari vases (lot 33) found a buyer and Jae Ko’s sculpture (lot 35) got sold for a world-record € 6.000.

The traditional ‘Antiques’ segment of the auction also proved to be a big success. The twelve iconic eagle lanterns (lots 112 to 117), made for the city of Paris, got sold for a total price of € 12.600.  The mahogany Empire bed (lot 56) was let go for € 5.000, while a late-gothic gargoyle (lot 109) found a buyer at € 4.000.
Impressively, although not completely surprisingly, Kati Heck’s portrait of celloist Bruno Lenski (lot 181) surpassed its estimated price by quite a considerable amount. The canvas, originally catalogued at € 5.000, instantly got an opening bid of € 30.000 by telephone. A counterbid in the auction room concluded the sale of the portrait at € 32.000, which is a world record price for the artist. Other works such as Maryam Najd’s painting ‘Pink II’ (lot 177), Octave Van Kuycks painting ‘Popsie’ (lot 76) and three anonymous interbellum gouaches (lot 202) surpassed their estimate prices by large lengths (sold resp. for € 4.500, € 13.000 and € 6.000).

Finally, our last lot of the day, a magnificent pair of cyanotypes by Carolyn Quartermaine (lot 369) added the cherry on top, getting sold for € 10.000.

After an impressive first auction day on Monday, the second segment of the Collectibles by Gert Voorjans auction also attracted a lot of interest. Because of the broad interest, the lots, 154 in total, went up smoothly in price through bidding and counter-bidding.

Some unique pieces were in great demand, such as the nineteenth-century Manuchi Buddha Sakyamuni (lot 287, € 5000), a pair of theater curtains sculpted in oak (lot 228, € 1750), a meticulous ‘pietra dura’ saloon table (lot 259, € 1700) and a hippopotamus skull (lot 263, € 2200).

The furniture didn’t leave without a fight either: a green velvet raincy-salon set (lot 276, € 4000), a gold satin triple seat from the Castle of Argenteuil (lot 278, € 4000), a pair of closets in Japanese lacquer (lot 277, € 4800), a Moorish style lounger (lot 291, € 4800) and an impressive black lacquered conference table by Borsani (lot 327, € 7000) went to new houses. Also the 28 garden chairs in different colors and with various cushions (lot 360) went well (€ 2600).

The elegant ‘La dame rouge’ by Didier Mahieu (lot 297) turned out to be the star piece of the auction. Many interested bidders competed against each other up to an amount of € 16000, more than seven times the original estimate price.