11.12.10

RARE LALIQUE 'SERPENT' VASE SELLS FOR RECORD $56,673


WITH MORE THAN 415 BIDDERS, BOTH ONLINE AND IN-PERSON, COMPETING FOR THE JUST MORE THAN 400 STUNNING LOTS IN HERITAGE AUCTIONS' 4.DECEMBER AUCTION, HERITAGE CONSIGNMENT DIRECTOR AND AUCTIONEER NICK DAWES HAD A FEELING IT WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY. WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE, AFTER TWO SESSIONS OF SPIRITED BIDDING FROM THE PHONES, INTERNET AND A PACKED ROOM, INCLUDING OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS AND TALK SHOW HOST WHOPPI GOLDBERG, WHO REGULARLY CRACKED JOKES WHEN SHE WAS OUTBID THROUGHOUT THE AUCTION, THOUGH SHE DID TAKE HOME A FEW ART GLASS TREASURES OF HER OWN, THE AUCTION TOTAL HAD FAR EXCEEDED HERITAGE'S PREDICTIONS FOR THE EVENT TO FINISH THE DAY AT $1.28 MILLION. THE EVENING SESSION, WHICH WAS ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO TEH WORKS OF RENE LALIQUE, PROVIDED THE AUCTION'S PRINCIPAL HIGHLIGHT IN THE FORM OF A 'SERPENT' VASE IN DEEP AMBER GLASS, CIRCA 1924, WITH A MOLDED SIGNATURE, THAT SET A WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR LALIQUE WHEN IT REALIZED $56,673. 'THE LALIQUE 'SERPENT' VASE WAS THE BEST ONE I'VE EVER SEEN', SAID DAWES, 'AND I'VE SEEN A LOT OF THEM IN MY 30 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS. THIS PIECE IS WELL WORTHY OF THAT RECORD PRICE.' THE OPENING LOT OF THE AUCTION, AN EARLY GALLE PERFUME BOTTLE WITH SILVER MOUNT AND COVER, CIRCA 1895, IN PRISTINE CONDITION, PROVED VERY POPULAR WITH BIDDERS AND SET THE STAGE FOR THE REST OF THE EVENT WHEN IT REALIZED $7,170 AMIDST SEVERAL ROUNDS OF INTENSE BIDDING. THE BIGGEST FIREWORKS OF THE NIGHT, AFTER THE LALIQUE 'SERPENT' VASE CAME IN THE FORM OF ONE OF THE RAREST LALIQUE PERFUME BOTTLES, A 'RAQUEL MELLER' FRAGRANCE BY RODITI & SONS ENAMELED ON EACH FACE IN ORANGE AND BLACK, WHICH WAS RECENTLY FUND IN A NEW JERSEY ESTATE, WHEN IT BROUGHT $20,315 AGAINST A PRE-AUCTION ESTIMATE OF $6,000. COLLECTORS WERE EQUALLY IMPRESSED WITH A GROUPING OF 20 LALIQUE HOOD ORNAMENTS, WHICH BROUGHT CONSISTENTLY HIGH PRICES, LED BY THE CLASSIC VICTOIRE HOOD ORNAMENT AT $19,718. 'THE KEY TO MAKING THIS AUCTION SO SUCCESSFUL WAS OUR DETERMINATION TO ESTIMATE PROPERTY REASONABLY, AND OFFER IT WITH OUT RESERVE', SAID DAWES. 'THAT MADE THIS AN AUTHENTIC, OLD FASHIONED AUCTION, WHICH IS BECOMING RARER AND RARER IN NEW YORK THESE DAYS.'

10.12.10

BULGARI: 125 YEARS OF ITALIAN MAGNIFICENCE


THE VENERABLE ITALIAN LUXURY JEWELRY HOUSE BULGARI IS COMMEMORATING ITS 125th ANNIVERSARY WITH A STUNNING NEW EXHIBIT AT THE GRAND PALAIS IN PARIS. THE EXHIBITION WILL TRACE INSPIRING CHAPTERS IN BULGARI'S HISTORY AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE AESTHETIC THAT MADE THE ICONIC BRAND A DRIVING FORCE OF THE 'ITALIAN SCHOOL', FROM THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SHOP ON VIA SISTINA IN 1884 THROUGH TO THE MODERN DAY IDEAS AND IDEALS. THE FASCINATING SAGA IS ILLUSTRATED BY MORE THAN 600 MASTERPIECES OF JEWELRY, WATCH AND CLOCK-MAKING, AND DECORATIVE ART, INCLUDING SOME ONE HUNDRED EXCLUSIVE PIECES THAT WILL BE ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE EXHIBIT IS DIVIDED CHRONOLOGICALLY INTO PERIODS AND THE RETROSPECTIVE BEGINS WITH DESIGNS USING SILVER AND DIAMONDS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY. THEN IS DISPLAYS THE CREATIVE TURN IN THE 1960s WITH THE EMERGENCE OF THE NEW STYLE COMBINING PRECIOUS STONES WITH RARELY USED ORIGINAL MATERIALS. THE EXHIBITION CONTINUES WITH THE ECLECTIC STYLE INSPIRED BY 1970s POP ART, THE BOLD DESIGNS OF THE 1980s AND 90s, RIGHT THROUGH TO THE SPECTACULAR DESIGNS OF THE 21st CENTURY. IN ADDITION TO THE BEJEWELED TREASURES THEMSELVES, DRAWINGS, CINEMA STILLS AND ORIGINAL ITEMS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS NEVER YET PUBLICLY EXHIBITED IN FRANCE, INCLUDING BULGARI'S OWN VINTAGE COLLECTION, WILL ALSO BE ON DISPLAY. BULGARI: 125 YEARS OF ITALIAN MAGNIFICENCE WILL RUN FROM 10.DECEMBER THROUGH 12.JANUARY.2011.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA PRESENTS GUSTAV MOREAU AND THE ETERNAL FEMININE


