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CHRISTIE'S 2008 GLOBAL ART SALES TOTALLED £2.8 BILLION/$5.1 BILLION

· Private sales total £267.6 million/$487.0 million

· 629 works of art sold at auction for over $1 million

Christie's International, the world's leading art business, announced on February 12, 2009 that its 2008 art sales totalled £2.8 billion/$5.1 billion*. The results reflect an 11% decrease in £ (19% decrease in $) over 2007 sales against the difficult global economic backdrop. The results were achieved through more than 600 sales in 14 saleroom locations worldwide and include auction premiums as well as private sales of £267.6 million/$487.0 million. For the year, Christie's sold a total of 629 works of art at auction for over $1 million each.

"Despite the economic turmoil in the second half of 2008, Christie's completed the year with £2.8 billion in sales, continued profitability, and a record of offering great quality works to clients around the world", said Edward Dolman, Chief Executive Officer of Christie's International.

He added: "Christie's continues to lead in key markets across the globe and in the high-end auction sales of Impressionist and Modern Art, Asian Art, and Jewellery due to our ability to offer the best expert advice to our clients and market their property globally, employing the most sophisticated, innovative and compelling strategies. The diversity of our auction business across regions as well as in other areas such as private sales, Christie's Education and Christie's Great Estates, continued to introduce an unprecedented number of collectors to Christie's and contributed significantly to Group profit in difficult economic times".

2008 Regional and Departmental Highlights

For the year, auction division totals with premium were £2.5 billion/$4.6 billion, down 12% over 2007 in £ and 20% in $. Private sales for 2008, including dealer sales of wholly-owned subsidiary Haunch of Venison, were £267.6 million/$487.0 million, up 1% over 2007 in £ and down 9% in $.

Select departmental and geographic highlights for the auction division include:

Select International Sale Centres – Auction Sales for 2008 Full Year

Europe including UK -4% in £ and -14% in $ to £1.236 billion/ $2.250 billion

King Street -1% in £ and -11% in $ to £893.4 million / $1.626 billion

South Kensington -4% in £ and -14% in $ to £76.7 million / $139.5 million

Paris -6% in £ and -15% in $ to £117.8 million / $214.5 million

Switzerland -16% in £ and -25% in $ to £77.3 million / $140.6 million

Amsterdam -24% in £ and -32% in $ to £37.8 million / $68.9 million

Italy -4% in £ and -14% in $ to £26.1 million / $47.5 million

United States -22% in £ and -30% in $ to £1.022 billion / $1.861 billion

Rockefeller -22% in £ and -30% in $ to £1.022 billion / $1.861 billion

Hong Kong +6% in £ and -4% in $ to £248.5 million / $452.3 million

Select International Departments – Auction Sales for 2008 Full Year

Impressionist and Modern Art -8% in £ and -17% in $ to £659.6 million / $1.200 billion

Post-War & Contemporary Art -23% in £ and -30% in $ to £596.7 million / $1.086 billion

Asian Art +15% in £ and +4% in $ to £372.9 million / $678.7 million

Jewellery, Jadeite & Watches +5% in £ and -5% in $ to £250.0 million / $455.0 million

European Furniture +2% in £ and -8% in $ to £124 million / $225.7 million

Old Master Pictures -21% in £ and -29% in $ to £118.7 million / $216.1 million

American Pictures -19% in £ and -27% in $ to £59 million / $107.5 million

Russian Works of Art -55% in £ and -59% in $ to £32.4 million / $59.0 million

Books and Manuscripts -21% in £ and -29% in $ to £27.6 million / $50.1 million

Latin American Paintings -9% in £ and -18% in $ to £27.4 million / $49.8 million

Top Lots for 2008

The top ten lots for Christie's in 2008 were:

$80,451,178 Claude Monet, Le bassin aux nymphéas, 1919 London 24-Jun-08

$51,680,061 Francis Bacon, Triptych 1974-1977, 1977 London 6-Feb-08

$50,441,000 Mark Rothko, NO. 15, 1952 New York 13-May-08

$41,481,000 Monet, Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil, 1873 New York 6-May-08

$34,457,475 Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Self Portrait, 1976 London 30-Jun-08

$33,641,000 Freud, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, 1995 New York 13-May-08

$32,521,000 Andy Warhol, Double Marlon, 1966 New York 13-May-08

$28,041,000 Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Self Portrait, 1976 New York 13-May-08

$27,481,000 Alberto Giacometti, Grande femme debout II, 1959-1960 New York 6-May-08

$26,504,138 Degas, Danseuses à la barre, 1880 London 24-Jun-08

2008 Global Initiatives – Maintaining Leadership

During 2008, Christie's presented the finest and most desirable works of art and properties and

maintained a pre-eminent position in the international art auction market in sales.

