JEWELRY ONCE BELONGING TO POPE PAUL VI TO BE AUCTIONED

IN THE MOST UNLIKELY LOCATION OF A NORTH CAROLINA JEWELRY STORE NEAR THE BEACH, A LAVISHLY JEWELED CROSS AND A RING ONCE OWNED BY POPE PAUL VI SIT UNDER LOCK AND KEY, AWAITING TRANSFER TO AN EVEN LESS FAMILIAR VENUE FOR SYMBOLS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC AUTHORITY: AN eBAY AUCTION. THE ITEMS HAVE TURNED UP AT A WILMINGTON STORE OWNED BY A SOUTHERN BAPTIST WITH A FLAIR FOR SELF-PROMOTION. IT'S THE LATEST STOP IN A STRANGE JOURNEY INVOLVING LUMINARIES RANGING FROM UN SECRETARY GENERAL U THANT TO EVEL KNIEVEL, AND WHICH BEGAN WITH PAUL VI's NOVEL DECISION TO ALLOW SOME OF HIS JEWELRY TO BE SOLD TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY. ONE OF THE ITEMS IS A PECTORAL CROSS, GIVEN TO CLERGY WHO ATTAIN THE RANK OF BISHOP OR HIGHER TO SIGNIFY THEIR OFFICE. THE POPE'S DONATION WAS A TESTAMENT TO HIS WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD BY DE-EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF SUCH REGALIA. 'THIS IS NEW FOR ME', SAID JEWELRY STORE OWNER ALAN PERRY, WHO THINKS THE ITEMS MIGHT FETCH $800,000 TO $900,000 AT AUCTION. 'THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO PUT IT UP ON eBAY. IT'S ONLY WORTH WHAT SOMEONE'S WILLING TO PAY FOR IT, AND eBAY MIGHT BA A GOOD MEASURE TO SEE IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED.' PERRY WAS ENLISTED BY A WIDOW IN WILMINGTON WHOSE HUSBAND HAD BOUGHT THE RING AND CROSS IN THE 1970s. A NEW YORK FIRM HAD TRIED TO SELL THE ITEMS FOR $1.25 MILLION, BUT HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND A BUYER. AFTER SERVING THE BOARD OF A LOCAL CHARITY WITH PERRY, THE WOMAN ASKED IF HE WOULD TRY HIS LUCK. IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT HIS STORE, PERRY's EMPORIUM, HAS MADE HEADLINES. PERRY APPEARED ON ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA AFTER HE VOWED LAST YEAR TO REFUND THE COST OF JEWELRY BOUGHT OVER A TWO-WEEK PERIOD IF A CITY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS HAD THREE INCHES OF SNOW ON CHRISTMAS. IT DID, AND HE PAID OUT ROUGHLY $400,000 THAT WAS COVERED BY INSURANCE. HE PLANS TO PUT THE CROSS AND RING ON PUBLIC DISPLAY STARTING 14.APRIL THROUGH HOLY WEEK WITH AN ARMED GUARD. THE VATICAN CONFIRMED THAT THE ITEMS ARE THE 'PERSONAL' RING AND PECTORAL CROSS OF PAUL VI. EACH POPE'S OFFICIAL RING IS SMASHED WITH A HAMMER WHEN HE DIES. PAUL VI IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED, PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE ENDURING POPULARITY OF THE PONTIFFS WHOSE REIGNS BRACKETED HIS. HE SUCCEEDED THE CHARISMATIC JOHN XXIII, WHO CALLED THE HISTORIC SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL. AFTER PAUL's DEATH IN 1978, THE NEXT POPE DIED ROUGHLY A MONTH LATER, TO BE FOLLOWED BY JOHN PAUL II, REVERED BY CATHOLICS AND NON-CATHOLICS AROUND THE WORLD. THE FIRST PONTIFF TO REALLY TRAVEL THE GLOBE, PAUL VI DONATED THE RING AND CROSS DURING A 1965 VISIT TO THE UN. HE INTENDED THE ITEMS TO BE AUCTIONED AND THE PROCEEDS USED TO RELIEVE HUMAN SUFFERING. THEY WERE BOUGHT IN 1967 FOR $64,000 BY CHICAGO JEWELER HARRY LEVINSON, WITH THE MONEY BEING SPLIT AMONG FOUR UN AGENCIES. THE ITEMS CHANGED HANDS SEVERAL TIMES AFTER THAT, INCLUDING A PERIOD WHEN THEY WERE OWNED BY EVEL KNIEVEL, ACCORDING TO A 2004 BIOGRAPHY OF THE DAREDEVIL, WHICH REFEREED TO THE ITEMS AS KNIEVEL's 'MOST EXTRAVAGANT JEWELRY PURCHASE' IN AN INVENTORY THAT ALSO INCLUDED A 13 CARAT DIAMOND RING SHAPED LIKE A MOTORCYCLE. POPE PAUL VI ALSO DONATED HIS PAPAL TIARA, THE THREE-TIERED CROWN SYMBOLIZING THE POPE's AUTHORITY, AS A FUNDRAISING TOOL TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA. IT REMAINS ON DISPLAY AT THE BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE, AND NONE OF HIS SUCCESSORS HAVE BEEN CROWNED WITH TIARAS.

