Il Ponte Casa d’Aste Milano Reports €34.9M in 2023 Sales, Up from 2022

Milanese auction house Il Ponte Casa d’Aste closed 2023 with total hammer sales of €34.9 million, up from €33.5 million in 2022. The house held 45 auctions (three more than 2022) with an 86% sell-through rate by lot. The modern and contemporary art department, led by Freddy Battino, drove the highest volume, exceeding €12.2 million. Top lots included Lucio Fontana's Concetto spaziale (1963-64) at €453,600, Mario Schifano's Cielo per A. (1964) at €327,600, and a Bulgari demi-parure sold for €378,000. A record was set for Bruno Munari's futurist painting Buccia di Eva. Growing interest was noted for lesser-known 20th-century artists like Aroldo Bonzagni and Arturo Nathan, as well as 19th-century rediscoveries and Italian Radical design from the 1970s-1990s. In September 2023, Il Ponte opened a new satellite location in Milan, complementing its historic Via Pontaccio site and its earlier move from Via Pitteri to the Santa Giulia district, an area undergoing major redevelopment ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. The house will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024, marking a journey that began in 1974.