Posted by Steve Price on June 15, 1999 at 12:39:07:
In Reply to: Re: Thompson Sale as a Price Precedent posted by Yon Bard on June 15, 1999 at 11:56:18:
Dear Yon,
Your estimate that Thompson's pieces brought prices about 30% above what might be expected is pretty much how I see it, too. Whether this is "outrageous" depends on what someone thinks outrageous means, as I pointed out.
If the Sotheby's estimates were made without regard to provenance (it is my impression that they were, and I take it from your comment about selling prices being about 30% inflated that you thought so too), then the provenance had a significant effect. Why did the Thompson provenance draw a premium and the others you mention didn't? I was not at the Loges, Cassin, etc. previews, so I have no firsthand-derived opinion. Perhaps a premium was built into the estimates and reserves in those sales. Perhaps there were other reasons (the market does have ups and downs).
It would be interesting to compare the results of the other collectibles at those same sales, which would eliminate as many variables as can be reasonably eliminated. I find comparing the "Thompson" and "non-Thompson" pieces at the same sale pretty persuasive. There were some awfully nice "non-Thompson" Turkmen pieces, for example, and the results for them were pretty much what might be expected.
Regards,
Steve Price