EDWARD M KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE UNITED STATES BREAKS GROUND IN BOSTON

GROUND WAS BROKEN FOR THE EDWARD M KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE UNITED STATES, SITUATED ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON. THE HISTORIC PROJECT WILL STAND BESIDE THE EXISTING JOHN F KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, ENCOURAGING VISITORS TO EXPLORE BOTH BUILDINGS. THE NEW FACILITY WILL HOUSE PARTICIPATORY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN THE SYSTEMS OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND HEIGHTEN AWARENESS OF THE US SENATE'S ROLE IN THE GOVERNMENT. THE FACILITY WILL CONSIST OF ROUGHLY 40,000 SQUARE FEET OF PROGRAM SPACE, COMPRISED MAINLY OF CLASSROOM, EDUCATIONAL EXHIBITS, AND A REPRESENTATION OF THE SENATE CHAMBER. THE INSTITUTE'S OVERALL SITE PLAN HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO WORK IN HARMONY WITH IM PEI'S NEIGHBORING JOHN F KENNEDY LIBRARY. THE DESIGN INCLUDES AN INNOVATIVE COMPOSITE CLADDING, WHICH WRAPS THE EXTERIOR OF THE CHAMBER REPRESENTATION. THE CLADDING IS VISUALLY SEPARATED FROM THE 1-STORY VOLUME BY A RIBBON SKYLIGHT, WHICH RUNS ABOVE THE GROUND-FLOOR EXHIBITION SPACE. THE COMPLETE DEVELOPMENT WILL BOAST A LARGE EXPANSE OF OUTDOOR PUBLIC SPACE, GUIDING VISITORS TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING. THE PUBLIC GREEN SPACE IS BORDERED BY TWO TRIANGULAR VOLUMES, WHICH DEFINE THE ENTRY TO THE BUILDING AND GEOMETRICALLY CONNECT THE INSTITUTE TO THE JOHN F KENNED LIBRARY. THE EXTERIOR OPEN SPACE IS A LINK BETWEEN THE INSTITUTE, THE JOHN F KENNEDY LIBRARY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON CAMPUS, WHILE ALSO ACTING AS A CONNECTION TO THE WATERFRONT AND BOSTON HARBOR WALK. THE ENTRANCE APPROACH IS DESIGNED TO INCORPORATE COMPONENTS FROM EACH OF THE 50 STATES AND ENHANCE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND THE ENTIRE NATION. THE SENATE CHAMBER REPRESENTATION IS THE HEART OF THE INSTITUTE, AND WILL FACILITATE INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, SUCH AS AN IMMERSIVE MULTI-PLAYER SOCIAL EXPERIENCE, ACTIVATED BY 100 INTERACTIVE DESKS, BRINGING PARTICIPATING DEEP INSIDE THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS. CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH GAME DESIGNER ERIC ZIMMERMAN, THE ROLE-PLAYING EXPERIENCE WILL GUIDE GROUPS THROUGH HISTORICALLY ACCURATE EVENTS, WITH THE VISITORS DETERMINING THE OUTCOME. HIGHLY SOCIAL BY DESIGN, THE IMMERSIVE ACTIVITIES WILL ENABLE PARTICIPANTS TO ENGAGE IN NEGOTIATION, DEBATE, CAUCUSES AND VOTES. THE INSTITUTE WILL ALSO FEATURE A RECREATION OF THE ACTUAL OFFICE OF SENATOR KENNEDY.

