Pan Tianshou, Bamboo Rocks, (ca. 20c.)
Pan Tianshou, Bamboo Rocks, (ca. 20c.) sold for €610,500 on December 12 at Auctionata. Photo Courtesy of Auctionata

Auctionata, the Berlin-based online auction house, has reported €31.5 million ($41 million) in total revenue for 2014, a significant 163 percent jump from €12 million ($16.5 million) for 2013.

The auction house reports that about 75 percent of its revenue came from 113 online “live stream” auctions of more than 12,000 objects, including cars, decorative art objects, and paintings and prints. Auctionata states that on average it sells 75 percent of all consigned goods within a six-month period.

“We found that there is a demand in the mid-market range for art and luxury collectibles that is not being met,” said Alexander Zacke, chief executive of Auctionata. “Through our entirely digital valuation and auction platform, our business model is perfectly suited to service this need.”

Highlights of the 2014 auctions include two Pan Tianshou woodcuts, Bamboo Rocks (ca. 20th century) and Chicken with Bamboo (ca. 20th century), selling for €610,500 and €317,460, respectively, last December, well above their low €800 presale estimates. There was also a painting by landscape painter Isaak Levitan, Twilight on the Water (1895–1899), which sold for €336,000.

The auction house said that the majority of its 2014 sales were out of Europe (65 percent), with Asia (17 percent) and the United States (13 percent) coming a distant second and third.

The company wants to grow those numbers outside of Europe, and plans to expand in North America and Asia by opening new studios and warehouses in New York and Hong Kong. “The Asian market and its customers have enormous potential and we feel that it is essential that we open a new location to meet the growing demand,” said Zacke.

“With Auctionata in New York, we will continue to grow our relationships with US–based consignors and raise brand awareness in North America,” said Ben Hartley, managing director of Auctionata’s North American offices. “The upcoming opening of the permanent studio and warehouse space in the heart of New York’s art scene will create more opportunities for more and larger auctions.”