Historia - Auction House

What Historia - Auction House does

Historia Auktionshaus Berlin is a Berlin-headquartered auction house operating under the legal name Historia Auctionata. Founded circa 1980, the firm has conducted 320+ auctions and mediated sales of 400,000+ objects, claiming an over-80% sell-through rate and access to a network of 300,000+ collectors worldwide. It is led by Managing Director Vincent ten Vergert and structured around specialty departments (porcelain, jewelry, Asian art, militaria, glass/silver, fashion) each headed by credentialed experts.

The core product is a traditional auction service — art, antiques, jewelry, watches, porcelain, militaria, and collectibles — delivered via a live auction hall in Berlin-Tempelhof, complemented by live-streamed online bidding. The digital infrastructure traces to the 2017 acquisition of Auctionata's web and naming rights (Auctionata had absorbed nearly EUR 100 million of investor capital pre-insolvency), extended by partnerships with international bidding platforms in the USA, China, and Europe. Secondary offices operate in Bremen (via the Bolland & Marotz partner house, run by Dr. Christina Schulze) and Palma de Mallorca (Gudrun Bade).

The business model is transaction-based: buyer's premiums on successful hammer prices and seller commissions on consigned items, supplemented by digital platform services (online catalogs, live streaming). Consignments span private estates (e.g., the Pierre Brice "Winnetou" archive in 2015 and 2019), institutional closures (Staatliche Majolika Manufaktur Karlsruhe in March 2025), and museum transactions (repatriations to Gatschina Museum and restitutions to Stiftung Preußische Schlösser). The company has absorbed 20 German auction houses over its history as its principal growth mechanism, and it remains privately held with no disclosed institutional investor.

Name

Historia - Auction House

Legal name

Historia Auctionata

Website

https://historia.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Historia Auktionshaus Berlin is a Berlin-headquartered auction house founded circa 1980, conducting live and online auctions of art, antiques, jewelry, watches, porcelain, and militaria for private collectors, consignors, and museums — supported by a digital platform inherited from Auctionata and 20 acquired German auction houses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Auction Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAKAKAF

Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry)

Consumer Products & Retail/Jewelry, Watches & Luxury Accessories/Pre-owned, Vintage & Resale Luxury

Keywords

• Art auction services
• Antique auctioneering
• Online auction platform
• Collectibles valuation
• Consignment auctions

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Auction commissions (buyer's premium): Standard auction house model charging a buyer's premium on successful bids. The company takes a percentage commission on transactions between buyers and sellers at auction.
2. Consignment/seller fees: Revenue from sellers who consign items to be auctioned, typically charging a commission on the sale price.
3. Digital platform services: Income generated through online bidding services, live streaming auctions, and digital catalog access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Historia is a Berlin-based auction house that conducts live and online auctions of art, antiques, jewelry, watches, porcelain, militaria, and other collectibles. It offers expert authentication, valuation, and consignment services to sellers, and provides real-time online bidding to a global network of more than 300,000 collectors, with live events in Berlin and digital reach through partner platforms in the USA, China, and Europe.

