CARTIER OPENS NEW BOUTIQUE IN HONG KONG

CARTIER, THE NUMBER ONE LUXURY JEWELRY BRAND IN CHINA, CONTINUES TO BUILD UP ITS PRESENCE IN THE ASIAN MARKET WITH THE OPENING OF YET ANOTHER STUNNING FLAGSHIP ON FRIDAY. THE NEW STORE, WHICH SPANS 900 SQUARE METERS, IS HOUSED INSIDE THE PRINCE'S BUILDING, AN UPSCALE SHOPPING CENTER IN HONG KONG. THE THREE-STORY BOUTIQUE REPLACES CARTIER'S OLD STORE, OPENED IN 1970, THAT WAS LOCATED ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE SAME BUILDING. THE NEW SPACE IS OPULENTLY DECORATED WITH OAK-CLAD AND BRONZE INTERIORS, CHANDELIERS AND MIRRORED WALLS. IN ADDITION TO CARTIER'S FULL RANGE OF TIMEPIECES AND FINE JEWELRY, THE NEW PANTHER DE CARTIER COLLECTION WILL BE ON VIEW HERE THOUGH ITS OFFICIAL RELEASE ISN'T SLATED UNTIL NEXT YEAR. THE PANTHER DE CARTIER COLLECTION WILL BE CRAFTED IN JADE, DIAMONDS AND JADEITE AND IS EXPECTED TO BE A HIT AMONG LOCAL SHOPPERS SINCE THE CHINESE CONSIDER JADE AN AUSPICIOUS STONE. CARTIER TOLD THE WALL STREET JOURNAL THAT IT EXPERIENCED DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH IN ASIA SINCE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS TWO YEARS AGO. CARTIER, WHICH INTENDS TO DOUBLE ITS BOUTIQUES ACROSS CHINA IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS, IS HARDLY THE ONLY WESTERN LUXURY BRAND WITH ITS EYES SET ON THE ASIAN MARKET. TIFFANY & CO RECENTLY ANNOUNCED PLANS TO OPEN 25-30 NEW STORES IN CHINA IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS. AND, FRENCH JEWELER VAN CLEEF & ARPELS OPENED FOUR NEW BOUTIQUES THIS YEAR, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SHOPS IN CHINA FROM FOUR TO EIGHT.

BIBLIOTHEQUE DE L'ARSENAL PRESENTS 'LA BASTILLE, OR A LIVING HELL'

