Il Ponte grows with Millon Auction Group
The auction house gains positions in Italy and the French group grows in Europe and Vietnam, also looking at Dubai
Key points
Il Ponte climbs the ranking of Italian auction houses. In 2023 it was sixth with 34,889,199, in 2024 it was fifth with 34,795,970 and in 2025 it exceeded €38.3m with +10.2% compared to 2024 gaining the third position after Aste Bolaffi and Cambi. Modern and Contemporary Art was the best sector in terms of adjudications at €15,024,848 (+ 30%), thanks also to three new records for important works. In fact, in November, the absolute top lot of the year was sold with Amedeo Modigliani's "Portrait de Beatrice Hastings" circa 1915, which from an estimate of €750,000 - €1,000,000 reached €2,816,000, becoming the most expensive lot sold in Italy in 2025, usually the prerogative of Sotheby's. Two other lots also multiplied their estimates: Lucio Fontana's 'Concetto spaziale' 1966-1967 which rose from €150,000 - €200,000 to €486,400 and Giorgio de Chirico's 'Piazza d'Italia' 1953, estimated at between €150,000 - €250,000 reached €448,000. Also contributing to the department's result was the strengthening of the Graphics and Artist's Multiples segment, the year saw good results for Jewellery at €8,778,414, Ancient Art at €5,675,657, 20th Century Decorative Arts and Design at €2,609,333, 19th and 20th Century Paintings and Sculptures at €2,020,821 and Books and Manuscripts at €1,426,557.
The group leader
The plus sign accompanied the entire year of sales for the Millon Auction Group - of which the Italian auction house has been part for just over a year now -, which closed 2025 with 503 auctions and a total turnover of over €147 million (+22% compared to 2024), sustained by strong and controlled growth in Paris (+24%, excluding the €12.4 million Guido Reni), Nice (+25.2%) and Milan (+10.5%). "The group is consolidating its independent leadership in the European context and bringing more people, more skills and more services to Italy," explains Rossella Novarini, general manager of Il Ponte Casa d'Aste. A new way of doing business: open, inclusive and consistent with the excellence that we wish to represent and constantly strengthen". In detail, Il Ponte held 132 auctions (there were 119 in 2024) offering 17,862 lots, with 85% of lots sold and 84% sold by value. 28 departments are active with the most recent introductions of Russian Art, Islamic and Indian Art, ComicArt and Discovery&Tech.
'Looking ahead to 2026, our goal remains to make culture through auctions,' Novarini emphasises, 'to sustain an ongoing dialogue with institutions and the public. This year's calendar already presents an intense programme full of expectations. Always attentive to the changing trends and regulations underlying the market, we continue to hope for streamlined rules on the circulation and taxation of cultural assets that can finally make our system competitive at the international level. Our objective is to valorise an artistic heritage that is esteemed and recognised throughout the world, freeing its economic potential that is still too penalised today by excessive bureaucratic constraints In this scenario, Il Ponte Casa d'Aste will continue to focus on professionalism, transparency and care - indispensable tools for dealing with the future market - because strong in an identity deeply rooted in the territory, but also firmly projected into a global panorama, we are increasingly aware that safeguarding tradition and a far-sighted openness to the new prospects of collecting contribute to consolidating a healthy and constructive relationship with the art-universe, which is not only a cultural value, but also an economic and strategic opportunity for our country".
Developments
The French group, after the openings in 2025 of five new offices in Italy and a new pole in Vietnam, has thus strengthened its already consolidated presence in Milan, Brussels, Hanoi, Barcelona and Marrakech with 66 offices. This year, the Millon Auction Group will open new offices in Vietnam, Grasse and Marrakech, as well as a new auction house in Marseille and a new office in London, initiate an association with the 90-year-old auction house Galerie Moderne in Belgium and launch a number of auction appointments in Dubai.
