Il Ponte Casa d’Aste Reports €18.1 Million in Sales for H1 2026
Milan — Il Ponte Auction House closed the first half of 2026 with €18.1 million in sales, achieving an 84% sell-through rate and an 83% increase over starting reserve prices.
"The results of every auction, and of every six-month period, are the outcome of continuous commitment and constant achievement. In today's market, nothing is predictable and nothing can be taken for granted. For the past two years, Il Ponte has enjoyed a privileged vantage point as an integral part of the Millon Auction Group (MAG), which, in the first six months of the year, achieved aggregate sales of €96.3 million (including buyer's premiums), marking a 36.4% increase compared to the same period last year."
— Rossella Novarini, General Director of Il Ponte Auction House
Key Highlights & Highlights by Department
Thanks to established relationships with museum and academic institutions, 2026 opened with the remarkable sale of the Tito Livio manuscript once owned by Princess Ippolita Maria Sforza. Achieving €537,600, it stood as the top lot of the semester. The sale set a record for a single auction within the Books and Manuscripts Department and demonstrated specialist expertise in handling works designated as items of historical and artistic significance under Italian Cultural Heritage protection (Soprintendenze).
Notable Auction Results
Books, Manuscripts & Fine Arts
- The Rediscovered Manuscript of Princess Ippolita Maria Sforza
Tito Livio (59 BC – 17 AD) – Ab Urbe Condita. First Decade.
Illustrated manuscript on parchment, mid-15th century.
Sold: €537,600
- Giuseppe Bossi & Andrea Appiani
Album containing 380 drawings collected by Giuseppe Vallardi (including three sheets attributed to Appiani). Donated by Fondazione EQUITA to the Brera Academy of Fine Arts on its 250th anniversary.
Sold: €102,400
- Oudenaarde Manufacture (15th–16th Century)
Feuille de Chou tapestry bearing heraldic coats of arms (possibly Ubaldini-Chigi).
Sold: €96,000
Modern & Contemporary Art
- Josef Albers — Study for Homage to the Square: Full Tenor (1959)
Oil on masonite, 45.7 × 45.7 cm.
Sold: €384,000
- Leonor Fini — Portrait d'Italo Svevo (1928)
Oil on panel, 54 × 45.5 cm. Acquired by Fondazione CRTrieste.
Sold: €358,400
Additional Departmental Results
- Jewelry & Watches: Achieved combined sales exceeding €5.6 million. Highlights included a 20.52-carat emerald-cut diamond ring (€189,000), a 7.77-carat sapphire ring (€132,300), and a Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 7018/1A-10 (€57,600).
- 19th-Century Painting & Sculpture: Led sector recovery with new auction records, including Giuseppe Biasi da Teulada’s Ballu Tundu (€64,000) and Giovanni Battista Galizzi’s La Baraonda (€51,200).
- 20th-Century Design: Featured Ico Parisi prototypes for Ariberto Colombo (Model 813 Egg Chairs sold for €20,480), furnishings from Aurelio Zanotta’s Monza apartment, and a George Nakashima Conoid Bench (€25,600).
- Specialized Departments & MAG Collaborations:
- Comic Art: First joint catalog with Paris and Brussels, featuring Milo Manara’s Valentino Rossi collection.
- Asian Works of Art: Led by a Ming dynasty imperial bronze censer (€17,920).
- Sports Memorabilia: Contributed to MAG’s record €1.3M+ "Football" sale in Paris, including the official 1982 FIFA World Cup Final match ball (€42,900).
