EARL AND COUNTESS OF WESSEX WILL ATTEND SWEDEN'S ROYAL WEDDING

THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF WESSEX WILL BE THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY'S REPRESENTATIVES AT THE WEDDING OF VICTORIA OF SWEDEN AND DANIEL WESTLING ON 19.JUNE, BUCKINGHAM PALACE HAS ANNOUNCED. PRINCE EDWARD AND SOPHIE, COUNTESS OF WESSEX WILL HOST AN OFFICIAL RECEPTION FOR THE COUPLE ABOARD HMS KENT, BEFORE REPRESENTING THE QUEEN AT THE CEREMONY ITSELF AT STOCKHOLM'S CATHEDRAL. WITH THE WEDDING COINCIDING WITH ROYAL ASCOT WEEK, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY HAVE FULL AGENDAS AND WILL BE UNABLE TO ATTEND. PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY WILL BE REPRESENTING BRITAIN AT THE WORLD CUP IN SOUTH AFRICA. HOWEVER, OTHER ROYAL FAMILIES FROM EUROPE AND BEYOND HAVE ALSO BEEN CONFIRMING WHICH OF THEIR MEMBERS WILL BE ATTENDING THE MUCH ANTICIPATED NUPTIALS. ONE OF THE BEST REPRESENTED ROYAL HOUSEHOLDS WILL BE THAT OF THE NETHERLANDS. QUEEN BEATRIX, CROWN PRINCE WILLEM-ALEXANDER, CROWN PRINCESS MAXIMA AND THEIR DAUGHTER AMALIA, WHO IS VICTORIA'S GODDAUGHTER AND WILL ACT AS A BRIDESMAID AT THE CEREMONY, WILL ALL BE PRESENT. JOINING THEM WILL BE BEATRIX'S OTHER TWO SONS, PRINCE CONSTANIJN AND PRINCE FRISO, ALONG WITH THEIR WIVES PRINCESS LAURENTIEN AND PRINCESS MABEL. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK WILL ALSO BE WELL REPRESENTED, WITH QUEEN MARGRETHE, PRINCE HENRICK, CROWN PRINCE FREDERIK, CROWN PRINCE MARY ALL ATTENDING. FREDERIK AND MARY'S SON WILL ALSO ACT AS A PAGE BOY. COMPLETING THE DANISH ROYAL PARTY WILL BE MARGRETHE'S SISTER PRINCESS BENEDIKTE, HER HUSBAND RICHARD SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN-BERLEBURG AND THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR PARTNERS. FROM NORWAY, KING HARALD AND QUEEN SONJA WILL GO, ALONG WITH CROWN PRINCE HAAKON, CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT, PRINCESS MARTHA LOUISA AND HER HUSBAND, ARI BEHN. IT'S NOT YET KNOWN WHETHER HAAKON AND METTE-MARIT'S DAUGHTER INGRID ALEXANDER, ALSO GODDAUGHTER TO VICTORIA, WILL MAKE THE TRIP AND BE A BRIDESMAID.

REMY MARTIN CELEBRATES CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

REMY MARTIN FINE CHAMPAGNE COGNAC RECENTLY CELEBRATED ITS SPECIAL ASSOCIATION WITH THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL BY PRODUCING AN EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION VSOP DRESSED IN A STUNNING RED LIVERY. DURING THE 2010 FESTIVAL LAST MONTH, A JEROBOAM OF REMY MARTIN VSOP CANNES FESTIVAL LIMITED EDITION WAS AUTOGRAPHED BY TIM BURTON, PRESIDENT OF THE JURY, AS WELL AS ALL EIGHT MEMBERS OF THIS YEAR'S JURY. THE THREE LITER BOTTLE WILL BE AUCTIONED IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF REMY MARTIN'S CHARITY OF CHOICE 'KEEP A CHILD ALIVE' , WHICH WORKS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WITH HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA AND INDIA. ONLY 2,000 OF THE ONE LITER LIMITED EDITION BOTTLES WERE PRODUCED AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR SALE AT SELECT STORES AT SOME OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST AIRPORTS, INCLUDING PARIS, NICE, ATLANTA, LOS ANGELES AND MOSCOW.

