Building on two decades of market leadership, our November 2024 sale of Fabergé, Imperial and Revolutionary Art featured the full array of Russian artistic production, including paintings alongside works of art by some of Russia's most celebrated artists. The sale achieved a total of £3,937,180 against a low estimate of £2,975,000.
With the second installment of this auction taking place in November 2025, Sotheby's can offer our clients a unique platform for their objects, guaranteeing maximum visibility.
With the most experienced team in the field, Sotheby’s has expertly navigated the challenges of the global political climate to great success. We have yet again maintained dedicated sales of Fabergé, Russian Works of Art and Paintings during the past two years, which has given us a unique insight into the current market and the greatest access to collectors globally.
Our strength in the field has continued in 2025 with impressive results for both Russian works of art and paintings. Of particular note is the important private Collection of Fabergé and Vertu from Castle Howard which was offered earlier this year in May. The collection was a monumental success with 100% of the works selling for almost over three times its pre-sale estimate.
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If you wish to enquire about the possibility of offering a work in one of Sotheby’s Russian Paintings or Fabergé and Works of Art sales, please click here.
Sotheby’s is the auction house of choice for Russian Art, consistently achieving strong results across categories and attracting buyers from all over the world. Over the past two years, we have maintained our position as market leaders by continuing to offer our sellers effective platforms for selling select works of Russian art across our locations globally.
In this time, Sotheby's has sold the greatest number of Russian works of art in excess of £100,000, including property from an important Private British Collection in 2024 which was led by a large Nicholas I porcelain vase which sold for £216,000. Further highlights from the last year include a large imperial presentation silver-gilt and enamel kovsh, which achieved £132,000, over five times its estimate; and three imperial portraits by Zinaida Evgenievna Serebriakova which together sold for £624,000 against a combined sale estimate of £130,000 to £190,000.
In 2025, Sotheby's was honoured to offer the Collection of Fabergé and Vertu from Castle Howard, one of the most significant groups of Fabergé animals in private hands. The collection sold for over 2 million Swiss Francs, exceeding its pre-sale estimate almost three times over. Highlights from this collection include an impressive Fabergé jewelled obsidian model of a rhinoceros which sold for 279,4000 CHF and a rare Fabergé jewelled bloodstone model of an anteater which sold for 254,000 CHF.
Russian paintings have also performed strongly in the first half of 2025. The top result for the year belongs to Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky’s 'Ship at Anchor in Calm Waters’, which sold for £1,064,800, over double its high estimate. Further impressive results include Sergei Arsenievich Vinogradov’s ‘Blue Lake’ which sold for $177,800 against an estimate of $30,000, as well as Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin’s ‘Roses in a Vase’ which sold for £165,100 against an estimate of £120,000. Additionally, an exceptional Byzantine, probably Constantinople, early 14th century icon of the Hodegetria Mother of God sold for £825,500 against an estimate of £160,000.
