Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's is hands down the most famous art auction house in the world, and it made more than $5.1 billion in sales in 2008. Although its New York sales room is best known, Christie's also has sales rooms in Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, Dubai, London (on King Street and South Kensington), Hong Kong and Zurich. Christie's auction houses have more than 450 sales every year with items priced as low as $200 and as high as $80 million. Christie's is known for the fine art and jewelry auctioned, but it is also a popular place for celebrities to put their personal possessions up for auction.
Bomhams, established in 1793, is a Georgian auction house based out of London. The auction house began expanding in 1850; and in 2005, Bonhams expanded overseas to New York and then to Paris. Some of its more notable sales include the 2004 sale of a 1929 Mercedes Benz Two-Seat Sports Tourer 36045 for £4,181,500; the 2008 sale of a dagger that belonged to the builder of the Taj Mahal, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, for £1,700,000; and the 2008 sale of a Steinway grand piano that once belonged to the singer Sir Elton John for £42,000.
Founded by Samuel Baker in 1744, Sotheby's is an art auction house that's also famous for its museum, financial and real estate services, institute of art, and jewelry collection. This large auction house boasts auction locations and services in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. It also provides services to those in Latin America, the Middle East and Ireland. Sotheby's art auction house was one of the first in its business to sell international art at auction, a move some considered radical. Some of the most famous pieces of art sold at Sotheby's include Rembrandt's "Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer" and books belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte.
In 1707, Emperor Joseph I founded Dorotheum in Vienna, Austria, making this one of the world's oldest art auction houses. Although Dorotheum originally started out as a lavish pawn shop, it took less than a century for the upscale establishment to become a respected auction house. Dorotheum holds more than 600 auctions per year and is home to Vienna's largest antique store.