SOTHEBY'S TO SELL RARE 10.99 CARAT PINK DIAMOND

SOTHEBY'S GENEVA ANNOUNCED RECENTLY THAT IT WILL PRESENT AN IMPORTANT PINK DIAMOND, WEIGHING 10.99 CARATS IN ITS SALE OF MAGNIFICENT & NOBLE JEWELS ON 17.MAY, SIX MONTHS AFTER THE RECORD BREAKING SALE OF THE GRAFF DIAMOND, THE MOST EXPENSIVE DIAMOND AND JEWEL EVER SOLD AT AUCTION. COMMENTING OF THE FORTHCOMING SALE, DAVID BENNETT, CHAIRMAN OF SOTHEBY'S JEWELRY DEPARTMENT FOR EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST SAID: 'I DO NOT REMEMBER THE MARKET FOR COLOURED DIAMONDS TO HAVE EVER BEEN AS STRONG AS IT IS TODAY. THIS WAS UNDERLINED BY THE UNPRECEDENTED RESULTS OF OUR LAST NOVEMBER SALE AND UNDOUBTEDLY INFLUENCED THE OWNER'S DECISION TO SELL THIS BEAUTIFUL PINK DIAMOND WHICH HAS NOT APPEARED ON THE MARKET FOR OVER 30 YEARS.' THE SUPERB STONE, MOUNTED AS A RING, HAS BEEN GRADED 'FANCY INTENSE PINK', NATURAL COLOUR AND VSI CLARITY BY THE GEMOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA. IT HAS BEEN FURTHER ASSESSED TO BE PART OF A VERY RARE SUBGROUP OF DIAMONDS AS TYPE IIa AND COMPRISING LESS THAN 2% OF ALL OF THE WORLD'S GEM DIAMONDS. THE BEAUTY AND RARITY OF THE STUNNING DIAMOND ALSO LIES IN ITS CUT AND SHAPE. IT FEATURES A CLASSIC EMERALD CUT, A STYLE OF CUTTING NORMALLY ASSOCIATED WITH WHITE DIAMONDS AND IMMENSELY SOUGHT-AFTER WHEN FOUND IN THE RARE COLOURS SUCH AS PINK AND BLUE. ESTIMATED AT $9-$12 MILLION, THE STONE IS BEING OFFERED FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTOR.