A ROARING FIREPLACE, A WARM BED, SOME WINE AND LITTLE PASTRIES WELCOMED PEOPLE TO LA BASTILLE. THIS WAS NO CHARMING INN, BUT THE NOTORIOUS FRENCH PRISON, STORMED BY AN ANGRY PARISIAN MOB ON 14.JULY.1789, IN AN OUTBURST THAT HELPED SET OFF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. FOR THE FIRST TIME, AN EXHIBIT IN PARIS HAS PULLED TOGETHER ARCHIVES ON THE PRISON TO OFFER A GLIMPSE INTO THE HIDDEN WORLD OF THE BASTILLE. IT SHOWS THE INMATES' RELATIVE COMFORT, AND WHY IT BECAME SUCH A TARGET OF REVOLUTIONARY IRE. 'I MAINTAIN IT WAS A 5-STAR PRISON', SAID HISTORIAN AND BASTILLE EXPERT CLAUDE QUETEL. HE SAID THE PRISON'S PRIVILEGED POSITION CAME FROM BEING DIRECTLY UNDER THE KING'S EYE, BOTH GEOGRAPHICALLY AND BECAUSE IT WAS WHERE MONARCH AFTER MONARCH SENT HIS PERSONAL ENEMIES. IT HOUSED ON AVERAGE 40 INMATES A YEAR, EACH OF WHOM HAD HIS OR HER OWN CELL. THE KING'S OWN PHYSICIAN WOULD TEND TO THE PRISONERS, WHO ALSO BENEFITED FROM THE SERVICES OF AN APOTHECARY AND A MIDWIFE, ACCORDING TO ELISE DUTRAY, CO-CURATOR OF THE EXHIBIT. 'EVERYONE WOULD FUSS OVER THE PRISONERS', SHE SAID. WEALTHY INMATES SUCH AS PHILOSOPHER VOLTAIRE AND THE MARQUIS DE SADE LIVED IN PRIVATE APARTMENTS AND COULD BRING THEIR OWN HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, RECEIVE GUESTS AND EVEN THROW DINNER PARTIES, ACCORDING TO THE CURATORS. BUT THE BASTILLE WAS STILL A PRISON. ITS EIGHT IMPOSING MEDIEVAL STONE TOWERS MADE ESCAPING PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT. 'THERE WERE THREE DOORS TO A CELL, AND THREE LOCKS TO EACH DOOR', DUTRAY SAID. BUILT BETWEEN 1370 AND 1380 AS A FORT TO PROTECT THE SOUTH OF PARIS, THE BASTILLE PROVED A POOR MILITARY DEFENSE. IT WAS THE FAMED CARDINAL OF RICHELIEU WHO IN THE 17th CENTURY CONVERTED THE BUILDING INTO A PRISON. THE KING COULD SEND WHOMEVER HE WANTED TO PRISON WITHOUT A TRIAL, WITH A SIMPLE SEALED LETTER. 'IT WAS ARBITRARY, PEOPLE WOULD GO IN WITHOUT KNOWING WHY, AND WOULD COME OUT WITHOUT KNOWING WHEN', DUTRAY SAID. PEOPLE WERE NOT PUT IN THE BASTILLE FOR CRIMES SUCH AS THEFT OR MURDER. THEY WERE THERE FOR TROUBLING THE SOCIAL ORDER. THIS INCLUDED PROTESTANTS, HOMOSEXUALS, PROSTITUTES, TRAITORS AND ANYONE WHO DARED SAY ANYTHING AGAINST THE KING OR HIS REIGN, WHICH MEANT MOST OF THE PRISONERS WERE AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS AND BOOK PEDDLERS. LIFE IN THE BASTILLE HAD ITS LIMITATIONS, AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS STRICTLY CONTROLLED. ONE PRISONER SENT A MESSAGE ON HIS HANDKERCHIEF WRITTEN OUT OF COFFEE AND SOOT, ON DISPLAY IN THE EXHIBIT. ANOTHER SMUGGLED HIS OUT IN A CHEESE. ONE PRISONER SEWED A MESSAGE ONTO A PIECE OF CLOTH, CLAIMING HIS INNOCENCE AND ASKING WHOEVER FOUND IT TO HELP HIM. 'SECRET IS THE WORD THAT DEFINES THIS PRISON. PRISONERS WHO LEFT THE BASTILLE WOULD HAVE TO SIGN A REGISTER PROMISING NEVER TO TALK ABOUT THE PRISONERS THEY SAW IN THE BASTILLE OR WHAT THEY LIVED THROUGH', DUTRAY SAID. THIS MEANT NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT WHAT WENT ON IN THE PRISON. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC RELIED ON BOOKS WITH EXAGGERATED ACCOUNTS OF TORTURE AND SUFFERING TO FORM THEIR OPINIONS. LOUIS XVI IMPLEMENTED REFORMS TO THE PENITENTIARY SYSTEM, ABOLISHING TORTURE IN THE PRISONS IN 1780 AND DESTROYING THE UNHEALTHIEST PRISONS. HE EVEN HAD PLANS TO DESTROY THE BASTILLE AND REPLACE IT WITH A PUBLIC SQUARE NAMED AFTER HIMSELF. THE PLANS WERE LATER REVIVED, THOUGH THE SQUARE TODAY IS CALLED PLACE DE LA BASTILLE. BUT THE KING'S REFORMS HAD LITTLE EFFECT ON PUBLIC OPINION. THE BASTILLE HAD SYMBOLIZED ROYAL ABUSE FOR GENERATIONS. ON 14.JULY.1789, THE PEOPLE OF PARIS, MANY OF THEM STARVING, REVOLTED AGAINST THE KING FOLLOWING THE FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS TO REFORM THE SYSTEM OF PRIVILEGES, THE STRICT AND UNPRODUCTIVE SOCIAL CODE THAT WAS RUINING THE COUNTRY. WHEN THEY STORMED THE BASTILLE, THERE WERE ONLY SEVEN PRISONERS INSIDE. THE NEXT DAY, PARISIANS BEGAN DESTROYING THE PRISON. TODAY NOTHING REMAINS OF THE BASTILLE EXCEPT A FEW CARVED STONES, A DOOR AND A COUPLE OF KEYS THAT ARE ON DISPLAY IN THE EXHIBIT. ANOTHER KEY WAS SENT AS A GIFT BY GENERAL LAFAYETTE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON AND CAN BE SEEN IN MOUNT VERNON. THE FREE EXHIBIT, CALLED 'LA BASTILLE, OR A LIVING HELL', IS SHOWING AT THE BIBLIOTHEQUE DE L'ARSENAL THROUGH 11.FEBRUARY.2011.

WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE TEQUILA BOTTLE

MEXICAN DISTILLER HACIENDA LA CAPILLA, HAS RECENTLY UNVEILED A 1.3 LITER TEQUILA BOTTLE CALLED 'TE DIAMOND STERLING'. THE STUNNING BOTTLE, MADE OF A 2.3 KILOGRAM LAYER OF PLATINUM AND OVER 4,000 DIAMONDS TOTALING 328 CARATS, IS VALUED AT OVER $3.5 MILLION. THE BOTTLE, DESIGNED BY FERNANDO ALTAMIRANO, WAS SEEN DURING AN INTERVIEW WITH REUTERS TELEVISION IN MEXICO CITY. ALTAMIRANO HOPES TO BREAK THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BOTTLE.

BANK OF IRELAND SELLS PART OF ITS ART COLLECTION

BANK OF IRELAND HAS RAISED OVER $2 MILLION IN A SALE OF ITS PRIZED IRISH ART WORKS, AUCTIONEERS SAID THURSDAY, BU THE MONEY WON'T BE USED TO SHORE UP THE TROUBLED LENDER AMID THE COUNTRY'S ECONOMIC GLOOM. ADAM'S AUCTION HOUSE SAID 144 WORKS SOLD WEDNESDAY NIGHT, WHEN MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE PACKED INTO THE GLITZY BALLROOM OF DUBLIN'S SHELBOURNE HOTEL, HOURS AFTER THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED THE TOUGHEST BUDGET CUTS IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY. THE EVEN HIGHLIGHTED THE RESILIENCY AND QUIRKINESS OF IRELAND, WHERE FOR DECADES WEALTH WAS KEPT HIDDEN UNDER A MATTRESS, AND WHERE SAVERS ONCE AGAIN ARE SEEKING A HAVEN SAFER THAN THE COUNTRY'S CRIPPLED BANKS. IT ALSO PROVIDED A LIGHTING ROD FOR PEOPLE DISGUSTED BY HOW IRELAND'S BANKS BROUGHT THE COUNTRY TO RUIN, ARE ON COURSE TO RECEIVE BILLIONS MORE FROM AN INTERNATIONAL LOAN, YET CLING TO THEIR OWN STAGGERING PRIVATE WEALTH. 'THE BANKS HAVE MISMANAGED EVERYTHING FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS. WHY SHOULD WE NOW ENTRUST THEM WITH THIS COLLECTION?', ASKED GEMMA MASTROINNI CARROLL, A FORMER WALL STREET BANKER WHO WAS AMONG ABOUT 20 PROTESTERS OUTSIDE THE SALE. 'THESE ARE VALUABLE ASSETS FOR OUR FUTURE. THE BANKS WILL DEFAULT, AND THEY WILL LEAVE THIS COUNTRY WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING', SHE SAID. BANK IF IRELAND DECIDED TO AUCTION OFF ITS ART STOCKPILE AFTER FACING CRITICISM OVER ITS MULTI-BILLION BAILOUT AND ITS INCREASING RELIANCE ON TAXPAYERS' GOODWILL. THE BANK IS DONATING THE MONEY TO LOCAL CHARITIES RATHER THAN COVER ITS DEBT LIABILITIES. SOME CRITICS ARGUED THE BANK SHOULD BE DONATING ITS ENTIRE 2,000 PIECE COLLECTION TO THE NATION, SO THE WORKS ALL WOULD