MFA, BOSTON, TO PRESENT 'CHIHULY: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS'

GLASS ARTIST DALE CHIHULY SAYS HIS WELL OF INSPIRATION NEVER RUNS DRY, EVEN AFTER SOME 40 YEARS PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF HIS MEDIUM. 'JUST WORKING WITH THE MATERIAL BRINGS FORTH A LOT OF IDEAS, IN BOTH THE GLASS BLOWING AND IN WORKING WITH THE GLASS AFTER IT'S BEEN BLOWN', CHIHULY SAID ON THE SIDELINES OF HIS MAJOR NEW EXHIBIT AT BOSTON'S MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. 'CHIHULY: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS', 12 INSTALLATIONS THAT LIVE UP TO THEIR ALICE IN WONDERLAND BILLING, OPENS ON 10.APRIL AND WILL RUN THROUGH AUGUST IN THE RECENTLY OPENED ART OF THE AMERICAS WING. THE EXHIBIT FEATURES A MIX OF NEW AND EARLY WORKS FROM CHIHULY, PERHAPS THE FOREMOST ARTIST NOW WORKING IN GLASS AND, WITH HIS DISTINCTIVE CURLY HAIR AND EYE PATCH, CERTAINLY THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE. THE INSTALLATIONS CONTAIN SOME 7,000 INDIVIDUAL PIECES, INCLUDING MILLE FIORI (ITALIAN FOR 'A THOUSAND FLOWERS'), A 58 FOOT LONG INSTALLATION DISPLAYED IN A DARKENED ROOM. NEODYMIUM REEDS ON LOGS IS A SERIES OF TALL, PURPLE GLASS RODS SET AGAINST FRESHLY-CUT MAINE BIRCH, WHILE PERSIAN CEILING EVOKES A MADLY COLOURED SEASCAPE. THE 42 FOOT TALL LIME GREEN ICICLE TOWER, INSTALLED IN A HIGH-CEILINGED COURTYARD, WEIGHS SOME 10,000 POUNDS AND COMPRISES OVER 2,300 INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF GLASS. 'I TEND TO DO THINGS ON A HUGE SCALE BECAUSE IT'S EXCITING. I LIKE TO PUSH THINGS IN NEW AND DIFFERENT WAYS', CHIHULY SAID. 'MY PHILOSOPHY IS: WHEN ONE IS GOOD, A DOZEN IS BETTER.' 'THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS' WAS SOME 18 MONTHS IN THE PLANNING AND CONCEPTION BEFORE ARRIVING IN BOSTON IN SIX GIANT CONTAINERS FOR A THREE-WEEK ASSEMBLY MARATHON. THE WORKS WERE CREATED IN CHIHULY'S TWO FACILITIES IN SEATTLE, THE BOATHOUSE, THE 'HOT SHOP' WHERE THE GLASS PIECES ARE BLOWN, AND THE BALLARD STUDIO, WHICH HAS 25 FOOT CEILINGS TO HELP PUT LARGE INSTALLATIONS TOGETHER. CHIHULY SAID HE DOESN'T TRY TO ANTICIPATE HOW VIEWERS WILL RESPOND TO HIS CREATIONS, BUT HOPES HIS WORK WILL LIFT UP THEIR SPIRITS. 'PEOPLE RESPOND TO THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. IF YOU COULD RECORD WHAT PEOPLE WERE THINKING, THERE WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS VARIATION', HE SAID.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S COLLECTION

ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S RENOWNED COLLECTION OF JEWELRY, WORKS OF ART, CLOTHING AND MEMORABILIA WILL BE SOLD AT A SERIES OF AUCTIONS, CHRISTIE'S RECENTLY ANNOUNCED. 'CHRISTIE'S WILL BE SELLING THE HISTORIC COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR', WHO DIED LAST MONTH IN LOS ANGELES AGED 79, THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID IN A STATEMENT. TAYLOR'S POSSESSIONS WILL BE SOLD IN A SERIES OF SALES, DETAILS AND THE TIMING OF THE SALES WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE, IT SAID. STEPHEN LASH, CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, AND MARC PORTER, CHAIRMAN OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS WORKED WITH TAYLOR AND HER FAMILY 'OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, AND ARE MOST HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH COLLECTION OF THIS WORLD RENOWNED FILM LEGEND, HUMANITARIAN AND TASTE MAKER', SAID THE STATEMENT. TAYLOR, KNOWN FOR HER BEAUTY, LOVE OF DIAMONDS, EIGHT MARRIAGES AND WORK AS AN AIDS ACTIVIST, DIED OF CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE IN LOS ANGELES ON 23.MARCH AND WAS BURIED THE FOLLOWING DAY. CHRISTIE'S STATEMENT REGARDING THE SALE OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S COLLECTION IS AS FOLLOWS:

