Analyses of long-term sales statistics acquired from auction catalogues are increasingly being used to characterise the trade in antiquities and assess the effectiveness of market control measures in reducing illicit trade. Most analyses to date have failed to account for other factors that might impact sales statistics, including business decisions taken by the auction houses themselves aimed at increasing profitability. By means of two case studies of long-term sales at Sotheby’s auction house in New York, this paper argues that analyses of long-term sales data need to be better contextualised, using whatever information sources are available that might cast light upon auction house business practices. The commercial context of auction house business practices and their impact upon sales statistics should not be ignored.