Christie's maintained its leadership in Asia in 2008 with a 55% market share. Sales in Hong Kong totalled £248.5 million/$452.3 million, up 6% in £ and down 4% in $ from 2007.

· Record setting top lots included Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series 1996 no 6, that sold for HK$75.3 million/US$9.7 million, Zao Wou-Ki's Hommage à Tou-Fou, which achieved HK$45.4 million/US$5.8 million/£3.8 million/€4.6 million, a magnificent Imperial Famille Rose "Butterfly" Vase from the Property of the Ping Y. Tai Foundation sold for HK$53.3 million/£4.6 million/US$6.8 million, and a special collection of magnificent clocks for the Chinese Imperial Court from the Nezu Museum in Tokyo which achieved a total of HK$281million/US$36 million/£18.2 million.

· During the Autumn sales, 44% of all sold lots achieved prices above their high estimate.

Jewels: The Hong Kong Sale became the most valuable jewellery auction of the season for any auctionhouse internationally (HK$259.8 million/£22.5 million/US$33.5 million). The year alsoincluded the return of Christie's wine sales to Asia with a blockbuster sale which was 94% soldby lot, and featured an unrivalled collection of Château Latour which was 98% sold by lot.

· Southeast Asian highlights of the Asia cluster in 2008 included Hendra Gunawan's Kuda Lumping that sold for HK$5.9 million/US$759,906/£383,509 and I Nyoman Masriadi's Sudah biasa di telanjangi (Used to being stripped) which realized HK$4.2 million/US$539,402/£272,225.

· In June, the London auction of South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art realized £5.4 million/$10.6 million/€6.8 million, the highest total for the category in London. The auction saw 12 artist records broken with Francis Newton Souza's Birth, 1955 selling for £1.3 million/US$2.5 million/€1.6 million setting a record price for an Indian modern and contemporary work of art sold at auction, and becoming the most expensive lot ever sold at Christie's South Kensington. Further Indian sale highlights in 2008 included works from such masters as Subodh Gupta, MF Husain, FH Raza, as well as contemporary artists such as Jitish Kallat, Riyas Komu, and TV Santhosh. Christie's remains the only international auction house with a full-time representative based in India.

· Christie's fourth year of sales in Beijing with licensing partner Forever auction house realised an

annual total of RMB40 million/US$6.2 million.

As the first international auction house to establish a permanent base in the Middle East in 2005, Christie's extended its lead in the region in 2008. For the year, totals were £29.1 million/$53.1 million, up 11% over 2007 in £ and flat in $.

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· The April sale totaled AED147.3 million/$40 million. Four works sold for over $1 million, and 71 new artists records were established including for Parviz Tanavoli's The Wall (Oh Persepolis) which sold for AED10.4 million/$2.8 million, the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction in the Middle East and establishing a new world record for any Iranian artist at auction. A superb natural pearl and diamond necklace sold for AED6.4 million/$1.7 million.

· The autumn International Modern and Contemporary Art sale realised AED31.7 million/$8.6 million. The top lot was Triptych (La passion avec croix, ame et bagages, and triangle bigames) by the Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi which realized AED1.7 million/$482,500, a world record price for the artist at auction and the second highest price for a Modern Arab work of art at auction.

Jewels and Watches; The Dubai Sale realised AED 30.1 million/$8.2 million.

· As part of continued commitment to the region in October, Christie's presented $300 million of masterpieces by artists such as Gauguin, Warhol, Richter, Rothko and Zeng Fanzhi alongside magnificent jewels and watches in a landmark exhibition at Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Palace Hotel.

The Russian category continued to grow in importance, albeit at a slower rate against the weakening global economy. For the year the Russian Art sales series totalled £32.4 million/$59.0 million.

· Christie's continued commitment to Russia and the CIS states was signalled by superb exhibitions in Moscow and St. Petersburg during the year. Christie's June Russian Art sale totalled £11.3 million/$22 million and a new world record price for a work by a female artist, and a record price for an artist at auction was established in the June Impressionist and Modern Sale when Natalia Goncharova's Les Fleurs sold for £5.5 million/$10.9 million. Christie's Russian Art Week in November realised £13.7 million/$20.9 million.

Christie's first year of the newly launched Interiors sales in London, New York and Paris proved to be highly appealing and successful for all clients, in both buying and selling capacities and at all price levels. The refurbished South Kensington salerooms in London were an attractive draw and Interiors sales for the site totalled £17.7 million, bringing total sales for the site to £76.7

million/$139.5 million for the year.

July 2008 hailed the second-year anniversary of Christie's LIVE™. For 2008, online sales and direct underbidding totaled £57 million/$82 million, including premium. Christie's LIVE™ was used at 468 events in 11 venues. Christie's LIVE™ generated 39,677 accepted bids for the year.