REMAIN IN IRELAND. SOME ON WEDNESDAY'S WINNING BIDDERS CAME FROM COUNTRIES RANGING FROM THE UNITED STATES TO JAPAN. BUT MANY OF THE BIDDERS SAID THEY WERE RELIEVED THAT BANK OF IRELAND MOUNTED THE AUCTION, AND THAT ANYBODY SHOWED UP. THE AUCTION HOUSE WAS FORCED TO SWITCH THE SALE TO THE NEIGHBORING HOTEL BECAUSE OF THE HIGH PUBLIC INTEREST. IT'S NOW EXAMINING THE BANK'S REMAINING WORKS FOR POTENTIAL FUTURE SALES. IRELAND'S FIVE OTHER IRISH BANKS, ALL BUT ONE OF THEM NATIONALIZED OR HEADING THAT DIRECTION AS STATE BAILOUTS GROW EVER LARGER, ARE CONSIDERING THE SALE OF THEIR OWN ART COLLECTIONS. THE LANDSCAPE 'CLOUDS AT SUNSET', A 1911 STUDY OF KILLARY HARBOR IN WESTERN IRELAND BY NORTHERN IRISH ARTIST PAUL HENRY, ATTRACTED THE HIGHEST BID OF $88,000. THE AUCTIONEER, JAMES O'HALLORAN, NOTED THAT THE PRICES REACHED WEDNESDAY GENERALLY PALED IN COMPARISON TO THE FREEWHEELING BIDDING EXPERIENCED IN THE FINAL, HEADY DAYS OF IRELAND'S CELTIC TIGER BOOM, JUST THREE YEARS AGO. 'WILLIAM JOHN LEECH'S STILL LIFE OIL PAINTING 'MARGUERITES', WHICH SOLD FOR $22,600, COULD HAVE SOLD FOR TWO OR THREE TIMES THAT PRICE IN THE RECENT PAST. PARTLY IT'S THAT TASTES HAVE ADJUSTED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUT THE SPECULATORS HAVE ALSO GONE. IT MEANS WE HAVE A MUCH MORE GENUINE ART MARKET.'

BONHAMS TO SELL ROLL-ROYCE PHANTOM III THAT APPEARED IN PAN'S LABRYINTH

THE FIRST ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM III TO BE SOLD TO AMERICA, WHICH FEATURED IN THE AWARD-WINNING 2006 FILM 'PAN'S LABYRINTH', IS TO BE SOLD AT BONHAMS TRADITIONAL END OF YEAR SALE OF IMPORTANT MOTOR CARS AND FINE AUTOMOBILIA ON 6.DECEMBER, WHICH THIS YEAR TAKES PLACE AT MERCEDES-BENZ WORLD AT BROOKLANDS IN SURREY. A TOTAL NUMBER OF 24 PHANTOM III ROLLS-ROYCES ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN SOLD TO AMERICA NEW, WITH THIS CAR LISTED TO HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FIRST ON 2.DECEMBER.1936. ESTIMATED AT £60,000 – 70,000 AND IN FANTASTIC CONDITION, THE CAR WAS USED ALONGSIDE A BENTLEY IN A CAR CHASE IN THE FILM PAN'S LABYRINTH, WHICH WAS DIRECTED BY GUILLERMO DEL TORO. IT HAS BEEN OWNED BY A PROMINENT CONNOISSEUR OF PRE-WAR LUXURY CARS SINCE THIS TIME AND KEPT IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.
300,000).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