BE SEDUCED BY FEMMES FATALES, GODDESSES AND TEMPTRESSES OF HISTORY AND LEGEND AT THE NGV THIS SUMMER IN GUSTAV MOREAU AND THE ETERNAL FEMININE, THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT EXHIBITION OF GUSTAV MOREAU TO BE SEEN UN AUSTRALIA. FROM 10.DECEMBER, THE SUPERB CRAFTSMANSHIP OF GUSTAVE MOREAU WILL BE CELEBRATED WITH OVER 100 PAINTINGS, WATERCOLOURS AND DRAWINGS FROM THE UNIQUE AND ACCLAIMED MUSEE GUSTAVE MOREAU IN PARIS. GUSTAVE MOREAU AND THE ETERNAL FEMININE WILL EXPLORE THE ARTIST'S OBSESSION WITH THE FEMALE FORM, TAKING VISITORS ON A VOYAGE FROM CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY AND THE ANCIENT FAR EAST, TO CHRISTIANITY'S MORE LURID ESCAPADES AND EPIC NARRATIVES OF THE MIDDLE AGES. A HIGHLIGHT OF THE EXHIBITION WILL BE A SECTION DEVOTED TO MOREAU'S MOST CELEBRATED AND INTRIGUING OBSESSION, THE STORY OF SALOME AND THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. SALOME IS OFTEN DEPICTED AS AN ICON OF DANGEROUS FEMALE SEDUCTIVENESS AND IN THE FAMOUS TALE, HER STEPFATHER HEROD REQUESTS SALOME TO DANCE FOR HIM ON HIS BIRTHDAY IN EXCHANGE FOR ANYTHING SHE DESIRES. SALOME DANCES AND THEN ORDERS THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST WHO WAS IN PRISON AT THE TIME FOR CRITICIZING THE MARRIAGE OF HER MOTHER, HERODIAS AND STEPFATHER HEROD. DURING HIS YOUTH, MOREAU WAS OBSESSES WIT ITALIAN ART OF THE 14th AND 15th CENTURIES, AND WITH NARRATIVES DRAWN FROM THE CLASSICAL PAST. THIS EXHIBITION WILL FEATURE THE TALES AND TRIBULATIONS OF WELL KNOWN CHARACTERS OF HISTORY, BOTH REAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL, INCLUDING HELEN OF TROY, CLEOPATRA, MESSALINA, LADY MACBETH, SAMSON AND DELILAH AND SAPPHO AND SALOME. WHILST MANY OF MOREAU'S WORKS ARE FILLED WITH MYTHICAL FEMALE CHARACTERS, IN LIFE HE WAS SURROUNDED BY TWO KEY FEMALE FIGURES: HIS MOTHER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND, ALEXANDRINE DUREUX. MOREAU LIVED WITH HIS MOTHER UNTIL HER PASSING IN 1884, WHILE DUREUX LIVED NEARBY. AFTER DUREUX'S DEATH IN 1890, MOREAU TRANSFORMED HIS FAMILY HOME INTO A MUSEUM. CREATING MASSIVE ATELIERS FOR THE DISPLAY OF MORE THAN 5,000 OF HIS OWN WORKS OF ART, AS WELL AS DEPICTING ROOMS TO HIS FATHER, HIS MOTHER AND DUREUX. LEFT TO THE FRENCH NATION IN MOREAU'S WILL IN 1898 AND OFFICIALLY OPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1903, THE MUSEE GUSTAVE MOREAU REMAINS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY SINGLE-ARTIST MUSEUMS.