V&A ACQUIRE RARE OTTOMAN EMPIRE JADE TANKARD

A RARE JADE TANKARD INLAID WITH GOLD AND STUDDED WITH RUBIES AND EMERALDS HAS BEEN ACQUIRED BY THE V&A. THE TANKARD WAS ORIGINALLY MADE FOR AN OTTOMAN SULTAN IN THE LATE 16th CENTURY, IN THE IMPERIAL CAPITAL OF ISTANBUL. A LIMITED NUMBER OF THESE OBJECTS WERE PRODUCED AND THIS IS THE FIRST EXAMPLE TO ENTER A BRITISH NATIONAL COLLECTION. THE TANKARD WAS OFFERED TO THE V&A PARTLY THROUGH THE ACCEPTANCE IN LIEU (AIL) SCHEME. THE ART FUND GAVE £220,000 TOWARDS TO PURCHASE, WHICH INCLUDED A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE WOLFSON FOUNDATION. IT COST A TOTAL OF £477,500. THE TANKARD IS A SPECTACULAR EXAMPLE OF HOW THE OTTOMAN COURT BORROWED FORMS FROM EVERYDAY LIFE AND TURNED THEM INTO STUNNING LUXURY ITEMS. ITS SHAPE IS BASED ON THE INDIGENOUS DRINKING VESSELS USED IN A VARIETY OF BEVERAGES INCLUDING BOZA, THE FERMENTED MILLET DRINK STILL POPULAR IN ANATOLIA AND THE BALKANS. HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF WOOD OR LEATHER, IT IS MADE FROM JADE, WHICH HAD TO BE IMPORTED AT HIGH COST, OVER A GREAT DISTANCE FROM CENTRAL ASIA. BY THE 1560s, THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT POWERS, AND THE SULTANS WHO RULED IN THE FOLLOWING DECADES NO LONGER FELT THE NEED TO BORROW ARTISTIC IDEAS FROM THEIR RIVALS. INSTEAD, THEY CELEBRATED THEIR REGIONAL SUPREMACY BY ADOPTING LOCAL FORMS AND RECREATING THEM IN LUXURY MATERIALS FOR USE IN COURT. THIS PARTICULAR TANKARD HAS A DISTINCTIVE FORM, POT-BELLIED IN FRONT AND FLAT AT THE BACK, WHICH SUGGESTS IT HAD A LEATHER PROTOTYPE. IT IS DECORATED WITH A GOLD WIRE INLAY AND GEMSTONE SETTINGS, ARRANGED IN A PATTERN OF FLORAL SPRAYS, WITH A VASE MOTIF ON THE FRONT. IT WAS THE CUSTOM TO SET OBJECTS OF ALL KINDS WITH RUBIES AND OTHER GEMSTONES TO MARK THEM OUT AS COURT OBJECTS. AROUND 1800, THE TANKARD WAS FURTHER EMBELLISHED WITH GOLD FITTINGS IN THE ROCOCO STYLE, CONSISTING OF GEMSET GOLD MOUNTS AROUND THE FOOT, THE RIM AND THE LID AND THE DISTINCTIVE CURVED HANDLE. SIR MARK JONES, DIRECTOR OF THE V&A SAID: 'THIS TANKARD IS A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF OTTOMAN ART. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE V&A OR ANY OTHER COLLECTION IN BRITAIN.'

CONTROVERSIAL ARTWORK DAMAGED BY ASSAILANT

POLICE QUESTIONED WITNESSES ON MONDAY IN THEIR SEARCH FOR A MAN WHO TOOK A HAMMER TO A CONTROVERSIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF A CRUCIFIX BATHED IN URINE AT AN ART EXHIBITION IN AN AVIGNON MUSEUM. THE MODERN ART MUSEUM, THE COLLECTION LAMBERT, IN SOUTHERN FRANCE, SAID AN ASSAILANT DESTROYED THE PHOTOGRAPH BY AMERICAN ARTIST ANDRES SERRANO, 'IMMERSION (PISS CHRIST)' ON SUNDAY AND APPARENTLY ACCIDENTALLY DAMAGED ANOTHER OF THE ARTIST'S WORKS WHILE STRUGGLING WITH A GUARD. IT WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHETHER THE ASSAILANT WAS PART OF A DEMONSTRATION A DAY EARLIER BY A RIGHT-WING GROUP DENOUNCING THE 1987 PHOTOGRAPH AS BLASPHEMOUS AND DEMANDING ITS REMOVAL FROM THE EXHIBITION, ENTITLED 'I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES'. ACCORDING TO POLICE, CITING WITNESSES, TWO PEOPLE TRIED TO ENTER THE MUSEUM LATE SUNDAY MORNING CARRYING A CAN OF SPRAY PAINT AND A CHISEL IN THEIR JACKETS. THE GUARD REMOVED THE OBJECTS, JUST AS A THIRD PERSON TOOK A HAMMER TO 'IMMERSION'. THE ATTACKER STRUGGLED WITH A GUARD, BUT HELPED BY AN ACCOMPLICE, MANAGED TO ESCAPE, POLICE SAID. IN THE STRUGGLE, HE APPARENTLY DAMAGED ANOTHER WORK, 'THE CHURCH (SISTER JEANNE-MYRIAM)', WHICH SHOWS A NUN PRAYING. THE MUSEUM'S DOORS WERE SHUT MONDAY FOR ITS WEEKLY CLOSING. HOWEVER, IT SAID IT WILL REOPEN TUESDAY WITH THE DESTROYED WORKS ON DISPLAY SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN VIEW THE DAMAGE. THE MUSEUM CLOSED EARLY SUNDAY BECAUSE OF PROTEST OF THE PROTEST. SERRANO MADE THE CONTROVERSIAL WORK BY PLACING A CRUCIFIX IN URINE AND BLOOD, AND IT HAD DRAWN CRITICISM IN THE PAST FROM SOME CHRISTIAN GROUPS. YOUNG FAR-RIGHT CHRISTIAN ACTIVISTS FROM THE GENERAL ALLIANCE AGAINST RACISM AND FOR THE RESPECT OF THE FRENCH AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IS THE COLLECTION LAMBERT TO COURT WEDNESDAY TO TRY TO HAVE THE CRUCIFIX PHOTOGRAPH REMOVED FROM THE EXHIBIT. THE GROUP DENOUNCED THE PHOTOGRAPH ON ITS WEBSITE, SAYING IT 'INSULTS AND INJURES CHRISTIANS AT THE HEART OF THEIR FAITH'. THE EXHIBIT OPENED 12.DECEMBER.2010 AND IS TO RUN UNTIL 8.MAY.