For the year 2008, Christie's Impressionist & Modern Art department achieved £659.6 million/$1.200 billion while the Post-War & Contemporary Art department achieved £596.6 million/$1.086 billion in sales.

· At the autumn Evening Sales in New York, Christie's achieved a combined $260.6 million in sales for Impressionist & Modern and Post-War & Contemporary Art. An additional Evening Sale of two single-owner collections, The Modern Age: The Hillman Family Collection and The Collection of Alice Lawrence brought $47 million. Highlights included Juan Gris' Livre, pipe et verres which sold for $20.8 million, setting a new world record for the artist and Picasso's Deux personnages (Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant) which sold for $18 million. In May, Christie's achieved an exceptional $739.5 million for its May 2008 Impressionist & Modern and Post-War & Contemporary Art Sales, during which 30 new world records were established and 18 lots were sold for over $10 million. Highlights included Monet's Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil, which sold for $41.5 million/£21 million and set a new world auction record for the artist, and Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, which fetched $33.6 million/£17.3 million and set a world auction record for any living artist.

· London's October Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale achieved £31.9 million/ $55.5 million and Fontana's Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio, sold for £9 million/$15.6 million and Freud's Francis Bacon realised £5.4 million/$9.4 million.

Christie's international Old Master Department sales totaled £118.7 million/$216.1 million.

· Old Master and British Pictures sold the top lot of the year, Watteau's La Surprise, for £12,361,250 as well as the top four old Master paintings sold at auction in New York in 2008, led by Van Haarlem's Hercules and Achelous which sold for $8,105,000. The year ended with a strong London sale which totaled £14.6 million/$21.8 million, and 80% of the lots sold (by lot).

Tiepolo's rediscovered masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady as Flora, drew significant international interest and attracted determined bidding before selling for £2.8 million, far exceeding its presale estimate.

Worldwide Jewellery sales in 2008 totalled £210.8 million/$383.6 million, 2.7% below the record total of 2007 in $ terms. For the 15th year in a row, Christie's confirmed its dominant position in the Jewellery auction field. After the best first half of the year ever achieved for Jewellery at Christie's, with sales of $226 million in the Spring (up 32% over Spring 2007), the new economic environment brought a re-adjustment in prices for gemstones and jewels.

· Strong results were achieved despite the challenging circumstances, with the historic Wittelsbach blue diamond of 35.56cts realising £16.3 million/$24.3 million in London in December, the highest price for any diamond or jewel ever sold at auction. In Hong Kong, a few days earlier, a pair of 16ct D flawless round diamonds fetched $175,000 per carat or $5.6 million, maintaining the price level seen at the peak in the Spring.

Christie's continued to lead the market in Photographs with total sales in 2008 of £20.4 million/$37.1 million.

· Following the success of the Distinctively Japanese series of photographs offered in the London May sale, the Famous Faces and Distinctively Nordic and Distinctively Dutch series in the November sale were both very successful with works by Michel Comte and Ismo Holtto 100% sold by lot.

· The October New York sale of Photographs by William Eggleston totaled $2.9 million and sold 99% by value and 90% by lot and the December auction of the Constantiner Collection achieved $7.7 million, the highest total for a single owner dedicated photographs sale at Christie's. The largest selection of works by Helmut Newton sold at auction totaled $4 million and a new world auction record for a work by the Newton was set with Sie Kommen, which achieved $662,500.

Additional highlights from Europe included the sale of the private Collection of Simon Sainsbury, one of Britain's most generous philanthropists which achieved £27.1 million/$53 million. The Kenure Cabinet by Thomas Chippendale realised £2.7 million/$5.3 million also in June - a record price for any piece of British furniture.

Strong results in Paris in 2008 included the sale of the late Monseigneur le Comte de Paris and Madame la Comtesse de Paris in October which realised €2.3 million/£1.8 million/$ 3.2 million, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of €700,000-€1,000,000. In December, a Louis XIV commode was sold for €4 million/$5.5 million/£3.6 million - a record for any piece of furniture sold in 2008 anywhere in the world, and the top price for any work of art sold at Christie's in Paris.

The highlight of our November sales in Geneva, which generated SFr. 46 million/$37.5 million in total and marked the firm's 40th anniversary in Switzerland, was a cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire of 42.28 cts, which realised SFr.4.1 million/$3.4 million, setting a new record for a sapphire at auction (previous record: $3 million in 2007). Christie's now holds the three top prices for sapphires ever achieved at auction. The sale results also reaffirmed Christie's leadership in Switzerland for nearly a decade as the company established a 65% market share.

In 2008, Christie's Amsterdam sales totalled £37.8 million/$68.9 million / €46.5 million, achieving 62% market share. 43 lots sold for over €100,000, the highlight being the Princes of Liechtenstein Blaeu Globes which for sold for €793,850, becoming the most valuable work of art ever sold at auction in Holland.