DE GRISOGONO RUBY RING

GENEVA BASED LUXURY JEWELERS DE GRISOGONO HAVE CREATED A STUNNING RING OUT OF A UNIQUE ONE OF A KIND RUBY. THE CENTER STONE IS A MARQUISE CUT BURMESE RUBY SET WITH PAVE BLACK DIAMONDS IN EIGHTEEN CARAT WHITE GOLD. THE DESIGN FEATURES AN EXCEPTIONAL PERSONALIZED DESIGN MIX, MODERN LUXURY AND SOPHISTICATION HAS BEEN ADDED TO MAKE THE BURMA RUBY STAND OUT. THE RING IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM DE GRISOGONO BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

BANKSY CREATE 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!' MURAL AT PRIMROSE HILL PUB

GRAFFITI ARTIST BANKSY HAS 'STRUCK' IN YET ANOTHER NIGHT-TIME RAID, PRODUCING A MURAL ON THE WALL OF A PRIMROSE HILL PUB. THE MANAGERS OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES, KAREN AND LAWRENCE SANTI, WERE INITIALLY UPSET TO DISCOVER THERE HAD BEEN AN INTRUDER OVERNIGHT BEFORE DISCOVERING THE UNINVITED GUEST WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE FAMOUS MYSTERY ARTIST, WHO PRODUCES MOST OF HIS WORKS UNDETECTED AND CLOSELY GUARDS HIS IDENTITY. BANKSY'S WORK HAS BEEN SOLD FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS. SANTO REVEALED HER HUSBAND WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN PAINTING OVER THE OUTDOOR MURAL OF A LION AND LITTLE GIRL, ABOVE WHICH THE MESSAGE 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!' IS WRITTEN IN RED PAINT, WHEN THEY LEARNED THE IDENTITY OF THE ARTIST. SHE SAID THE ARTIST HAD MOST LIKELY ENTERED THROUGH A GATE THAT WAS ACCIDENTALLY LEFT OPEN, OR BY USING A STEPLADDER CAPTURED IN THE CCTV FOOTAGE. WHILE THE FOOTAGE OF THE INCIDENT SHOWS BANKSY CLEARLY, HIS FACE IS COVERED BY A HOODED TOP. THE FOOTAGE, WHICH BEGINS AT ABOUT 1am, SHOWS HIM SETTING UP A LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE HIS 'CANVAS' AND STANDING BACK TO APPRAISE HIS WORK. WHILE THERE IS NO CONCRETE PROOF THE WORK BELONGS TO BANKSY, THE SIGNATURE ON A BALLOON STRING IN THE MURAL APPEARS TO BE HIS.

INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT SCULPTURES FROM THE MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO

THE INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART ANNOUNCES THAT IT WILL RECEIVE A LONG-TERM LOAN OF SEVERAL ANCIENT SCULPTURES FROM THE MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO, ROME IN JANUARY 2011. ON LOAN FOR A RENEWABLE TWO YEAR PERIOD, THE OBJECTS INCLUDE THREE LIFE-SIZE PORTRAIT BUSTS AND A MARBLE FUNERARY URN FROM THE VIGNA CODINI COLUMBARIUM II, A MAJOR ROMAN TOMB DISCOVERED IN 1847. THE LOAN OF THE VIGNA CODINI TOMB GROUP IS AN EXAMPLE OF NEW TYPES OF LOANS THAT THE ITALY-US MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, SIGNED IN 2003, IS INTENDED TO FOSTER. WHILE OTHER MAJOR US MUSEUMS HAVE RECENTLY HAD LONG-TERM LOANS FROM ITALY, MOST HAVE BEEN IN CONNECTION WITH THE RETURN OF OBJECTS DISCOVERED TO HAVE BEEN ILLEGALLY EXPORTED. THE IMA's PRESENTATION OF SCULPTURES FROM THE VIGNA CODINI TOMB WILL ASSEMBLE THE CONTENTS OF THIS REMARKABLE DISCOVERY AND GIVE UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO THE ORIGINAL FIRST CENTURY AD PRESENTATION OF MAJOR EXAMPLES OF ROMAN ART. THE VIGNA CODINI TOMB IS AN INTRIGUING SITE THAT PROVIDES GREAT INSIGHT INTO ROMAN LIFE. DISCOVERED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF ROME IN 1847, THE TOMB WAS PAID FOR BY A CORPORATION OF FREED SLAVES, WHO SOLD SHARES IN 295 FUNERARY NICHES INTENDED TO HOLD THE ASHES OF THE DEAD. SOME OF THE NICHES WERE ALSO DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE SCULPTURAL COMMISSIONS THAT COMMEMORATE THOSE BURIED WITHIN, THE SURVIVING THREE OF WHICH WILL BE ON VIEW AT THE IMA. THESE PORTRAITS DEPICTS HIGH-RANKING SERVANTS IN THE EMPLOY OF THE FIRST IMPERIAL FAMILY OF ROME, TO JUDGE FROM THE FACT THAT THEY ARE AMONG THE FEW TO MERIT SCULPTED COMMEMORATIONS IN MARBLE.

BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART RECEIVES LARGE GIFT OF PRINTS

THE BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART, BRUNSWICK, ME, ANNOUNCED AN EXTRAORDINARY GIFT TO ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION FROM THE LONG-TIME FRIEND AND GENEROUS DONOR CHARLES PENDEXTER. TOTALING MORE THAN 1,500 PRINTS AND EIGHT DRAWINGS, THE PENDEXTER COLLECTION EXPANDS THE BREADTH OF BOWDOIN'S ALREADY RICH PRINT HOLDINGS, INCREASING THEM BY 20%. THE SIGNIFICANT GIFT INCLUDES MASTERPIECES BY ARTISTS SUCH AS ALBRECHT DURER, REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, EDOUARD MANET AND GIORGIO MORANDI, AMONG OTHERS, AND MULTIPLE WORKS BY HENDRICK GOLTZIUS AND HONORE DAUMIER. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE RARE FIRST EDITIONS BY FRANSISCO DE GOYA'S DISASTERS OF WAR AND PROVERBIOS SERIES, BOTH FROM THE EARLY 19th CENTURY. CONSIDERATION FOR THE FUTURE OF HIS PRINTS PROMPTED PENDEXTER TO GIVE HIS COLLECTION TO THE BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART. HE HAS ALWAYS APPLAUDED THE MUSEUM'S COMMITMENT TO THE COLLECTING AND STUDY OF PRINTS, AN AREA OF FOCUS CULTIVATED BY PREVIOUS DIRECTORS, AND CONTINUED BY THE CURRENT DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM. PENDEXTER SEES BOWDOIN AS A FITTING HOME FOR HIS SWEEPING COLLECTION, KNOWING THE VALUABLE RESOURCE IT WILL BECOME FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STUNNING GIFT WILL BE SHOWED IN THE SUMMER EXHIBITION 'SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: MASTER PRINTS FROM THE CHARLES PENDEXTER COLLECTION', ON VIEW IN THE BECKER GALLERY FROM 16.JUNE THROUGH 29.AUGUST.

$2.5 MILLION SOCCER BALL

JUST IN TIME FOR THE 2010 FOOTBALL WORLD CUP, SA JEWELERS HAS RECENTLY UNVEILED A UNIQUE $2.5 MILLION SOCCER BALL. WEIGHING IN AT AROUND 2.2 KILOGRAMS, THE SHIMANSKY SOCCER BALL IS MADE FROM 6,620 WHITE AND 2,640 BLACK BRILLIANT CUT SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS, GIVING A TOTAL WEIGHT OF 3,500 CARATS. 'IT TOOK ABOUT THREE MONTHS FROM CONCEPTION OF DESIGN TO MANUFACTURE OF THE FIRST CRYSTAL SOCCER BALL', SAYS MICHELE MEYER. MARKETING MANAGER FOR SHIMANSKY. SHE ADDED: 'THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE BEFORE. IT IS TOTALLY YAIR SHIMANSKY'S IDEA TO GET ENTHUSIASM FOR THE WORLD CUP AND DO SOMETHING FROM A JEWELER'S PERSPECTIVE TO COMMEMORATE THE EVENT IN SA. IF YOU SEE THE REPLICA IT IS QUITE MESMERIZING, YOU CAN STAND AND WATCH IT FOREVER.' SHIMANSKY IS CURRENTLY IN TALKS WITH A EUROPEAN SOCCER CLUB ABOUT SELLING THE BEJEWELED SOCCER BALL TO THEM AS A 2010 COMMEMORATIVE DISPLAY PIECE FOR THEIR CLUB. APART FROM THEIR STUNNING CREATION, SHIMANSKY IS ALSO OFFERING EXACT REPLICAS MADE IN CRYSTAL ALONG WITH A UNISEX WORLD CUP DOME RING OF 9.3 CARATS OF DIAMONDS AND A PAIR OF SILVER SOCCER BOOT CUFF-LINKS.