VERSACE'S RETURN ZOFFANY PAINTING TO HEIRS

A PAINTING STOLEN FROM A LONDON HOME IN 1979 AND WHICH ENDED UP IN THE COLLECTION OF LATE ITALIAN LUXURY FASHION DESIGNER GIANNI VERSACE HAS BEEN RETURNED TO ITS ORIGINAL OWNERS, BRITAIN'S ART LOSS REGISTER SAID ON MONDAY. THE WORK BY 18th CENTURY GERMAN ARTIST JOHANN ZOFFANY HAD BEEN BILLED AS THE STAR LOT IN SOTHEBY'S AUCTION OF TE CONTENTS OF VERSACE'S LAKE COMO VILLA LAST YEAR, BUT IT WAS WITHDRAWN AS THE LAST MOMENT. A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THE SUBJECT OF 'PORTRAIT OF MAJOR GEORGE MAULE' CONTACTED THE ART LOSS REGISTER, WHICH TRACKS LOST AND STOLEN ART AND ANTIQUITIES, AND THE ALR IN TURN CONTACTED SOTHEBY'S. 'WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A PROTRACTED LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN TWO VERY WELL FINANCED EUROPEAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COPIOUS SETS OF LAWYERS HAS BEEN AMICABLE SETTLED BY THE ARL LOSS REGISTER'S MEDIATION TEAM', A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ALR SAID IN A STATEMENT. ALTHOUGH THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO FAMILIES REMAINED CONFIDENTIAL, THE ALR's CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO SAID: 'THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT GIANNI VERSACE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS PORTRAIT WAS STOLEN WHEN HE PURCHASED IT IN THE 1980s. THIS PORTRAIT DOES...HOLD PARTICULAR SENTIMENTAL VALUE TO THE ... HEIRS AND THE VERSACE FAMILY WERE EXTREMELY GRACIOUS IN THEIR WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE IN SEEING ITS RETURN.'

BONHAMS BREAKS RECORDS WITH SNUFF BOTTLE SALE

BONHAMS HONG KONG RECENTLY CELEBRATED ITS SECOND 'GOLDEN GAVEL AUCTION', WHEN PART II OF THE WORLD'S FINEST COLLECTION OF IMPORTANT CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES, THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION, SOLD 100% AND ACHIEVED WORLD RECORD PRICES. AGAINST PRESALE
ESTIMATES OF HK$24,000,000, THE SALE TOTAL WAS HK$54,832,000 (£4, 437,930) WITH EVERY ONE OF THE 155 RARE BOTTLES SUCCESSFULLY SOLD. A GOOD NUMBER OF THE LOTS SOLD FOR TWICE TO FOUR TIMES ITS ESTIMATE. A NEW WORLD RECORD FOR A PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE WAS REACHED WHEN LOT 121 SOLD FOR A STAGGERING HK$8,384,000 (£678,815), FOR TIMES ITS ESTIMATE PRICE. COMMISSIONED BY THE QIANLONG EMPEROR AND ENAMELED IN THE WORKSHOPS OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE BETWEEN 1736 AND 1760, THIS EXTRAORDINARY SNUFF BOTTLE, DECORATED WITH 'DOUBLE-GOURDS', SYMBOLIC OF LONG LIFE, IS IDENTICAL TO ANOTHER RARE EXAMPLE STILL PRESERVED IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY PALACE MUSEUM. THE HIGHEST PRICE OF THE SALE, AND NEW WORLD RECORD FOR A GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE WAS ACHIEVED BY LOT 152, A 'FAMILLE-ROSE' ENAMELED GOLD-GROUND GLASS 'LOTUS' SNUFF BOTTLE, WHICH SOLD FOR HK$9,056,000 (£732,921), ALMOST FOUR TIMES ITS PRESALE ESTIMATE. THE EXQUISITE SNUFF BOTTLE WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE QIANLONG EMPEROR AND DECORATED WITH LOTUS FLOWERS AGAINST A RICH GOLDEN GROUND, AND INCISED ON THE BASE WITH THE IMPERIAL MARK. PART III OF THE SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION WILL TAKE CENTER STAGE AT BONHAMS SPRING 2011 AUCTIONS TO BE HELD IN MAY 2011.

