The famous British auction house with its headquarters in London was founded by James Christie (1730-1803) in 1759 (according to another source in 1762). The first auction was held by him on 5 December 1766. In the beginning, work was done primarily for the English aristocracy and for the royal family. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the field of business and the clientele expanded to include the whole of Europe and eventually the whole world. The most important auction locations are Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris. The company is known for its exclusive rarities and repeatedly sets auction records. In recent years, for example, works and personal possessions by Leonardo da Vinci, Gustav Klimt, Napoleon, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh have been offered. A Persian vase carpet from the 17th century was auctioned in 2010 for the equivalent of 7.2 million euros to an Arab buyer. On 8 November 2006, four paintings by Gustav Klimt were auctioned in New York for US$192 million. The painting Adele Bloch-Bauer II shown in the picture on the right fetched US$ 87.936 million, making it one of the top five paintings.
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Dominik Trick
Technischer Lehrer, staatl. geprüfter Sommelier, Hotelfachschule Heidelberg