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Sotheby's Evening Sale Of Old Master & British Paintings held in London on December 4 2014 soared above estimate to 54 million GBP confirming the group's long-held leadership in the category. Meanwhile, the Day sale realized 4,609,325 GBP.

One of the last great Turner masterpieces remaining in private hands set a world auction record for the artist, selling for a staggering 30.3 millionGBP (est. £15-20m). This result also represents the highest price at auction for any pre-20^th century British artist and the second highest price for any work ever sold in the Old Master and British Paintings category.  Four bidders competed for the work, driving the work high above its pre-sale estimate. The sale coincided with a wider moment of Turner mania, with the groundbreaking exhibition of "Late Turner" at the Tate and Mike Leigh's sensational "Mr Turner". 

Startlingly well preserved, J.M.W. Turner's Rome, from Mount Aventine. was one of two views of Rome commissioned by one of Turner's most important patrons, the artist's close friend Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar (1797-1864). Following Munro's death the painting was acquired at the sale of his collection in 1878 by Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), later Prime Minister of Great Britain.

The picture has remained in the Rosebery collection ever since and came to the market for only the second time since it was painted in 1835. Joining was a quintessential view of St. Mark's Square in Venice by Canaletto: from the artist's best period, circa 1730, it had not been seen in public since 1857.

A stellar group of Dutch and Flemish paintings was led by Adriaen Coorte's extraordinary Three peaches on a stone ledge, and Pieter Brueghel the Younger's unique Peasants dancing.

An oil on canvas by David Teniers the Younger titled "A countryside inn with revellers enjoying an afternoon's drinking" estimated between 100,000 and 150,000 GBP fetched 422,500 GBP. A Village street with peasants dancing by Pieter Brueghel the Younger went for 2,602,500 GBP against a high estimate of one million. An oil on canvas by Willem Van de Velde the Younger titled "A calm sea with a kaag and a boeier close in to the shore" sold for 722,500 GBP against a high estimate of 400,000.

Jan Asselijn's oil on canvas titled "The Breach of the Saint Anthonisdijk on the night of March 5-6 1651" fetched 602,500 GBP against a high estimate of 400,000 while Giovanni Antonio Caneletto's oil on canvas titled "Venice, the Piazza San Marco looking east towards the basilica" sold for 5,458,500 GBP at its low estimate.

Artemisia Gentileschi's "Bathsheba at her Bath" (204,5 x 155,5 cm) sold for 602,500 GBP against a high estimate of 300,000. Guillaume Benson's oil on panel titled "The Virgin and child" went for 206,500 GBP, just above its high estimate and a 16th Century painting attributed to the School of Bruges titled "The Annunciation" soared to 290,500 GBP against a high estimate of 80,000.

A Painting on panel showing travellers passing through a village in winter by Joos de Momper and Jan Brueghel the Elder sold for 302,500 GBP against a high estimate of 150,000. Jan Cossiers's oil on canvas titled "The Parable of the Prodigal son" culminated at 662,500 GBP against a 150,000 GBP high estimate while Sir Peter Paul Rubens' "The Martyrdom of Saint-Paul", a modello painted on panel, went for 914,500 GBP.

Ambrosius Bosschaert's still life of flowers in a tall glass vase set on a stone ledge painted on panel sold for 1,022,500 GBP against a high estimate of 900,000. Adriaen Coorte's oil on paper showing three peaches on stone ledge with a red admiral butterfly went for 3,442,500 GBP against a high estimate of 3 million.

Jean-Marc Nattier's portrait of Francis Greville, Baron Brooke later 1st Earl of Warwick sold for 386,500 GBP against a high estimate of 250,000 and Willem Van de Velde the Younger's oil titled "The Jupiter and another Dutch ship wrecked on a rocky coast in a gale" went for 722,500 GBP against a high estimate of 600,000.

During the Day Sale, a painting from the workshop of Quentin Massys titled "The Misers" sold for 266,500 GBP against a high estimate of 80,000 while a tempera, oil and gold painting on panel by Davide Ghirlandaio (1452-1525) tiled "Madonna and Child" brought 74,500 GBP against a high estimate of 30,000.

Cornelis Dusart's oil on canvas showing peasants playing skittles before an inn sold for 50,000 GBP against a high estimate of 18,000 while Adriaen Van Ostade's oil on panel titled " An Old Man in a tall hat leaning on a chair back and smoking a pipe" fetched 104,500 GBP, well over its 40,000 high estimate.

Sebastiaen Vranckx's "Allegory of Winter" painted on panel went for 218,500 GBP against a high estimate of 120,000 while a painting described as by an 18th Century follower of Sir Anthony Van Dyck titled "Icarus and Daedalus" caused a surprise when it fetched 332,500 against a modest high estimate of 12,000.