Consigned from a private European collection, it almost doubled the previous high for the German Renaissance painter. The oil on panel from c.1525-27 was deemed to be among the most important works by the artist remaining in private hands and it duly drew bidding from "all corners of the world" according to the auctioneers.
Estimated at £6m-8m, it came down to a three-way telephone battle between a bidder from Asia, another from the Middle East and the US buyer who was bidding through George Wachter, Sotheby's global co-chairman of Old Master Paintings who is based in New York.
The painting itself depicts a woman accused by her husband of adultery and who conceives of a cunning plan to deceive the mythical "mouth of truth". It was said that anyone who did not speak the truth while placing their hand within the lion's open mouth would lose it.
The picture was one of four works that the auctioneers chose to exhibit in Hong Kong before the sale. Three of them drew competitive bidding from Asia on the night. As well as the Cranach, Willem Claesz Heda's A Still Life of a Roemer from 1633 which fetched £2.5m against a £2m-3m estimate drew bidding from an Asian collector who ended up as the eventual buyer, while Portrait of a Boy by Ferdinand Bol from 1652 which made a record £4.5m against the same estimate was knocked down to the same bidder.
Castle Howard Collection
The latter was one of four pictures at the auction that came from the Collection at Castle Howard. These pictures added to the five works sold at Sotheby's Treasurers sale earlier in the day to raise a combined £12.7m including premium.
The pictures included a Portrait of Henry VIII from the Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger that was estimated at £800,000-1.2m and sold on low estimate to Philip Mould who was bidding in the room. The London dealer has recently opened a spacious new gallery in Pall Mall.
Also from Castle Howard was Venice, a view of the Grand Canal looking south from the Palazzo Foscari and Palazzo Morolin by Bernardo Bellotto (1722-1780). The oil on canvas was painted when the artist was 16 years old and working in the studio of his uncle Canaletto at the time. The estimate was £2.5m-3.5m but it was knocked down in the room at £2.15m to dealer Fabrizio Moretti.
With the sale generating an overall £39.3m (including premium), this was not the most lucrative Old Master sale that Sotheby's have staged in recent times. Outside of the top lots, interest was fairly patchy as bidders reacted unfavourably to a number of mid-range works and the trade were clearly in a selective mood. On the night, 37 of the 57 lots sold (65%). The Old Master series continues tomorrow with Christie's evening sale offering 54 lots.
Protest Continues
Following the protest outside the saleroom before last week's Contemporary art sale over wages and sick pay for Sotheby's cleaners, once again there was a noisy gathering on Bond Street before the Old Master auction. Protesters held banners reading: 'Reinstate the Sotheby's four' (four cleaners have reportedly been suspended from work by Sotheby's cleaning contractors after participating in the initial protest).
This time security was beefed up with eyewitnesses reporting around a dozen police vehicles and about 40 officers on duty, with some herding the protestors back on the pavement to maintain traffic flow on the street.
