“Real collectors and real expertise delivering real record results.”
Thus Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist Richie Lerma summed up the results of The Well-appointed Life last Saturday, 8 March, 2025, which saw the sale of Fernando Zobel’s Ícaro at more than PhP44 million, considered one of the highest prices achieved in history for Zobel’s works.
The country’s premier auction destination became a packed room setting of a bidding battle between four phone bidders and two online bidders.
Salcedo Auction scene
As Lerma, who was also the auctioneer, raised the gavel to announce that the reserve had been met and that he could already sell at ₱31 million, the online and phone bidding ensued, and a new online bidder put in a bold ₱37 million. Then the phone bidder at the back of the room, relaying offers from the client’s representative, raised the paddle for ₱38 million. That eventually led to a new world record for the Ícaro series at ₱44,384,000, with the buyer’s premium and achieving one of the highest prices achieved historically for Zóbel’s works.
This bidding frenzy was sustained through the entire auction, with Félix Resurrección Hidalgo’s Interior de Una Casa going for ₱17,520,000, won by a bidder on the auction floor, proving the enduring significance of Filipino art masters at Salcedo.
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo’s ‘Interior de Una Casa’ going for ₱17,520,000, won by a bidder on the auction floor, proving the enduring significance of Filipino art masters at Salcedo
National Artist masterworks saw exceptional results: Fernando Amorsolo’s Planting Rice achieved ₱14,600,000, BenCab’s Behind Sabel, ₱8,760,000; H.R. Ocampo’s Revelation-E, ₱7,008,000; Cesar Legaspi’s Untitled, ₱4,438,400, and Ang Kiukok’s Crucifixion commanded ₱3,737,600.
Fernando Amorsolo’s ‘Planting Rice’ went for ₱14,600,000 bid.
Abstract visionaries continued to draw collectors, with Alfonso Ossorio’s Abstract selling for ₱8,716,000, Mauro Malang Santos’ Women achieving ₱5,022,400, Romulo Olazo’s Diaphanous #924 at ₱4,672,000, and Juvenal Sansó’s Botanical Scene going for ₱3,504,000. Geraldine Javier’s The Season of Rut led the contemporary category at ₱2,803,200.
The auction also saw significant results in furniture and ecclesiastical art, with a life-sized de tallado San Juan Bautista figure and a rare Batangas Rococo Tuwid altar table both achieving ₱876,000 each, both from the estate of leading Philippine antique collector and dealer Terry Baylosis.
New faces continue to be a constant presence at Salcedo Auctions, making apparent the trust of the market and the growing informed appreciation for fine art and collectibles.
The full auction results will be published this week at salcedoauctions.com.
Consignments are being accepted for the next marquee auction, Finer Pursuits: Important Art & Rare Collectibles, set for 14 June 2025, as Salcedo Auctions continues its yearlong celebration of 15 years of leadership in the Philippine auction industry.
The auction was presented in association with Exclusive Bank Partner UnionBank Elite.