GLENMORANGIE PRIDE

SCOTTISH DISTILLER GLENMORNGIE HAVE CREATED AN EXCLUSIVE NEW LIMITED EDITION SINGLE MALT CALLED GLENMORANGIE PRIDE. THE WHISKEY IS AGED 28 YEARS, FIRST IN BOURBON BARRELS FOR 18 YEARS AND A FURTHER 10 YEARS IN BARRELS PREVIOUSLY USED TO AGE CHATEAU D'YQUEM SAUTERNE WINE. ONLY ONE THOUSAND DECANTER WILL BE MADE AND COME IN A SPECIALLY DESIGNED WOODEN BOX.

GEORGE WASHINGTON LIBRARY BREAKS GROUND AT MOUNT VERNON

IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS GEORGE WASHINGTON WANTED TO DO BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO: BUILD A LIBRARY TO HOLD HIS OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL PAPERS. ON THURSDAY, MORE THAN 200 YEARS AFTER WASHINGTON WROTE OF THE IDEA, DIGNITARIES BROKE GROUND AT HIS MOUNT VERNON ESTATE ON A $47 MILLION PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY OF SORTS THAT THEY HOPE WILL EVOLVE INTO A 'THINK TANK' PROMOTING SCHOLARSHIP ABOUT ONE OF THE NATION'S FOUNDING FATHERS. THE ESTATE HOPES THE LIBRARY WILL BECOME A HOME TO A CENTRALIZED COLLECTION OF WASHINGTON'S PAPERS. THE PRESIDENT WROTE IN A 1797 LETTER, TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH, ABOUT A LIBRARY, SAYING HIS PAPERS WERE 'VOLUMINOUS AND MAY BE INTERESTING'. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES SAID AT THURSDAY'S CEREMONIES THAT NO ONE DESERVES A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY MORE THAN WASHINGTON. HIS LEADERSHIP AS PRESIDENT PROVIDES GUIDANCE EVEN TODAY, GATES SAID. GATES COMPARED WASHINGTON'S GUIDANCE DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE MODERN DILEMMA ABOUT HOW AMERICA SHOULD SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC-LEANING UPHEAVALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WASHINGTON, GATES SAID, WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN FRANCOPHILES LIKE THOMAS JEFFERSON WHO SAW A KINDRED SPIRIT BETWEEN FRENCH, AND AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARIES AND FEDERALISTS LIKE JOHN ADAMS AND ALEXANDER HAMILTON WHO WERE SHOCKED BY THE FRENCH REVOLUTION'S EXCESSES. ULTIMATELY, WASHINGTON EMBARKED ON A CAUTIOUS, PRAGMATIC STRATEGY THAT INCLUDED A DECLARATION OF NEUTRALITY TOWARD FRANCE AND STRUCK A PEACE TREATY WITH THE BRITISH LEADING SOME TO CONCLUDE WASHINGTON WAS 'SELLING OUT THE SPIRIT OF 1776', GATES SAID. 'FROM OUR EARLIEST DAYS AMERICAN LEADERS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH REALISTIC VERSUS IDEALISTIC APPROACHES' TO FOREIGN POLICY, GATES ADDED. THE LESSON FROM WASHINGTON, HE SAID, IS THAT 'WE ARE COMPELLED TO DEFEND OUR SECURITY AND INTERESTS IN WAYS THAT IN THE LONG RUN LEAD TO THE SPREAD OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS.' THE BUILDING WILL BE CALLED THE FRED W SMITH NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE STUDY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. MOUNT VERNON DIRECTOR JAMES REES SAID THE TERM 'PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY' COULD MISLEAD PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING THAT THE MOUNT VERNON LIBRARY WILL RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING, AS MODERN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES DO THROUGH THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION, WHICH HAS RUN THE ESTATE SINCE PURCHASING IT FROM THE WASHINGTON FAMILY IN 1858, HAS NEVER ACCEPTED GOVERNMENT FUNDS. THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF MONEY FOR THE LIBRARY CAME FROM THE LAS VEGAS-BASED DONALD W REYNOLDS FOUNDATION, WHICH CONTRIBUTED $38 MILLION. FRED W SMITH, THE FOUNDATION'S CHAIRMAN, HAS BEEN A MOUNT VERNON SUPPORTER SINCE 2001, AFTER BECOMING INVOLVED IN EFFORTS TO KEEP A FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON FROM BEING SOLD AT PRIVATE AUCTION. REES SAID THE LIBRARY WILL ALLOW THE ESTATE TO EXPAND ITS EXISTING TEACHER-TRAINING PROGRAMS AND HOST SEMINARS FOR GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS GROUPS ON TOPICS LIKE WASHINGTON'S VISION OF LEADERSHIP. THE ESTATE HAS NOT COMPLETED ITS FUNDRAISING. IT HAS SO FAR RAISED ABOUT $70 MILLION OF THE $100 MILLION THAT WILL BE NEEDED TO BUILD AND ENDOW THE LIBRARY, REES SAID. COMPLETION IS SCHEDULED FOR 2013.

