Biography
After graduating from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, Christina started her career at Sotheby’s Sussex in 1989, moving to London in 1994, and to New York in 1998. She was head of department for European Ceramics and Chinese Export porcelain until 2008, when she became Department Director for Chinese Works of Art. She took over management of the Asia Division in New York in 2016 and added European Decorative Arts, Americana and African and Oceanic in 2017. In February 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, Christina became Global Head of the Art and Objects group, overseeing European Decorative Arts, African and Oceanic, Indian and South East Asian Art, Islamic Works of Art, Russian Works of Art and Americana, internationally.
Christina is a specialist in European Ceramics and Chinese Export porcelain, with a particular interest in English pottery, Meissen and Chinese Export porcelain, and whilst she loves working with the pieces themselves, she joined the auction world because she was interested in the mix of art and business – particularly the process of bringing these together in a live auction.
Throughout her tenure at Sotheby’s, Christina has worked on many great collections, but the ceramic collections of note are the early English pottery Collection of Harriet Goldweitz in 2006, and more recently the sale of Meissen from the Collection of Franz and Margarete Oppenheimer in 2021.
One of the greatest discoveries Christina has made was re-attributing two early Meissen figures of Grey Parrots from the Shaefer Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art back to Meissen, after the museum had believed for many years that they were later copies.
One of her most memorable moments and valuable collections brought to auction has been the Oppenheimer Collection, which at just over $15M is the highest valued ceramics collection to ever come to auction and memorable also as it was a ‘white glove’ auction for which she was the auctioneer.
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