9.12.10

BERNIE ECCLESTONE FOR HUBLOT


LATE LAST MONTH FORMULA ONE CHIEF BERNIE ECCLESTONE AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WERE ROBBED OUTSIDE HIS OFFICES IN LONDON. THE THIEVES REPORTEDLY PUNCHED AND KICKED ECCLESTONE AND MADE OFF WITH SOME $300,000 IN JEWELRY, INCLUDING A SPECIAL-EDITION HUBLOT WRISTWATCH, LEAVING THE OCTOGENARIAN BRUISED AND BATTERED. NEVER ONE TO SHY AWAY FROM CONTROVERSY OR TURN AWAY AN OPPORTUNITY, HOWEVER, ECCLESTONE HAS APPEARED IN AN AD FOR SWISS WATCHMAKER HUBLOT BRING FURTHER ATTENTION TO THE TRAGIC INCIDENT. THE AD FOR THE OFFICIAL FORMULA ONE TIMEKEEPER FEATURES A PHOTOGRAPH OF ECCLESTONE'S BRUISED FACE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE QUOTE 'SEE WHAT PEOPLE WILL DO FOR A HUBLOT', IT IS SET TO RUN THIS WEEK IN BOTH THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD-TRIBUNE.

SOTHEBY'S SELLS 18th CENTURY COMMODE FOR RECORD £3,793,250


IN THE MIDST OF THE EXCITEMENT SURROUNDING THE RECORD PRICE ACHIEVED FOR AUDUBON'S BIRDS OF AMERICA YESTERDAY, ANOTHER WORLD RECORD WAS SET IN A DIFFERENT FIELD. AN EXQUISITE SERPENTINE-SHAPED HARRINGTON COMMODE, DATING TO CIRCA 1770 AND ALMOST CERTAINLY CRAFTED BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE, EXCEEDED THE PREVIOUS WORLD RECORD FOR ANY ENGLISH PIECE OF ENGLISH FURNITURE AT AUCTION BY OVER A £1 MILLION. FOLLOWING A STRETCH OF PROLONGED BIDDING IN THE SALE ROOM, THE COMMODE ACHIEVED A SUM OF £3,793,250, THREE TIMES THAT OF ITS HIGH ESTIMATE, SETTING A NEW BENCHMARK FOR ENGLISH FURNITURE. COMMENTING ON THE SALE, HENRY HOUSE, HEAD OF ENGLISH FURNITURE AT SOTHEBY'S AND THE AUCTIONEER FOR THE SALE, COMMENTED: 'THIS REMARKABLE COMMODE WHICH IS OUTSTANDINGLY BEAUTIFUL IN BOTH FORM AND CONDITION, WAS KEENLY CONTESTED BY FIVE BIDDERS, THE FINAL PRICE DEMONSTRATING TRUE DEMAND IN THE MARKET FOR ITEMS OF REAL QUALITY, AND I FEEL IS JUSTLY DESERVED FOR AN ITEM THAT HAS BEEN AN HONOUR TO SELL.' THE GEORGE III COMMODE, ALMOST CERTAINLY CRAFTED BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE AND PREVIOUSLY HOUSE AT ELVASTON CASTLE, DERBYSHIRE, WAS SOLD BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE 10th EARL OF HARRINGTON'S WILL TRUST AS PART OF THE IMPORTANT FURNITURE, CERAMICS, CLOCKS, SILVER & VERTU SALE. THE SALE MADE £6,216,750 AGAINST AN ESTIMATE OF £2,874,000 - £4,403,000.

RYAN PHILLIPPE PUTS HOLLYWOOD HILLS HOME ON MARKET


IN 2008, FOLLOWING HIS DIVORCE FROM ACTRESS REESE WITHERSPOON, RYAN PHILLIPPE BOUGHT A HOME IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS FOR $7.175 MILLION. NOW AMIDST RUMORS THAT WITHERSPOON MAY HAVE BOUGHT A NEW HOME IN BRENTWOOD, PHILLIPPE HAS PUT HIS HOLLYWOOD HILLS HOME ON THE MARKET. THE FIVE BEDROOM HOME HAS AS ASIAN CONTEMPORARY LOOK. IT SITS UP IN THE HILLS OVER THE SUNSET STRIP WITH VIEWS OVER THE TWINKLING LIGHTS OF LOS ANGELES. THE HOME INCLUDES A LARGE MASTER SUITE WITH WIDE WINDOWS OFFERING A PANORAMIC VIEW. PHILLIPPE, KNOWN FOR HIS HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, HAS INSTALLED A STATE OF THE ART TWO STORY GYM OFF THE MASTER SUITE. THE HOME ALSO HAS A MEDIA ROOM, ART STUDIO AND MUSIC ROOM. TWO OF THE BEDROOMS APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN DECORATED FOR PHILLIPPE'S TWO CHILDREN WITH A SPORTS-THEMED ROOM FOR HIS SON AND A BUTTERFLY-THEMED ROOM FOR HIS DAUGHTER. THE POOL AND SPA SPACES INCLUDE AN OUTDOOR KITCHEN, SAUNA, CANOPIED FIREPIT, SWIMMER'S POOL AND SPA. THE HOME IS PRESENTLY LISTED FOR $7.45 MILLION.

