SOTHEBY'S TO SELL DUCHESS OF WINDOR'S JEWELRY

JEWELS BOUGHT BY BRITAIN'S KING EDWARD VIII FOR HIS AMERICAN WIFE WALLIS SIMPSON ARE EXPECTED TO FETCH UP TO £3 MILLION AT AUCTION IN NOVEMBER, SOTHEBY'S SAID THURSDAY. THE KING, WHO RENOUNCED HIS CLAIM TO TE BRITISH THRONE IN 1936 TO MARRY THE DIVORCEE, SHOWERED HER WITH STUNNING ONE OF A KIND GIFTS OF JEWELRY THROUGHOUT THEIR COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. MANY OF THE 'MAGICAL JEWELS' HONOR EVENTS IN THE COUPLES' LIVES AND ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE AS BOTH WORKS OF ART AND HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS, SAID SOTHEBY'S JEWELRY EXPERT DAVID BENNETT. 'THEY DOCUMENT ONE OF THE GREATEST LOVE AFFAIRS', HE TOLD REUTERS, ADDING THAT IT WAS HARD TO SAY HOW MUCH THE JEWELRY'S HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE ADDED TO ITS VALUE. AFTER EDWARD'S ABDICATION, THE COUPLE WERE GIVEN THE TITLES OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR AND LEFT BRITAIN, LIVING ABROAD FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. ONE OF THE PIECES, A CARTIER BRACELET WITH JEWELED CROSSES. COMMEMORATES A SERIES OF EVENTS IN SIMPSON'S LIFE, INCLUDING AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON THE KING AND HER OWN APPENDECTOMY. THE 20 LOTS, RANGING FROM A CARTIER PANTHER BRACELET TO DIAMOND-ENCRUSTED CUFFLINKS, ARE ONLY A FRACTION OF TE ORIGINAL 'JEWELS OF THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR' COLLECTION, WHICH SOLD SOON AFTER SIMPSON'S DEATH IN 1986. STILL THE MOST VALUABLE SINGLE-OWNER SALE EVER, THE COLLECTION SOLD FOR £31 MILLION, MORE THAN SEVEN TIMES THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. 'WITH JEWELRY SALES GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, THESE PIECES SHOULD DO VERY WELL ALSO', BENNETT SAID. SOTHEBY'S EXPECTS STRONG INTEREST FROM BUYERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA. THE SELECTION, WHICH INCLUDES SILVERWARE AND ROYAL MEDALS, WILL BE EXHIBITED AROUND THE WORLD BEFORE THE AUCTION IN LONDON ON 30.NOVEMBER.

WORLD CUP FINAL VICTORY BALL SELLS FOR $74,000

THE BALL USED IN SPAIN'S WORLD CUP FINAL VICTORY OVER THE NETHERLANDS HAS RECENTLY FETCHED ALMOST $74,000 IN A CHARITY AUCTION ON EBAY. THE FAMOUS JABULANI BALL WAS SOLD FOR THE '46664' HIV/AIDS CHARITY, NAMED AFTER NELSON MANDELA'S PRISONER NUMBER WHEN HE WAS HELD AT ROBBEN ISLAND. THE CALLS USED DURING THE WORLD CUP WERE CRITIQUED FOR THEIR UNPREDICTABILITY AND WERE NICKNAMED 'SUPERMARKET BALLS'. THE GOLD VERSION USED IN THE FINAL WAS NAMED 'JO' BULANI' BECAUSE THE GAME WAS PLAYED IN JOHANNESBURG, KNOWN COLLOQUIALLY AS JO'BURG. A TOTAL OF 133 BIDS FROM 55 PARTICIPANTS CAME IN FOR THE BALL. IT EVENTUALLY WENT TO A GROUP OF SPANISH FANS.

