Four London auction houses expect to sell as much as 58 million pounds ($110 million) worth of Russian art next week, benefiting from a market that has expanded for six straight years, Bloomberg.com reports.Sotheby’s estimates its sale of paintings, sculpture, medieval icons, porcelain and Faberge works on Nov. 28 will fetch 25 million pounds. Christie’s International expects its Nov. 29 sale to fetch the same amount. A Faberge imperial clock may sell for 6 million pounds, the most ever paid for a Russian work of art, Christie’s says.

Russia, the world’s second-biggest oil exporter, is in its seventh year of economic growth, fueled in part by high prices for oil, gas and metals. The economy will expand more than 6 percent this year and next, the government predicts.

“The country’s financial situation is excellent, so expect the week to see high-grossing sales,'’ said Alexander Lachman, a Russian art dealer who frequently buys at the auctions. “While not all the artworks are top quality, there’s a wide variety of great items from all periods.'’

The sales week kicks off on Nov. 27 at MacDougall Arts Ltd., an auction house that only sells Russian art. It is offering 288 lots that it estimates may fetch 5 million pounds.

MacDougall’s top two lots are “Forestscape,'’ 1889, by Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898), and “La Route Peu Rassurante,'’ 1919, by Chaim Soutine (1893-1943). Both have an estimate of 400,000 pounds to 600,000 pounds.

Later that day, Bonhams, the world’s third-largest auction house by sales, is selling 340 Russian lots that it says may reap 3.4 million pounds.

Sotheby’s is the Russian art-market leader, reporting total sales in 2005 of $102 million, more than double its 2004 figure and an 11-fold increase over its 2001 figure of $9 million. The total for 2006 so far is $109.8 million, the company said.

Christie’s reported global Russian sales in 2005 of $40.7 million, up 77 percent from the previous year.

With an estimated 80 percent of buyers next week expected to be wealthy Russians, the transfer of Russian art from private European and U.S. collections into Russian hands will accelerate, dealers say.

“Twenty years ago, Russian art was bought by a handful of people living outside Russia,'’ said Ivan Samarine, a London dealer and head of Russian sales at Stockholms Auktionsverket. “Now there are hundreds of Russians buying at auction, with thousands more dipping in and out.'’

Sotheby’s top lot is a pair of porcelain vases made by the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg and dating from 1830, the period of Czar Nicholas I (1825-1855). The vases, which come from a European collection, have an estimated value of as much as 2.5 million pounds.

Sotheby’s selection of over 90 Faberge works is led by a gold, diamond and enamel imperial snuffbox by craftsman Michael Perchin, presented by Emperor Nicholas II to the French politician Leon Bourgeois. The current owner is American. Its value is estimated at between 500,000 pounds and 700,000 pounds.

Among Sotheby’s top canvases are “The Survivors,'’ 1895, by Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900), with a high estimate of 700,000 pounds; and “Reclining Nude,'’ 1930, by the emigre artist Zinaida Serebriakova (1884-1967) from a U.S. collection with a high estimate of 700,000 pounds.

“Three Women in a Box at the Theater,'’ 1918, by Alexander Yakovlev (1887-1938), comes from a French collection, with an estimate of as much as 350,000 pounds. While it doesn’t count among the top presale estimates, Yakovlev works have soared above their top valuations at past auctions.

“Expect Sotheby’s Imperial vases to go for an insane amount, while the Serebriakova will probably go above its top estimate since Russians like nudes,'’ said Lachman. “Also, keep your eye on Yakovlev’s theater piece; it’s excellent.'’

Christie’s top lot is a silver and onyx Faberge mantle clock given to Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna on their 25th wedding anniversary. Christie’s last sold it in April 1996 in New York for $1.7 million. The current estimate is between 4 million pounds and 6 million pounds.

Christie’s is also offering a pair of 1844 Imperial porcelain vases with a top estimate of 1.8 million pounds. “View of Constantinople,'’ 1852, by Aivazovsky, has a high estimate of 2.5 million pounds, while the same artist’s “Fishermen on the Coast of Sorrento,'’ 1866, is expected to sell for as much as 1.2 million pounds.

“These prices are not inflated and this market is still young,'’ said Jo Vickery, head of Russian art at Sotheby’s. “We’re going to continue to see more and more works lifting over the one-million-pound mark.'’

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