The Geddes Collection at Bonhams: Forecast and Results

I have been re-reading Belinda Tasker's forecast ("'Elvis' sculpture stars in auction of Aust art collection", AAP, July 22, 2008) about the Graham Geddes auction that took place at Bonhams on October 15.

She highlighted three lots:

• Lot 10. A large early Apulian red-figure hydria. Attributed to the painter of the Berlin Dancing Girl. Estimate: £80,000 - 120,000 ("expected to attract bids of up to STG110,000 ($A225,600)"). Lot withdrawn.
• Lot 65. A Roman Marble Acroterion. Estimate ("worth"): £25,000-£35,000. Sold for: £24,000.
• Lot 56. A large Roman marble sarcophagus fragment; "Diana, the goddess of the hunt standing at the centre". Estimate: £60,000 - 90,000. Unsold.

Tasker also predicted:

Graham Geddes is expected to pick up more than STG1 million ($A2.05 million) by selling off more than 150 Greek vases and Roman marble reliefs at the Bonhams auction in October.

In fact the sale appears to have made just over £470,000; many lots were apparently left unsold. Such an inaccurate forecast gives a balance to the assessment of the sale in today's IHT.