WHISKEY THAT HAS BEEN FROZEN IN ANTARCTIC ICE BEING THAWED FOR TESTING

A CRATE OF SCOTCH WHISKEY THAT HAS BEEN FROZEN IN ANTARCTIC ICE FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY IS BEING SLOWLY THAWED BY NEW ZEALAND MUSEUM OFFICIALS, FOR ANALYSIS, NOT TO BE TASTED. THE CRATE OF WHISKEY WAS RECOVERED EARLIER THIS YEAR, ALONG WITH FOUR OTHER CRATES CONTAINING WHISKEY AND BRANDY, BENEATH THE FLOOR OF A HUT BUILT BY BRITISH EXPLORER SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON DURING HIS 1908 ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. FOUR OF THE CRATES WERE LEFT IN THE ICE, BUT ONE LABELED MACKINLAY'S WHISKEY WAS BROUGHT TO TEH CANTERBURY MUSEUM IN CHRISTCHURCH ON NEW ZEALAND'S SOUTH ISLAND, WHERE OFFICIALS SAID RECENTLY IT WAS BEING THAWED IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. NIGEL WATSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC HERITAGE TRUST, SAID THE WHISKEY MIGHT STILL BE LIQUID. 'WHEN THE GUYS WERE LIFTING IT, THEY REPORTED THE SOUND OF SLOSHING AND THERE WAS A SMELL OF WHISKEY IN THE FREEZER, SO IT IS ALL BODING WELL', HE SAID. AN ANTARCTIC HERITAGE TRUST TEAM WHAT WAS RESTORING THE EXPLORER'S HUT FOUND THE CRATES IN 2006 BUT COULDN'T IMMEDIATELY DISLODGE THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN THE ICE. DRINKS GROUP WHYTE & MACKAY, THE SCOTTISH DISTILLERY THAT NOW OWNS THE MACKINLAY'S BRAND, LAUNCHED THE BID TO RECOVER THE WHISKEY FOR SAMPLES TO TEST AND POTENTIALLY USE TO RELAUNCH THE DEFUNCT SCOTCH. WATSON SAID THE WHISKEY MAY STILL BE DRINKABLE BUT WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE TASTED. 'THIS WAS A BLEND SO THEY ARE HOPEFUL IF THERE IS ENOUGH ALCOHOL LEFT AND IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION THEY MAY BE ABLE TO ANALYZE AND HOPEFULLY REPLICATE THE LIQUID SO IN FACT EVERYONE COULD PARTAKE IN THIS', HE SAID. SHACKLETON'S EXPEDITION RAN SHORT OF SUPPLIES ON ITS LONG SKI TREK TO THE SOUTH POLE FROM THE NORTHERN ANTARCTIC COAST IN 1907-1909 AND TURNED BACK ABOUT 100 MILES SHORT OF ITS GOAL. THE EXPEDITION SAILED AWAY IN 1909 AS WINTER ICE FORMED, LEAVING BEHIND SUPPLIES, INCLUDING THE WHISKEY AND BRANDY.

NATIONAL GALLERY TO PRESENT 'LEONARDO DA VINCI: PAINTER AT THE COURT OF MILAN'

'LEONARDO DA VINCI: PAINTER AT THE COURT OF MILAN' IS THE MOST COMPLETE DISPLAY OF LEONARDO'S RARE SURVIVING PAINTINGS EVER HELD. THE UNPRECEDENTED EXHIBITION, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, BRINGS TOGETHER SENSATIONAL INTERNATIONAL LOANS NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN THE UK, INCLUDING 'LA BELLE FERRONIERE', 'THE MADONNA LITTA' AND 'SAINT JEROME'. WHILE NUMEROUS EXHIBITIONS HAVE LOOKED AT LEONARDO DA VINCI AS AN INVENTOR, SCIENTIST OR DROUGHTSMAN, THIS IS THE FIRST TO BE ADDRESSED TO HIS AIMS AND TECHNIQUES AS A PAINTER. INSPIRED BY THE RECENTLY RESTORED NATIONAL GALLERY PAINTING 'THE VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS', THIS EXHIBITION FOCUSES ON LEONARDO AS AN ARTIST AND IN PARTICULAR ON THE WORKS HE PRODUCED DURING HIS CAREER AS COURT PAINTER TO DUKE LODOVICO SFORZA IN MILAN IN THE LATE 1480s AND 1490s. FEATURING THE FINEST PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS BY LEONARDO AND HIS FOLLOWERS, THE EXHIBITION EXAMINES LEONARDO'S PURSUIT FOR PERFECTION IN HIS REPRESENTATION OF THE HUMAN FORM. AS A PAINTER, HE AIMED TO CONVINCE VIEWERS OF THE REALITY OF WHAT THEY WERE SEEING WHILE STILL ASPIRING TO CREATE IDEALS OF BEAUTY, PARTICULARLY IN HIS EXQUISITE PORTRAITS, AND, IN HIS RELIGIOUS WORKS, TO CONVEY A SENSE OF AWE-INSPIRING MYSTERY. A HIGHLIGHT OF THE EXHIBITION IS A NEAR-CONTEMPORARY, FULL SCALE COPY OF LEONARDO'S FAMOUS 'LAST SUPPER'. ON LOAN FROM THE ROYAL ACADEMY. SEEN ALONGSIDE ALL THE SURVIVING PREPARATORY DRAWINGS MADE BY LEONARDO FOR THE LAST SUPPER, VISITORS WILL DISCOVER HOW MUCH A LARGE-SCALE PAINTINGS WAS DESIGNED AND EXECUTED.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT nationalgallery.org.uk

