Report by Roland Arkell
At just after 10am on July 19, William Porter – the first of four carefully chosen auctioneers – climbed the rostrum to a ripple of applause from an audience of two dozen staff and a dozen or so buyers. “Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Christie’s South Kensington and welcome to the Interiors sale.” Long pause. “For the last time,” he said. “Boo,” heckled a voice from the front.
And that was pretty much it. After 42 years, and a few saleroom notices alerting potential buyers of the need to collect before the doors finally closed on July 29, the last-ever sale at CSK was under way.