Princely Stakes

AMSTERDAM—On April 1, Christie’s Amsterdam is holding a single-owner sale of 450 items from the private collection of the princes of Liechtenstein, one of Europe’s oldest noble families. Karl I (1569–1627) began acquiring art in the 16th century, and his 14 direct heirs have continued the tradition, amassing several thousand pieces—among them, works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck. Although most of the royal collection can be found at the Liechtenstein Museum, in Vienna, dozens of items— furniture, paintings, sculptures and tapestries—that the family has been “unable to place,” according to reigning prince Hans-Adam II, hit the block this month with an estimate of €1.5 million to €2.5 million ($2.2–3.7 million). One prized lot is a pair of 17th-century globes (est. €200–300,000; $293–440,000)—exceptionally sized at 68 centimeters in diameter—by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, a cartographer from the Netherlands. Another strong offering is a nine-piece set of 18th-century Austrian furniture, expected to fetch between €12,000 and €18,000 ($18–26,000), which had occupied a room at Feldsberg Castle, in the town of Valtice in the Czech Republic.

"Princely Stakes" originally appeared in the April 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's April 2008 Table of Contents.