8.12.10

SOTHEBY'S SELLS IMPERIAL MARBLE BUST FOR RECORD $23,826,500


LAST NIGHT AT SOTHEBY'S, A MARBLE PORTRAIT BUST OF THE DEIFIED ANTINOIUS, ROMAN IMPERIAL, REIGN OF HADRIAN, CIRCA AD 130-138, SOLD FOR A RECORD $23,826,500, MANY MULTIPLES OF THE HIGH ESTIMATE OF $2-3 MILLION. THE BUST LED THE AUCTION OF ANTIQUITIES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE CLARENCE DAY, KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FINEST PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OF ANTIQUITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE 'WHITE GLOVE' SALE ACHIEVED A TOTAL OF $36,769,250. PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE WILL BENEFIT THE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED BY DAY. THE MARBLE PORTRAIT BUST OF THE DEIFIED ANTINOUS IS THE ONLY KNOWN CLASSICAL REPRESENTATION OF ANTINOIS, OUTSIDE OF HIS COIN PORTRAITS, TO BE IDENTIFIED BY AN INSCRIPTION. AUCTIONEER HUGH HILDESLEY OPENED THE BIDDING AT $900,000 AND TWO CLIENTS IN THE ROOM AND ONE ON THE PHONE BEGAN TO BATTLE. THE WINNING BIDDER, A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR ENTERED INTO THE FRAY AT $6.5 MILLION AND PREVAILED AGAINST THE THREE EXISTING BIDDERS AS WELL AS ANOTHER CLIENT WHO ONLY JOINED THE COMPETITION AT $11.2 MILLION. IN ALL, IT TOOK MORE THAN ELEVEN MINUTES FOR THE LOT TO SELL AND WHEN THE HAMMER FINALLY FELL THE ROOM BROKE OUT IN APPLAUSE. ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT INCLUDED A GREEN PORPHYRY FIGURE OF AN EGYPTIAN ROYAL SPHINX, ROMAN IMPERIAL, CIRCA 1st CENTURY AD, WHICH SOLD FOR $5,234,500 AFTER A CONTEST BETWEEN FIVE BIDDERS. THE PIECE IS A DIRECT ROMAN EMULATION, OR REPLICA, OF A

SOTHEBY'S SELLS AUDUBON'S 'BIRDS OF AMERICA' FOR RECORD $10,270,000


JOHN JAMES AUDUBON'S 'BIRDS OF AMERICA', A RARE BLEND OF ART, NATURAL HISTORY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP, FETCHED MORE THAN $10 MILLION AT AUCTION ON TUESDAY, MAKING IT THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE PUBLISHED BOOK. WITH ITS 435 HAND-COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS OF BIRDS DRAWN TO SIZE, THE VOLUME IS ONE OF TE BEST PRESERVED EDITIONS OF AUDUBON'S 19th CENTURY MASTERPIECE. THE SALE AT SOTHEBY'S LONDON HAD BEEN ANTICIPATED FOR MONTHS BY WEALTHY COLLECTORS. THE BOOK SOLD FOR $10,270,000 TO AN ANONYMOUS COLLECTOR BIDDING BY TELEPHONE, THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID. BECAUSE EACH PICTURE IS SO VALUABLE, THERE HAVE BEEN FEARS THE VOLUME WILL BE BROKEN UP AND SOLD AS SEPARATE WORKS OF ART. HOWEVER, EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT'S UNLIKELY. THE TOME IS PROBABLY MORE VALUABLE INTACT. AND COLLECTORS HOLD AUDUBON IN SUCH REVERENCE THAT THE NOTION OF RIPPING APART A PERFECT COPY WOULD BE AKIN TO SACRILEGE. PART NATURALIST AND PART ARTIST, AUDUBON POSSESSED AN UNEQUALED ABILITY TO OBSERVE, CATALOG AND PAINT THE BIRDS HE OBSERVED IN THE WILD. EXPERTS SAY HIS BOOK, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1827, IS UNMATCHED IN ITS BEAUTY AND IS ALSO OF CONSIDERABLE SCIENTIFIC VALUE, JUSTIFYING ITS HISTORIC PRICE TAG. WHILE THE AUDUBON VOLUME HOLDS TE RECORD FOR A PUBLISHED BOOK, A 72 PAGE NOTEBOOK OF LEONARDO DA VINCI'S HANDWRITTEN NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS WENT FOR EVEN MORE. KNOWN AS THE LEICESTER CODEX, THE COLLECTION WAS BOUGHT BY BILL GATES IN 1994 FOR $31 MILLION. ALSO ON THE BLOCK TUESDAY WAS A SHAKESPEARE FIRST FOLIO FROM 1623 THAT FETCHED $2.05 MILLION. SOTHEBY'S BOOKS EXPERT DAVID GOLDTHORPE SAID THE AUDUBON AND SHAKESPEARE VOLUMES REPRESENT 'THE TWIN PEAKS OF BOOK COLLECTING.' BOTH CAME FROM THE ESTATE OF THE 2nd BARON HESKETH, A COLLECTOR WHO DIED IN 1955.