DAVID MACH CREATES LARGE SCALE 'COAT-HANGER" CRUCIFIXION

DAVID MACH, FAMED FOR HIS DYNAMIC LARGE SCALE COLLAGES, SCULPTURES AND BOLD INSTALLATIONS, TODAY LAUNCHES HIS MAJOR NEW PROJECT TO CELEBRATE THE 400th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE IN 2011 WITH THE INSTALLATION OF A MASSIVE COAT-HANGER CRUCIFIXION FIGURE, SUSPENDED FROM STEAL SUPPORTS, OUTSIDE ST GILES CHURCH IN EDINBURGH. THIS IS THE FIRST OF FOUR COAT-HANGER CRUCIFIXION FIGURES, INCLUDING A CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURAL VERSION OF CALVARY, WHICH WILL BE DISPLAYED IN THE EXHIBITION AT EDINBURGH'S CITY ART CENTER IN THE SUMMER OF 2011. CENTRAL TO THE PROJECT WILL BE A LARGE-SCALE LIMITED EDITION ARTIST'S VERSION OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE. AN ARRAY OF MACH'S LARGE SCALE COLLAGES WILL BE ON DISPLAY. CINEMATIC IN SCALE, THE COLLAGES WILL BRING A CONTEMPORARY DIMENSION TO BIBLICAL STORIES SUCH AS THE FLOOD, CROSSING THE RED SEA, JESUS' MIRACLES AND THE EPIC VISIONS OF ST JOHN. THE FIRST COLLAGE IN THE PROJECT, TOWER OF BABEL, IS CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY'S SUMMER EXHIBITION, 14.JUNE THROUGH 22.AUGUST. FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT DURING THE YEAR INCLUDE: IN THE AUTUMN A COLLAGE AT ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL AND A CRUCIFIXION SCULPTURE AT GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL; ALSO UNDER NEGOTIATION IS A MAJOR EXHIBITION OF THE CRUCIFIXION AT TORRE ABBEY, TOBAY AT EASTER.

FRANK FRAZETTA PAINTING SELLS FOR $1.5 MILLION

A 1971 PAINTING BY FANTASY ARTIST FRANK FRAZETTA HAS SOLD FOR $1.5 MILLION, TWO MONTHS AFTER THE PENNSYLVANIA ARTIST'S DEATH. FRAZETTA'S MANAGERS SAID THIS WEEK THAT A PRIVATE COLLECTOR BOUGHT 'CONAN THE DESTROYER' FROM A FAMILY TRUST. MANAGERS ROBERT PISTELLA AND STEPHEN FERZOCO CALL THE PRICE THE HIGHEST EVER PAID FOR A WORK BY FRAZETTA. THE ILLUSTRATOR DIED IN FLORIDA IN MAY AT THE AGE OF 82. HIS ICONIC ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONAN THE BARBARIAN, TARZAN AND OTHER CHARACTERS OFTEN GRACED COMIC BOOKS, ALBUM COVERS AND MOVIE POSTERS. IN RECENT YEARS, HIS CHILDREN HAVE FOUGHT OVER THE ESTATE ESTIMATED TO BE WORTH TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE FEUD BOILED OVER IN DECEMBER WHEN FRANK FRAZETTA JR USED A BACKHOE TO TRY TO BREAK INTO TEH ARTIST'S MUSEUM IN THE POCONO MOUNTAINS.

GODIVA CHOCOLATIERS

OF ALL THE NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH FINE GOURMET CHOCOLATE, THERE ARE FEW AS ICONIC AS GODIVA CHOCOLATIERS. FOUNDED IN 1926 BY JOSEPH DRAPS, THE BELGIAN CHOCOLATIER HAS SINCE BLOSSOMED INTO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST CELEBRATED AND MOST RECOGNIZED. DRAPS OPENED HIS FIRST STORE ON A COBBLESTONE STREET IN BRUSSELS NEARLY A CENTURY AGO, ITS NAME WAS INSPIRED BY THE LEGENDARY LADY GODIVA. AS THE STORY GOES, THE MEDIEVAL ROYAL BECAME UPSET WITH THE ONEROUS TAXES THAT HER HUSBAND, LORD LEOFRIC, LEVIED UPON HIS SUBJECTS IN COVENTRY, ENGLAND. LEOFRIC PROPOSED A BARGAIN: IF SHE COULD RIDE NAKED THROUGH TOWN WITHOUT ANY CITIZENS LOOKING AT HER, HE'S EASE THEIR FINANCIAL BURDEN. LADY GODIVA DID EXACTLY THAT, AND LEOFRIC RELENTED. THE NAME GODIVA STILL EVOKES IMAGES OF GRACIOUSNESS, LUXURY AND SENSUALITY. DRAPS FIRST EXPANDED THE COMPANY BEYOND BELGIUM IN 1958, OPENING A BOUTIQUE IN PARIS. THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN STORE FOLLOWED IN 1966; ANOTHER IN TOKYO CAME IN 1972. TODAY THERE ARE OVER 450 GODIVA BOUTIQUES IN 80 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. THE CHOCOLATES CAN ALSO BE ORDERED AT ITS ONLINE STORE. THOUGH GODIVA IS FAMOUS FOR ITS DECADENT TRUFFLES, THE CHOCOLATIER HAS EXPANDED ITS SELECTIONS TO INCLUDE BAKED GOODS, SUCH AS CHOCOLATE GANACHE LAYER CAKE, CHOCOLATE CHUNK BROWNIES AND CHOCOLATE COCONUT MACAROONS, FLAVORED COFFEES AND HOT COCOAS AND SPECIALTY GIFTS FOR OCCASIONS SUCH AS WEDDINGS AND HOLIDAYS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.godiva.com