TWO STOLEN ARTWORKS RETURNED TO ITALY

TWO ANCIENT STATUES STOLEN IN THE 1980s FROM ITALIAN MUSEUMS ARE NOW BACK HOME, THANKS IN PART TO A POLICE ART SQUAD EXPERT WHO SPOTTED ONE OF THEM IN A NEW YORK GALLERY WHILE WINDOW SHOPPING ON VACATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THE BRONZE STATUE OF THE GREEK GOD ZEUS AND A MARBLE FEMALE TORSO, BOTH DATING FROM THE 1st CENTURY, HAD ENDED UP IN THE HANDS OF A DEALER AND A COLLECTOR IN NEW YORK, OFFICIALS TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE FRIDAY IN ROME. THE TORSO, FROM A SMALL MUSEUM IN TERRACINA, SOUTH OF ROME, WAS ON DISPLAY IN A MADISON AVENUE ART GALLERY WHEN MICHELLE SPERANZA, A MEMBER OF THE ITALIAN CARABINIERI ART SQUAD THAT HUNTS DOWN STOLEN ARTIFACTS, STROLLED BY WHEN ON HOLIDAY LAST YEAR. THE BRONZE AND THE TORSO ARE EACH VALUED AT $680,000, AUTHORITIES SAID. THE ZEUS WAS STOLEN FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ROME NEAR THE CAPITAL'S MAIN TRAIN STATION IN 1980, AND WAS TRACKED TO A NEW YORK COLLECTOR AFTER A PHOTO OF IT APPEARED IN A SOTHEBY'S AUCTION CATALOG IN 2006. THE ART SQUAD METHODICALLY STUDIES CATALOGS OF MAJOR AUCTION HOUSES. NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN EITHER THEFT. AUTHORITIES SAID THOSE WHO OWNED THE STATUES WERE UNAWARE OF THEIR ILLEGAL PROVENANCE.

PRINCE PHILIP TO SCALE BACK ON ROYAL DUTIES

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH IS TO STEP DOWN FROM UP TO 20 OF HIS MOST DEMANDING ROLES NEXT YEAR, THE FIRST TIME HE HAS CONSIDERED CUTTING BACK ON HIS RESPONSIBILITIES. HE WILL GIVE UP CHANCELLORSHIPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, HELD SINCE 1952, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, HELD SINCE 1976, AFTER HIS BIRTHDAY ON 10.JUNE NEXT YEAR, BUCKINGHAM PALACE SAID IN A RECENT STATEMENT. OTHER ROLES HE WILL RELINQUISH INCLUDE HIS PATRONAGE OF UK ATHLETES, CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE AND THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF THE COMMONWEALTH. BUT HE WILL KEEP UP A BUSY SCHEDULE OF CEREMONIES AND EVENTS, AND REMAIN PATRON OR PRESIDENT OF MORE THAN 800 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD. THE PRINCE SUFFERED A SERIOUS CHEST INFECTION IN 2008 AND HAD AN OPERATION ON HIS HAND EARLIER THIS YEAR, BUT AIDES STRESSED THE MOVE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS CURRENT HEALTH. TODAY HE IS ACCOMPANYING THE QUEEN TO OPEN A NEW SESSION OF THE GENERAL SYNOD AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY BEFORE THE PAIR FLY OUT TOMORROW FOR A TOUR OF THE GULF WITH PRINCE ANDREW. THE QUEEN, WHO TURNS 85 IN APRIL NEXT YEAR, HAS NO PLANS TO CUT BACK HER ROYAL DUTIES. A BUCKINGHAM PALACE SPOKESMAN SAID LAST NIGHT: 'PRINCE PHILIP WILL BE 90 NEXT YEAR AND HE FEELS HE SHOULD EASE DOWN ON HIS COMMITMENTS. HE WILL STILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH OVER 800 ORGANIZATIONS. HE IS 25 YEARS PAST RETIREMENT AGE AND WORKS INCREDIBLY HARD. THE QUEEN HAS NO PLANS TO REDUCE HER ENGAGEMENTS. SHE IS ONLY 84 AFTER ALL.' PHILIP HAS BEEN CARRYING OUT ROYAL DUTIES FOR 63 YEARS SINCE MARRYING THE QUEEN IN 1947. LAST YEAR HE FULFILLED 326 ENGAGEMENTS, A NUMBER BEATEN ONLY BY HIS WIFE, PRINCE CHARLES AND PRINCESS ANNE.

