With an emphasis on 17th-century painting and Asian pieces, the highest prices were logically recorded in those segments.

Besides some (vanitas) still lifes by among others, Cornelis Gysbrechts (lot 36), an anonymous 16th-century artist (lot 35), Adriaen Van Utrecht (lot 40) and Pieter Van Overschie (lot 37), which went under the hammer for € 9500, € 8500, € 6000 and € 26.000 respectively, there was also a lot of interest in a few old drawings: a landscape by Paul Bril (lot 1) opened the auction with a nice € 5500, an anonymous 16th-century study for a relief for Charles V’s palace (lot 10) increased its estimate tenfold (€ 9500) and a design for engraving depicting Infant Ferdinand in Ghent by Cornelis Schut (lot 12) went away doubling the estimate (€ 5000). Finally, the proceeds of a recent discovery at Bernaerts were eagerly awaited: a small, sober ‘breakfast’ by Pieter Claesz, dated 1646, which graced the cover of the printed catalogue at an estimate of € 60 – 80.000, already attracted interest during the viewing days. Five bidders over the phone pushed the panel to more than four times the estimate to eventually hear it being hammered down at € 275.000.

Among the Asian pieces, partly from the Van Goidsenhoven collection, some striking results were particularly noticeable among the porcelain. For a baluster-shaped vase with figurative decoration, a so-called ‘birthday vase’, carefully estimated at around € 2000, two Chinese bidders battled for minutes. The piece (lot 118), found a new home over the phone at a stunning € 88.000. There was also much enthusiasm for a 17th-century Huanghuali Kangzhuo table; estimated at around € 10-15.000. The rather rare piece of furniture in our region went away smoothly for € 32.000 (lot 148). As well did a Famille Verte vase (lot 135), which also tripled its estimate with a hammer price of € 30.000.

Apart from the atlas (lot 19), the pair of ‘millefleurs’ from Bruges (lot 42) and a panel by Abraham Govaerts (lot 43) which failed to attract a new buyer, there were some nice results in silver and in Romanticism. A two-eared Parisian coupe in silver by Marc Jacquaert (lot 75) changed owner for € 6400 (lot 100), an 18th-century soup tureen (lot 99) for € 3800 and a magisterial ‘Cathedrale d’Anvers’ by Dommershuyzen (lot 75) for € 7500.

On Wednesday 4 October in the ‘Modern’ section, the hammer fell to € 150000 for the 1951 dated canvas by Karel Appel (lot 305), immediately the second highest amount in this auction.

A 1984 bronze sculpture by Salvador Dali (lot 316) found a new home for €13000, while a buyer had to pay € 10000 for a landscape by Constant Permeke (lot 295). A canvas by Jef Verheyen (lot 309) in turn brought € 18000, an untitled canvas by Jean Miotte (lot 306) € 14000 and Jean Rets’ ‘Nature morte aux cerises’ (lot 304) € 7500. Two rare assemblages by Paul Joostens went up to € 10000 (lot 302) and € 8000 (lot 303) respectively. A classic ‘Fisherman on the lake’ by Isidore Verheyden (lot 240) also fetched a nice hammer price (€ 7500) as well as a landscape by Florent Crabeels (lot 243, res.: € 3600).