SOTHEBY'S SELLS PAINTING ONCE OWNED BY BARYSHNIKOV

A 19th CENTURY PAINTING OF ST. PETERSBURG THAT MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV PURCHASED DECADES AGO, AND DEPICTING THE RUSSIAN CITY HE LOVED, WAS AUCTIONED RECENTLY FOR $746,500 TO BENEFIT THE FAMOUS DANCER'S NEW YORK CITY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SOTHEBY'S SALE WILL GO TOWARD NEW PROGRAMMING AT THE BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER. A GERMAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR PLACED THE WINNING BID BY TELEPHONE FOR 'VIEW OF ST PETERSBURG' BY PETER PETROVICH VERESHCHAGIN. THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE FOR THE STUNNING CITYSCAPE WAS $300,000 TO $500,000. BARYSHNIKOV RECENTLY DONATED THE PAINTING TO THE CENTER'S FOUNDATION SO IT COULD SELL IT TO RAISE MONEY TO DEVELOP NEW PROGRAMMING FROM THEATER DIRECTORS, MUSICIANS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS. BARYSHNIKOV SERVES AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER THAT HE FOUNDED IN 2005 AS A 'CREATIVE LABORATORY' AND PERFORMANCE SPACE FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. IT HOUSES FOUR STUDIOS, A STUDIO THEATER AND A 232-SEAT JEROME ROBBINS THEATER IN MANHATTAN's HELL's KITCHEN, OFFERING PERFORMANCES IN CHAMBER MUSIC, DANCE, THEATER AND VISUAL ARTS AND FILM SCREENINGS. IN A RECENT INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, BARYSHNIKOV SAID HE PURCHASED THE PAINTING AT A HELSINKI GALLERY AROUND 1978. WHILE IT HELD SENTIMENTAL VALUE BECAUSE HE 'SPENT THE BEST OF MY YOUTH' IN ST PETERSBURG, HE FELT THE MONEY FROM THE SALE COULD BE USED TO PRODUCE NEW ART AT HIS CENTER. 'THAT'S MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN A LOOK BACK AND BEING NOSTALGIC ABOUT THE PAST', HE SAID. BARYSHNIKOV SAID HIS NONPROFIT ARTS CENTER DID NOT YET HAVE AN ENDOWMENT AND RELIED ON DONATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATIONS. HE HAS ALREADY DONATED HUNDREDS OF WORKS FROM HIS EXTENSIVE 19th-20th CENTURY ART COLLECTION TO THE FOUNDATION BUT SAID THE VERESHCHAGIN WORK WAS THE FIRST TO BE SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ORGANIZATION. EVENTUALLY, BARYSHNIKOV SAID HE PLANNED TO DONATE ALL HIS ARTWORKS TO THE FOUNDATION.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL NEWLY DISCOVERED ROTHKO PAINTING