COLLECTION OF RARE AND HISTORIC CORRESPONDENCE SOLD AT AUCTION IN GENEVA


GENEVA BASED AUCTIONEERS HOTEL DES VENTES SOLD A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND UNIQUE COLLECTION OF EXTENSIVE CORRESPONDENCE, PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS EXCHANGED BETWEEN HIH GRAND DUKE GEORGE ALEXANDROVICH, HIH GRAND DUCHESS XENIA ALEXANDROVNA, HIH GRAND DUKE MIKHAIL ALEXANDROVICH AND HIH GRAND DUCHESS OLGA ALEXANDROVNA AND THEIR PRIVATE TUTOR FERDINAND THORMEYER OF SWITZERLAND. THE AUCTION ROOM WAS OVERCROWDED LEAVING STANDING ROOM ONLY. THE TWO MOST PROMINENT BUYERS WERE SWISS PRIVATE COLLECTORS. RUSSIAN BUYERS WERE ACTIVE BOTH IN THE ROOM AND BY TELEPHONE AS WELL AS A SELECT FEW AMERICAN CLIENTS. THE TOTAL SALE PRICE REACHING 390,000 SWISS FRANCS, THE COLLECTION FETCHED ALMOST FOUR TIMES ITS HIGH ESTIMATE. BERNARD PIGUET, DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL AUCTIONEERS OF HOTEL DES VENTES STATES: 'WE ARE DELIGHTED WITH THE SUCCESS OF THIS SALE, WHICH HAS SURPASSED OUR EXPECTATIONS. WE CAN REVEAL THAT ALL THE LOTS HAVE BEEN SOLD WITHOUT EXCEPTION AND FOR AN AMOUNT ALMOST FOUR TIMES THE HIGH ESTIMATE, CLEARLY SHOWING TEH LEVEL OF INTEREST AMONG COLLECTORS FOR THIS HISTORICAL AND UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE'. THE LOT THAT ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST PRICE IN THE COLLECTION WAS LOT #185, THE 35 LETTERS WRITTEN BY GRAND DUKE MIKHAIL BETWEEN 1902 AND 1911 ESTIMATED AT 5,000-8,000 SOLD FOR 34,000 SWISS FRANCS. CLOSE BEHIND WAS LOT #184, CONSISTING OF 80 LETTERS WRITTEN BY THE GRAND DUKE BETWEEN 1900 AND 1904 ESTIMATED AT 10,000-15,000, SOLD FOR 32,800 SWISS FRANCS. MATCHING THIS WAS THE PRECIOUS ROSE GOLD AND SILVER CIGARETTE CASE LOT #164, PRESENTED BY NICHOLAS II AND HIS BROTHER GRAND DUKE GEORGE TO THEIR TUTOR, ESTIMATED AT 5,000-8,000 AND ALSO SOLD FOR 32,800. THE HIGHEST PRICE FOR A SINGLE PHOTOGRAPH WAS LOT #153, THE FAMILY PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER III BY LEVITSKY, ESTIMATED AT 400-600 AND FETCHING 6,600 SWISS FRANCS.

7.12.10

JULIEN'S AUCTIONS BEVERLY HILLS SELLS ITEMS FROM JOHNNY CASH's ESTATE


FANS AND COLLECTORS AT JULIEN'S AUCTIONS BEVERLY HILLS RECENTLY AS ITEMS THAT ONCE BELONGED TO JOHNNY CASH WERE AUCTIONED. A BIDDING WAR ERUPTED FOR THE JOHNNY CASH JUMPSUIT WORN DURING A REHEARSAL AT SAN QUENTIN PRISON, MADE FAMOUS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH KNOWN SIMPLY AS 'THE FINGER'. BIDDING VOLLEYED BETWEEN BIDDERS ON THE TELEPHONE, IN THE GALLERY AND PHONE BIDDERS, ENDING WITH THE SALE OF THE JUMPSUIT FOR $50,000. A RARE POSTER ANNOUNCING CASH's PERFORMANCE AR THE PRISON SOLD ALONGSIDE THE JUMPSUIT FOR $25,000 WHILE A 1868 PASSPORT SOLD FOR $21,875. THE AUCTION ALSO BROUGHT $50,000 FOR A MARTIN STAGE USED GUITAR. THE BICENTENNIAL SHIRT MADE BY NUDIE COHN AND WORN BY CASH AS THE GRAND MARSHALL OF THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL GRAND PARADE IN 1975 BROUGHT ANOTHER BIDDING WAR WHICH ENDED WITH A PRICE OF $31,250. AMONG THE OTHER ITEMS OFFERED FOR SALE WERE AWARDS PRESENTED TO THE MAN IN BLACK, HANDWRITTEN LYRICS AND OTHER PERSONAL ITEMS BRINGING MORE THAN $700,000, FOR THE 321 LOTS OFFERED.