CHOPARD NOBLE VETIVER

CHOPARD HAS RECENTLY RELEASED A NEW FRAGRANCE FOR MEN TO COMMEMORATE ITS ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. THE CHOPARD NOBLE VETIVER HAS A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF TIMELESS ELEGANCE AND PRECISION MUCH LIKE CHOPARD AND IS AIMED FOR MEN WHO APPRECIATE THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE. THE FRAGRANCE IS COMPOSED OF DISTINCT VEVIER, ALONG WITH ACCORDS OF BERGAMOT, CARDAMON, RED HOT PEPPER AND EXCLUSIVE MAHOGANY WOOD, CLARY SAGE, LEATHER AND TABACCO. THE NEW FRAGRANCE COMES IN A ROUND GLASS BOTTLE WITH A STAINLESS STEEL TOP.

ASSOULINE PRESENTS NEW BOOK ON CECIL BEATON

FAMED PHOTOGRAPHER CECIL BEATON DIDN'T JUST SHOOT PICTURES FOR VOGUE AND VANITY FAIR, HE ALSO MINGLED WITH THE CREAM OF 20th CENTURY SOCIETY. AND HE KEPT NOTES. CECIL BEATON KEPT EXACTING DIARIES OF HIS DAILY LIFE AND ALSO AMASSED DOZENS OF SCRAPBOOKS NOW HELD BY SOTHEBY'S LONDON. A NEW BOOK FROM ASSOULINE REVEALS THESE SCRAPBOOKS TO THE PUBLIC. THE 400 PAGES CONTAINS OVER 600 IMAGES INCLUDING HIS OWN PRINTS AND CLIPPINGS FROM MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS AND PLAYBILLS, IT'S AN ASSEMBLAGE OF A FABULOUS AND WELL-LIVED LIFE. THE BOOK WAS ASSEMBLED BY JAMES DANZIGER, THE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE LONDON SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINES, FEATURES EDITOR OF VANITY FAIR, AND DIRECTOR OF MAGNUM NEW YORK. IT GOES ON SALE NEXT WEEK AND SELLS FOR $250.

ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO PRESENTS 'MAHARAJAH: THE SPLENDOR OF INDIA'S ROYAL COURTS'

THE SPLENDOR, LUXURY AND LEGACY OF INDIA'S GREATEST KINGS IS BEING EXPERIENCES BY VISITORS TO THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO, TORONTO, WITH 'MAHARAJAH: THE SPLENDOR OF INDIA'S ROYAL COURTS'. THE CANADIAN EXCLUSIVE, ORGANIZED BY LONDON'S VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, FEATURES OVER 200 STUNNING WORKS SPANNING THREE CENTURIES OF HISTORY AND WILL BE ON VIEW AT THE AGO UNTIL 3.APRIL.2011. THE EXHIBITION HAS RECEIVED MORE SUPPORT FROM THE CORPORATE COMMUNITY THAN ANY OTHER EXHIBITION IN THE GALLERY'S 110 YEAR HISTORY, RESULTING IN THE UNPRECEDENTED OFFER OF FREE ADMISSION TO VISITORS 25 AND UNDER FOR THE RUN OF THE EXHIBITION. THE 'FREE FOR 25 AND UNDER' OFFER IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE PATRONS OF THE EXHIBITION: FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LTD, THE GLOBE MAIL, ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC AND SCOTIABANK GROUP. AMONG THE 200 OBJECTS ON VIEW IS THE SAFFRON-COLOURED 1934 ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM II, CUSTOM BUILT FOR HIS HIGHNESS THAKORE SAHIB DHARMENDRASINHJI LAKHAJIRAJ OF RAJKOT, ON LOAN FROM HIS GREAT GRANDSON HIS EXCELLENCY YS MANHATASINHJI OF RAJKOT. ALSO ON VIEW IS THE STUNNING PATIALA NECKLACE, THE LARGEST SINGLE COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF CARTIER'S HISTORY. COMPLETED IN 1928 AND RESTORED IN 2002, THE PIECE OF CEREMONIAL JEWELRY ORIGINALLY CONTAINED 2,930 DIAMONDS AND WEIGHED NEARLY 1,000 CARATS. OTHER KEY WORKS IN THE SHOW INCLUDE: THE FAMED THRONE ONCE BELONGED TO MAHARAJAH RANJIT SINGH; A LIFE-SIZED MODEL ELEPHANT ADORNED WITH TEXTILES AND TRAPPINGS AND ACCOMPANIED BY A SILVER HOWDAH FROM THE EARLY 19th CENTURY; A SILVER CARRIAGE COMMISSIONED BY THE MAHARAJAH OF BHAVNAGAR; PAINTINGS OF SPECTACULAR ROYAL PROCESSIONS; ROYAL COSTUMES AND TRADITIONAL DRESS WORN BY GREAT KINGS AND QUEENS; CEREMONIAL WEAPONS INCLUDING DAGGERS, SWORDS AND A MATCHLOCK GUN; AND PRIZED PHOTOGRAPHS BY CELEBRATED ARTISTS SUCH AS MAN RAY AND CECIL BEATON.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.ago.ne