CHRISTIE'S ANNOUNCES THE AUCTION OF A PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED MASTERPIECE BY THE GREAT ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MARK ROTHKO, TO BE OFFERED AS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK ON 11.MAY. THE BOLDLY COLOURED 1961 PAINTING UNTITLED #17 COMES TO AUCTION WITH AN ESTIMATE OF $18,000,000-$20,000,000. THE PRESENT OWNER OF UNTITLED #17 ACQUIRED THE WORK DIRECTLY FROM ROTHKO, AND THE WORK HAS REMAINED IN PRIVATE HANDS SINCE 1965. IT IS ONE OF ONLY 10 PAINTINGS THAT HAVE COME TO LIGHT SINCE THE ROTHKO CATALOGUE RAISONNE WAS PUBLISHED IN 1998. THE DISCOVERED WORK WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE. DAVID ANFAM, AUTHOR OF THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE, MARK ROTHKO THE WORKS ON CANVAS, HAS WRITTEN A TEXT ON THE PAINTING AND HAS NOTED: 'RECENTLY COME TO LIGHT AFTER AN EXTENDED PERIOD IN PRIVATE HANDS, UNTITLED #17 FITS SQUARELY AMONG THE 22 HITHERTO DOCUMENT OILS ON CANVAS FROM 1961. LARGE, CLASSIC CANVASES THAT MANAGED TO ELUDE MY CATALOGUE RAINSONNE ARE UNCOMMON, AND MOST WELCOME. AT ITS PUBLICATION IN 1998, I COMPARE THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE PROJECT TO A SORT OF HOMECOMING, FOR A FAMILY OF WORKS THAT HAD BEEN SCATTERED AROUND THE WORLD BY TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCE INTO PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND EVEN FORGOTTEN PLACES. ABSENT FROM MY PAGES THEN, THE REDISCOVERY OF UNTITLED NO.17 ADDS ANOTHER INDELIBLE PRESENCE TO THE GREAT ROTHKO CANON.' ONE OF THE PRE-EMINENT ARTISTS IDENTIFIED WITH ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, ROTHKO EVOLVED HIS CLASSIC STYLE AT THE END OF THE 1940s, CREATING LARGE-SCALE CANVASES IN WHICH FORM AND COLOUR ARE ONE. ALTHOUGH OTHERS HAVE DESCRIBED THESE WORKS IN PURELY FORMAL TERMS, ROTHKO SPOKE OF THEM AS 'INTIMATE AND INTENSE', AND SAID THEY WERE MEANT TO BE EXPERIENCED AT CLOSE QUARTERS, SO THAT THE VIEWER GETS THE FEELING OF BEING 'WITHIN THE PICTURE', PARTICIPATING IN ITS HUMAN 'POIGNANCY'. UNTITLED #17 WAS PAINTED AT THE END OF THE DECADE ROTHKO'S CLASSIC WORK, WHEN HE RECEIVED THE MAJOR COMMISSIONS FOR THE FOUR SEASONS RESTAURANT, THE HOLYOKE CENTER AT HARVARD AND THE DE MENIL CHAPEL IN HOUSTON THAT ALTERED THE DIRECTION OF HIS OF HIS ART.