RARE DA VINCI MANUSCRIPT DISCOVERED IN FRENCH LIBRARY


A LONG-LOST FRAGMENT OF MANUSCRIPT BY RENAISSANCE GENIUS LEONARDO DA VINCI HAS BEEN UNCOVERED IN A PUBLIC LIBRARY IN WESTERN FRANCE AFTER LYING FORGOTTEN IN STORAGE FOR NEARLY ONE HUNDRED AND A HALF CENTURIES. THE TEXT, WRITTEN FROM RIGHT TO LEFT IN DA VINCI's TRADEMARK MIRROR-WRITING, WAS AMONG 5,000 DOCUMENTS DONATED TO THE CITY OF NANTES IN 1872 BY WEALTHY COLLECTOR PIERRE-ANTOINE LABOUCHERE, AND THEN LEFT TO LANGUISH IN THE LOCAL ARCHIVES. IT WAS ONLY WHEN A LOCAL JOURNALIST CAME ACROSS A REFERENCE TO THE DOCUMENT'S LOCATION IN A BIOGRAPHY OF THE ITALIAN MASTER THAT THE MANUSCRIPT WAS FINALLY TRACKED DOWN. 'HE WAS MOST PROBABLY WRITING IN 15th CENTURY ITALIAN, AND POSSIBLY IN OTHER LANGUAGES, SO IT'S NOW GOT TO BE DECIPHERED', SAID AGNES MARCETTEAU, HEAD OF THE NANTES LIBRARY WHERE THE MANUSCRIPT WAS FOUND. FOR THE TIME BEING, HOWEVER, THE CONTENTS OF THE DA VINCI SCRIPT, A FEW LINES ON A YELLOWED SCRAP OF PAPER, REMAINED A MYSTERY AND EXPERTS HAD YET TO DECIPHER THE ARTIST'S BROWN SCRAWL, SHE SAID. THIS IS THE SECOND RARE ITEM UNCOVERED IN LABOUCHERE'S COLLECTION, AFTER THE DISCOVERY IN 2008 OF A NEVER BEFORE SEEN SCORE BY COMPOSER WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART.

APHRODITE STATUE TO BE RETURNED TO SICILY


THE LOVE GODDESS APHRODITE IS GOING HOME TO ITALY AFTER THE NEW YEAR, STRONGER AND MORE STABLE THAN SHE HAS BEEN IN 2,500 YEARS. THE STATUE, BEING RETURNED TO SICILY AS PART OF ITALY'S DECADE-OLD CAMPAIGN TO RETRIEVE ANTIQUITIES IT SAYS WERE ILLEGALLY BROUGHT TO CALIFORNIA, WILL BE THE LAST OF 40 ARTIFACTS THE J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM AGREED TO TURN OVER. SEBASTIANO MISSINEO, THE MINISTER OF CULTURE FROM SICILY, VISITED THE GETTY VILLA IN MALIBU ON MONDAY AND VIEWED THE STATUE. THE STATUE WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE GETTY FOR ONE MORE WEEK, ACTING GETTY DIRECTOR DAVID BOMFORD SAID AT A TEA FOR MISSINEO MONDAY. THE GETTY HAS BUILT A SEISMIC WAVE ISOLATOR FOR APHRODITE THAT WILL PROTECT HER IN THE EARTHQUAKE-PRONE SICILIAN REGION, HE SAID. FOR THE TRIP, THE STATUE WILL BE DISMANTLED AND SHIPPED WITH THE ISOLATOR TO AIDONE, SICILY. 'WE ARE ORGANIZING THE OPENING DAY FOR THE LAST DAYS OF MARCH', MISSINEO SAID. 'WE ARE WORKING ON A PROJECT FOR ANEW SITE FOR THIS STATUE AT THE MUSEUM. THAT SITE WILL BE READY IN A FEW YEARS. THIS IS A VERY GOOD OCCASION NOT JUST FOR AIDONE, BUT SICILY TOO.' MISSINEO ALSO VIEWED THE MARBLE AGRIGENTO YOUTH, A STATUE LOANED TO THE GETTY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN EARTHQUAKE BASE. BOTH SIDES SAY THE DISCORD CAUSED DURING ITALY'S ANTIQUITIES HUNT HAS SPAWNED A NEW ERA OF COOPERATION AND RECIPROCATION BETWEEN THE GETTY AND SICILY. SEVERAL COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS, INCLUDING OBJECT CONSERVATION, EARTHQUAKE PROTECTION OF COLLECTIONS, EXHIBITIONS, SCHOLARLY RESEARCH AND CONFERENCES, ARE PLANNED. THE GETTY HAS ALWAYS DENIED KNOWINGLY BUYING ILLEGALLY OBTAINED OBJECTS, AND THE DEAL THAT FORMER GETTY DIRECTOR MICHAEL BRAND SIGNED WITH ITALY IN 2007 INCLUDES NO ADMISSION OF GUILT. EVEN THE 6 YEAR OLD CASE AGAINST FORMER GETTY ANTIQUITIES CURATOR MARION TRUE WENT AWAY IN OCTOBER WHEN A JUDGE IN ROME RULED THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS IN HER CASE HAD RUN OUT. SHE HAD BEEN ACCUSED OF KNOWINGLY ACQUIRING LOOTED ART FROM ITALY.