CAXTON MISSAL RETURNS HOME

THE LIBRARY AT THE NATIONAL TRUST'S LYME PARK HAS BEEN RESTORED AND IS HOME ONCE AGAIN TO THE CAXTON MISSAL. A THREE YEAR PROJECT TO RETURN A UNIQUE BOOK TO THE LIBRARY AT LYME PARK AND RESTORE THE ROOM TO ITS 19th CENTURY GLORY HAS FINALLY BEEN REALIZED. THE CAXTON MISSAL, A RARE 15th CENTURY PRAYER BOOK PRINTED BY ENGLAND'S FIRST PRINTER, WILLIAM CAXTON. THE MISSAL WAS ACQUIRED WITH THE ART FUND'S SUPPORT AND HELP FROM OTHER FUNDING BODIES. ART FUND DIRECTOR STEPHEN DEUCHAR SAID: ' THIS VISUALLY STRIKING WORK HELPS TELL THE STORY OF 15th CENTURY ENGLAND AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE SEE IT WITHIN ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT. WE THANK ALL OUR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS FOR HELPING BRING IT BACK WHERE IT BELONGS, AND NOW THAT THE FANTASTIC LIBRARY HAS BEEN RESTORED, MANY MORE PEOPLE WILL COME AND BE INSPIRED BY IT.' LYME PARK IS A BEAUTIFUL ESTATE ON THE EDGE OF THE PEAK DISTRICT. ITS LIBRARY HAS BEEN RESTORED TO HOW IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY WHEN THE MISSAL WAS LAST DISPLAYED THERE. THE LIBRARY WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED BY THE HON DAVID LEGH, WHOSE GRANDFATHER GAVE LYME TO THE NATIONAL TRUST IN 1946.

RARE COMIC BOOK SELLS FOR $492,937

A RARE COMIC BOOK AN 84 YEAR OLD CALIFORNIA MAN BOUGHT FOR A DIME WHEN HE WAS A TEEN HAS BEEN SOLD IN TEXAS FOR $492,937. THE COPY OF DETECTIVE COMICS NO 27 FEATURED THE DEBUT OF 'THE BATMAN'. ROBERT IRWIN SAYS HE BOUGHT THE MAY 1939 ISSUE FROM A SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA NEWSTAND WHEN HE WAS 13, AND IT'S THE ONLY COMIC BOOK HE KEPT FROM HIS YOUTH. THE WINNING BID CAME FROM A COLLECTOR WHO WISHED TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. HE PLACED THE BID BY PHONE THURSDAY IN AN AUCTION BY HERITAGE AUCTIONS IN DALLAS. IRWIN, WHO ATTENDED THE AUCTION, SAYS HE IS ELATED AND WISHES HE HAD ANOTHER BOOK. HERITAGE SOLD A RARE COPY OF THE SAME COMIC IN BETTER CONDITION FOR $1,075,500 IN FEBRUARY.