Il Ponte's December 2019 Auction Totals €7 Million, Fontana Ceramics Top Lots

Il Ponte's December 2019 auction of Modern and Contemporary Art in Milan achieved €7 million, up from €5.2 million in December 2018. The auction house closed a record year with €15.3 million in total sales (2018: €12 million). Director Freddy Battino called the result exceptional and countertrend given international market difficulties. Over 70% of bids came from international competitors. The top lots were Lucio Fontana ceramics: Madonna con Bambino sold for €512,500 and Crocefisso for €475,000. Other notable results included Maria Helena Vieira Da Silva's La plaine – Bords de la Tamise at €212,500 (estimate €30-40,000), Pierre Klossovski's Le temps d’un essayage at €100,000 (estimate €35,000), Piero Dorazio's Mirino verde at €112,500, and a record for Kenjiro Azuma at €72,500 (previous record €28,000 at Sotheby's Hong Kong). The 95-lot sale at Palazzo Crivelli on December 10 featured works by Savinio, Carrà, Campigli, Morandi, Balla, Dalí, Miró, Matisse, Max Ernst, Alighiero Boetti, Paolo Scheggi, Agostino Bonalumi, Vincenzo Agnetti, Ben Nicholson, Hans Hartung, Man Ray, and Victor Vasarely.