6.12.10

THIEVES STEAL VAN CONTAINING 20 ARTWORKS


THREE HOODED THIEVES STOLE A TRUCK CONTAINING 28 PIECES OF ART INCLUDING WORKS BY PICASSO, COLOMBIAN ARTIST FERNANDO BOTERO AND SPANISH SCULPTOR EDUARDO CHILLIDA, SPANISH POLICE SAID RECENTLY. A POLICE STATEMENT SAID THE TRUCK WAS TAKEN FROM A WAREHOUSE NEAR THE TOWN OF GETAFE ON MADRID'S SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS LAST SATURDAY. OFFICERS WENT TO THE WAREHOUSE AFTER AN ALARM SOUNDED AND FOUND THE DOOR OF THE BUILDING HAD BEEN FORCED OPEN. ON ARRIVAL, THE OWNER TOLD POLICE THAT THE TRUCK WAS MISSING. A POLICE OFFICER SAID SECURITY CAMERA RECORDINGS SHOWED THE ROBBERY WAS CARRIED OUT BY THREE HOODED PERSONS AND THAT THE KEYS HAD BEEN LEFT INSIDE THE TRUCK. HE SAID THE TRUCK WAS NOT ARMORED. THE OFFICIAL SPOKE ON THE CONDITION OF ANONYMITY IN LINE WITH DEPARTMENT RULES. POLICE FOUND THE VEHICLE EMPTY IN A NEARBY AREA OF ALCORON, SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPITAL. POLICE PROVIDED NO DETAILS OF THE WORKS OTHER THAN THE ESTIMATE VALUE TO BE AROUND $6.6 MILLION, ADDING THAT SEVERAL OF THE PIECES WERE NOT INSURED. THE WORKS BELONGED TO SIX GALLERIES IN MADRID, BARCELONA AND COLOGNE, GERMANY. THEY HAD JUST COME BACK FROM BEING ON EXHIBIT IN GERMANY. CRISOSTOMO, THE SPANISH TRANSPORT COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VEHICLE, DECLINED TO COMMENT ON THE THEFT. DAVID FERNANDEZ DIRECTOR OF THE JUAN GRIS GALLERY IN MADRID SAID THEY HAD A SCULPTURE AND A COLLAGE BY CHILLIDA STOLEN IN THE THEFT. 'IT GAVE US A BIG FRIGHT BECAUSE NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED TO US', HE TOLD SPANISH NATIONAL RADIO. 'WE'RE UPSET BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPORTANT PIECES AND IRREPLACEABLE.'

US GOVERNMENT TO RETURN STOLEN PAINTING TO FRANCE


AN EDGAR DEGAS PAINTING THAT WAS STOLEN 37 YEARS AGO AND RECENTLY REDISCOVERED BEFORE AN AUCTION IN NEW YORK WILL BE RETURNED TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT, US OFFICIALS SAID RECENTLY. US ATTORNEY LORETTA LYNCH AND JAMES T HAYES JR, HEAD OF THE NEW YORK OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, ANNOUNCED THAT A MANHATTAN SELLER HAD AGREED TO TURN OVER THE PAINTING, 'LAUNDRY WOMAN WITH TOOTHACHE', WITHOUT A FORFEITURE PROCEEDING. SOTHEBY'S HAD GIVEN THE SMALL OIL PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN HOLDING HER JAW AN ESTIMATED VALUE OF $350,000 to $450,000. COURT PAPERS SAID THE SELLER, WHOSE FATHER HAD OBTAINED THE SIGNED PIECES, DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS STOLEN. THE FAMILY HAS THE RIGHT TO FILE A CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION FROM FRENCH AUTHORITIES. THE RETURN OF THE RARE 19th CENTURY WORK 'REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURE THE RETURN OF STOLEN ARTWORK AND CULTURAL PATRIMONY', LYNCH SAID IN A STATEMENT. SOTHEBY'S OFFICIAL DIANA PHILLIPS SAID THE AUCTION HOUSE 'IS HAPPY TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS DISCOVERY AND WE ARE PLEASED THAT THIS PAINTING WILL BE RETURNED TO THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE.' THE SELLER, SHE ADDED, 'WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN ABOUT THIS AND THROUGHOUT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY COOPERATIVE.' AUTHORITIES SAID DEGAS PAINTED 'BLANCHISSEUSES SOUFFRANT DES DENTS' IN THE EARLY 1870s. A COLLECTOR DONATED IT TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AND IT WAS REGISTERED WITH THE LOUVRE MUSEUM. IN 1961, THE LOUVRE LENT THE PAINTING TO THE MALRAUX MUSEUM IN NORMANDY. IN LATE 1973, A STILL UNKNOWN THIEF PULLED IT OFF THE MUSEUM WALL AND SLIPPED AWAY. EARLIER THIS YEAR, SOTHEBY'S FEATURED THE PAINTING IN THE CATALOG FOR A SALE OF IMPRESSIONIST ART. A MALRAUX EMPLOYEE SPOTTED THE LISTING AND NOTIFIED SOTHEBY'S WHICH IMMEDIATELY PULLED IT FROM THE AUCTION. STENCILED ON THE BACK OF THE CANVAS BUT HIDDEN BY THE FRAME WAS 'RF 1953-8', SHORTHAND FOR IT BEING THE EIGHTH WORK OF ART ACQUIRED BY THE FRENCH REPUBLIC IN 1953. PHILLIPS SAID THAT BEFORE THE AUCTION, SOTHEBY'S HAD CHECKED TO SEE IF THE PIECE WAS LISTED ON THE LONDON BASED ART LOSS REGISTER, WHICH TRACKS DOWN STOLEN, LOOTED OR MISSING ART, AND SIMILAR DATABASES. 'UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PAINTING WAS NOT LISTED IN THESE DATABASES SO SOTHEBY'S HAD NO EVIDENCE THAT IS HAD BEEN STOLEN WHEN IT ACCEPTED THE PAINTING FOR SALE', SHE SAID.