Product overview

Historia Auction House operates as a traditional auction house with integrated digital capabilities, offering live and online auctions across diverse collectible categories. The platform combines in-person auction events in Berlin with real-time online bidding through their website. Their portfolio includes art auctions (Old Master paintings, contemporary art), antiques (furniture, decorative arts), jewelry (BVLGARI, luxury brands), porcelain (European and Asian), watches, militaria, and collectibles. They conduct regular numbered auctions (170th-180th) alongside special themed sales, and have expanded through strategic acquisitions of other auction houses and the Auctionata digital platform since 2017.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Historia Live and Online Auctions (Art, Antiques, Jewelry, Watches, Porcelain, Militaria, Collectibles) Live auction events in Berlin with simultaneous real-time online bidding for art, antiques, jewelry, watches, porcelain, militaria, and collectibles, available to global collectors through the historia.de platform and international bidding partners.
• Consignment and Valuation Services Expert assessment, authentication, and acceptance of items for sale through Historia auctions across categories including art, antiques, jewelry, watches, porcelain, militaria, and collectibles, offered to private individuals, estates, and institutions.
• Special Auctions (Estate, Museum, Celebrity and Institutional Sales) Themed auction events for estates, museum collections, celebrity archives, and institutional consignments, including the Pierre Brice estate, Beate Uhse Erotica Museum collection, and the Staatliche Majolika Manufaktur Karlsruhe concluding auction.
• Online Bidding Platform (historia.de) Web-based real-time bidding and live streaming platform hosted at historia.de, allowing global buyers to participate in Berlin live auctions online, including registration, lot browsing, and bidding functionality.
• On-Site Preview (Vorbesichtigung) Physical inspection of auction lots at the Berlin auction hall in the days preceding each auction (typically 2–3 days), enabling buyers to authenticate and condition-check items before bidding.
• Estate and Property Sales (from Estates/Nachlässe) Specialized handling of estate liquidations including real estate from estates, executed by Historia's real estate specialist Frank Knippelmeyer, supporting heirs and executors in disposing of property and chattels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80% sell-through rate consistently achieved
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AuctionatacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2017Historia acquired the web and naming rights of Auctionata in 2017, a digital auction startup that had invested nearly 100 million euros before declaring insolvency. This acquisition provided Historia with digital auction infrastructure and expanded their online capabilities.
• International bidding platforms (USA, China, Europe)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClose cooperation with leading bidding platforms in USA, China, and Europe enabling global visibility and market presence for consignors.
• Bolland & MarotzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner auction house in Bremen. Historia conducts special auctions for Bolland & Marotz, including the Worpswede special auction featuring estate items from Fritz Uphoff and Lore Uphoff-Schill artists.
• Majolika Manufaktur KarlsruheminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted the final auction of the State Majolika Manufactory Karlsruhe in March 2025, selling over 1,500 objects from the 123-year-old institution's inventory.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Phillips Auctioneers: Global auction house with strong positioning in contemporary art, watches, and jewelry. Represents the upper-tier competitive set for premium inventory in adjacent categories.
• Heritage Auctions: US-headquartered auction house covering art, jewelry, watches, militaria, and collectibles. Comparable category breadth and an established digital bidding platform relevant to Historia's online expansion.
• Bonhams: Global auction house with significant European operations in art, jewelry, watches, and motoring collectibles. Competes with Historia for cross-border consignor relationships and international buyers.
• Christie's: Global incumbent auction house with dominant share in fine art, luxury jewelry, watches, and collectibles. Sets international price benchmarks that anchor bidder expectations in Historia's category.
• Sotheby's: Global incumbent auction house with broad coverage of art, jewelry, watches, and decorative arts. A principal competitor for high-value consignments and international bidders.

Direct peers

• Dorotheum: Vienna-headquartered auction house operating across art, jewelry, antiques, and collectibles with online and live bidding. Most direct European peer to Historia in scope, multi-category model, and central-European customer base.
• Ketterer Kunst: German auction house specializing in modern and contemporary art, with secondary markets in rare books. Comparable German peer competing for similar consignor and bidder pools in the art category.
• Auktionshaus Van Ham: Cologne-based German auction house operating in fine art, furniture, jewelry, and decorative arts. Comparable mid-size German auction house competing for similar consignments and bidders.
• Kunsthaus Lempertz: Cologne-based traditional auction house covering fine art, photography, and decorative arts. Direct German peer with comparable category breadth and reliance on local consignor relationships.
• Nagel Auktionen: Stuttgart-based German auction house active in art, antiquities, and Asian works. Direct German peer with overlapping category mix and similar mid-market positioning to Historia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/historia.auktionshaus
• Instagraminstagram.com/historia_selected_items
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/historia-auktionshaus

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Historia - Auction House