Judging from my conversations while touring the auction houses on Sunday afternoon, a number of active market players spent the weekend refreshing the Christie’s website to see whether the dealmakers were making any progress in laying off the house’s risk by offering third-party guarantees on the lots for sale. By Sunday night, at least by my count, slightly more than half of the lots were covered—accounting for 60 percent of the combined presale value of the Leonard and Louise Riggio estate sale and the 20th century evening sale, which included works from Sid and Anne Bass’s historic Fort Worth home. Christie’s eventually announced at least six more third-party guarantees, covering an additional $50 million from the rostrum, including one for Magritte’s L’empire des lumières.
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