5.12.10

SOTHEBY'S TO SELL 1500 LOTS FROM THE ESTATE OF QUEEN JULIANA


IN THE SPRING SOTHEBY'S AMSTERDAM WILL OFFER 1500 LOTS FROM THE ESTATE OF QUEEN JULIANA ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE EXECUTORS ON BEHALF OF HER FOUR HEIRS, HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN AND THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES PRINCESS IRENE, PRINCESS MARGRIET AND PRINCESS CHRISTINA. THE TOTAL SUM REALIZED BY THE 1500 LOTS TO BE SOLD WILL GO TO CHARITY AND THE SALE WILL BE AT SOTHEBY'S AMSTERDAM ON 14-17.MARCH.2011. THE REALIZED AMOUNT WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO PORTIONS; THE FIRST PART WILL BE DONATED TO THE RED CROSS, CHOSEN BY THE FOUR HEIRS BECAUSE OF THE LONG TERM INVOLVEMENT OF QUEEN JULIANA IN ITS WORK. THE REMAINING PORTION WILL BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR EQUAL PARTS; THE PRINCESS BEATRIX FUND WHICH IS THE CHOICE OF QUEEN BEATRIX, PRINCESS IRENE CHOSE THE NETUURCOLLEGE, PRINCESS MARGRIET CHOSE THE RED CROSS AND THE PRINCESS CHRISTINA CONCOURS WAS CHOSEN BY PRINCESS CHRISTINA. WHILE MOST OF THE ITEMS ON SALE, WHICH INCLUDES FURNITURE, PORCELAIN, GLASS, SILVER, PAINTINGS AND SOME DRAWINGS, COME FROM THE PALACE SOESTDIJK WHERE QUEEN JULIANA LIVED FOR ALL HER MARRIED LIFE, SOME OF THE FURNITURE WAS IN THE STORES OR ATTICS AT OTHER ROYAL PALACES, AND MANY OF THE DRAWINGS AND PRINTS WERE HELD IN THE ROYAL ARCHIVE. FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF QUEEN JULIANA AN EXHAUSTIVE PROCESS OF CONSULTATION FOLLOWED. OFFICIAL GIFTS FROM THE ESTATE WERE TRANSFERRED TO VARIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF ORANGE-NASSUA AND NATIONAL MUSEUMS. AFTER THE EXHAUSTIVE PROCESS, WHICH HAS TAKEN OVER SIX YEARS, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THERE WAS A CONSIDERABLE VOLUME OF FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, PORCELAIN AND SILVER WHICH WAS BEYOND ANY REQUIREMENTS. THE HEIRS DECIDED THAT THE RESIDUAL PROPERTY SHOULD BE SOLD FOR CHARITY AND WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE SALE AT SOTHEBY'S AMSTERDAM. THE AUCTION WILL BE A REMARKABLE AND CERTAINLY UNIQUE EVENT. THE PROPERTY TO BE SOLD WAS ONLY IN PART ACQUIRED BY QUEEN JULIANA AND PRINCE BERNHARD, WHILE THE LARGER PART HAD BEEN ACCUMULATED OVER THE LAST ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS, HAVING BEEN PASSED BY INHERITANCE TO QUEEN JULIANA FROM KING WILLEM I, II AND III, QUEEN EMMA AND QUEEN WILHELMINA. THE INVENTORY MARKS AND LABELS ON MANY OF THE PIECES SHOW THAT OVER THE GENERATIONS THEY WERE USED IN FOURTEEN DIFFERENT PALACES AND ROYAL RESIDENCES THROUGHOUT THE NETHERLANDS. SOTHEBY'S WILL DONATE THE PROFITS FROM THE SALE OF THE CATALOG TO THE SAME FOUR CHARITIES THAT HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE HEIRS. THE CATALOG, WHICH WILL BE A PERMANENT RECORD OF THE MEMORABLE ROYAL EVENT, IS NOW BEING PREPARED AND WILL BE AVAILABLE IN FEBRUARY. IT WILL BE VERY DETAILED WITH ALL THE 1500 LOTS ILLUSTRATED IN COLOUR. ALSO, WHEREVER IT IS POSSIBLE, LINKS WILL BE MADE BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL LOTS, THE MONARCHS WHO OWNED THEM AND THE MANY ROYAL PALACES AND RESIDENCES WHERE THEY WERE USED OVER THE GENERATIONS.