'STEPHEN LASH, CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, AND MARC PORTER, CHAIRMAN OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, TODAY CONFIRMED THAT CHRISTIE'S WILL BE SELLING THE HISTORIC COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR, INCLUDING HER COLLECTION OF JEWELRY, WORKS OF ART, FASHION AND MEMORABILIA, IN A SERIES OF SALES THAT WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER THIS SEASON. FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME. MESSRS. LASH AND PORTER AND THEIR COLLEAGUES WORKED WITH ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND HER FAMILY OVER THAT PAST TWO DECADES AND ARE MOST HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THE COLLECTION OF THIS WORLD RENOWNED FILM LEGEND, HUMANITARIAN AND TASTE MAKER.'

MFA, BOSTON, DISCOVERS PROVENANCE OF 17th CENTURY TAPESTRIES

PROVENANCE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON (MFA), HAS RESULTED IN NEW DISCOVERIES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF OWNERSHIP OF FOUR 17th CENTURY TAPESTRIES IN THE MFA's COLLECTION. THE MUSEUM's RESEARCH REVEALED THAT THE TAPESTRIES, GIVEN TO THE MFA IN THE 1950s BY EUGENE GARBATY, A GERMAN JEWISH ART COLLECTOR AND REFUGEE, HAD BEEN INCLUDED IN A FORCED SALE IN 1935 OF THE STOCK OF THE ART DEALER MARGRAF & CO IN BERLIN, A FIRM RUN BY JAKOB AND ROSA OPPENHEIMER. THE MFA CONTACTED THE OPPENHEIMER HEIRS IN 2010 TO INFORM THEM OF THE DISCOVERY AND TO BEGIN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS, WHICH CONCLUDED RECENTLY. THE FOUR TAPESTRIES (EACH MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 222 x 48 INCHES) WERE PART OF A LARGER SERIES THAT DEPICTED THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF POPE URBAN VIII. THE ENTIRE SERIES, BEGUN IN 1663 AND FINISHED IN 1679, WAS COMMISSIONED AFTER THE POPE'S DEATH BY HIS NEPHEW, CARDINAL FRANCESCO BARBERINI. THE TAPESTRIES HUNG IN THE BARBERINI PALACE IN ROME UNTIL THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, WHEN THE SERIES WAS DISASSEMBLED AND SOLD. ORIGINALLY, THERE WERE 34 TAPESTRIES MADE OUT OF COLOURFUL WOOL AND SILK. AMONG THEM WERE 10 LARGER NARRATIVE PANELS, OF WHICH NINE ARE NOW IN THE VATICAN MUSEUM IN ROME, AND ONE IS IN THE MUSEES ROYAUX D'ART ET HISTOIRE IN BRUSSELS. THE SERIES ALSO INCLUDES 10 HORIZONTAL BORDER PANELS, CALLED FRIEZES, AND 14 VERTICAL BORDER PANELS, KNOWN AS PILASTERS. BY 1928, EIGHT OF THE PILASTERS FROM THE SERIES, INCLUDING THE FOUR AT THE MFA, WERE OWNED BY MARGRAF IN BERLIN. IN 1933, THE OPPENHEIMERS, WHO WERE JEWISH, FLED GERMANY TO AVOID NAZI PERSECUTION AND RELOCATED TO FRANCE. IN THEIR ABSENCE, THEY WERE FORCED OUT OF THEIR MANAGEMENT ROLES AT MAGRAF AND WERE FORBIDDEN FROM PERFORMING ANY LEGAL TRANSACTIONS FOR THE COMPANY. AS A WELL-KNOWN JEWISH BUSINESS, MARGRAF WAS DISSOLVED BY THE NAZI REGIME, ITS GALLERY STOCK SOLD OFF QUICKLY AND AT LOW PRICES IN A SERIES OF AUCTION HELD IN BERLIN IN 1935. THE EIGHT BARBERINI TAPESTRIES WERE INCLUDED IN THE MARGRAF LIQUIDATION SALE HELD AT THE AUCTION HOUSE PAUL GRAUPE ON 26-27.APRIL.1935. DISCOVERY OF THIS INFORMATION BY VICTORIA REED, THE MFA's MONICA S SADLER CURATOR FOR PROVENANCE, HELPED TO DETERMINE THAT THE TAPESTRIES WERE INCLUDED IN THE FORCED SALE, FROM WHICH THE OPPENHEIMERS WERE UNABLE TO REALIZE THE PROCEEDS. THE MUSEUM THEN CONTACTED THEIR HEIRS. JAKOB AND ROSA OPPENHEIMER LOST THEIR LIVES BEFORE THE END OF WORLD WAR II. AFTER THE WAR, THE BUSINESS SHARES IN MARGRAF WERE LEGALLY TRANSFERRED TO THEIR HEIRS, BUT ALMOST NONE OF THE GALLERY'S ARTWORK WAS RECOVERED.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT

AN ANDY WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT PURCHASED IN 1963 FOR $1,600 ON AN INSTALLMENT PLAN IS POISED TO FETCH $30 MILLION OR MORE WHEN IT GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY. 'SELF-PORTRAIT', A FOUR-PANEL ACRYLIC SILKSCREEN DEPICTING THE POP ARTIST WEARING A TRENCH COAT AND SUNGLASSES, IS BEING SOLD BY THE FAMILY OF DETROIT COLLECTOR FLORENCE BARRON. BARRON FIRST COMMISSIONED WARHOL TO PAINT HER PORTRAIT, BUT CHANGED HER MIND AND SUGGESTED THE YOUNG ARTIST DEPICT HIMSELF, TELLING HIM, 'NOBODY KNOWS ME...THEY WANT TO SEE YOU'. THE RESULT WAS WARHOL'S FIRST SELF PORTRAIT, FOUR IMAGES TAKEN IN A COIN-OPERATED PHOTO-BOOTH RENDERED IN HUES OF BLUE. 'MY MOTHER DIDN'T LOOK AT COLLECTING IN TERMS OF 'IS THIS IMPORTANT OT NOT IMPORTANT', GUY BARRON TOLD REUTERS. SHE LOOKED AT IT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT RESONATED WITH HER, AND OF 'I WANT TO LIVE WITH IT', IT WAS NOT DONE AS SOME PEOPLE DO TODAY, AS WALL POWER.' THE PORTRAIT GRACED THE LIVING ROOM WALL OF THE FAMILY HOME IN DETROIT. IT ALSO WENT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY, SERVING AS THE COVER IMAGE FOR CATALOGS FROM MAJOR WARHOL EXHIBITIONS AND RETROSPECTIVES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK AND THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BILBAO, SPAIN. BRETT GORVY, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL CO-HEAD AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART, SAID THE WORK MARKED THE BEGINNING OF WARHOL'S OWN STARDOM. 'WITH DARK GLASSES AN OBLIVIOUS GAZE, WARHOL WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN CREATING A NEW ARCHETYPE OF GLAMOR', GORVY SAID. 'THE PAINTING IS REMARKABLE NOT ONLY FOR ITS VISUAL IMPACT AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PHOTO-BOOTH GENRE, BUT FOR MARKING A KEY MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF ART, WHEN WARHOL TAKES HIS PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF CELEBRITY ALONGSIDE MARILYN, ELIZABETH AND ELVIS.' BARRON, WHOSE FAMILY INCLUDES TWO MARRIED SONS AND SEVERAL GRANDCHILDREN, SAID THEY WERE AUCTIONING THE WORK BECAUSE 'DIVIDING IS NOT POSSIBLE, SO SELLING MAKES THE MOST SENSE.' THE RECORD FOR A WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT IS $32.6 MILLION SET LAST MAY AT SOTHEBY'S IN NEW YORK. THE RECORD PRICE FOR ANY WARHOL SOLD AT AUCTION IS 'GREEN CAR CRASH (GREEN BURNING CAR I)' WHICH CHRISTIE'S SOLD FOR $71.7 IN 2007.

BOUCHERON CIRQUE DU SOLEIL COLLECTION

PARISIAN LUXURY JEWELER BOUCHERON HAS RELEASED A STUNNING AND UNIQUE SERIES OF ONE OFF PIECES TO CELEBRATE THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL. THE SERIES FEATURES TWENTY DIFFERENT PIECES AND CELEBRATES TWENTY OF THE BEST SHOWS PUT ON BY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AROUND THE WORLD. EACH PIECE IS DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT AND USES A WIDE VARIETY OF GEMSTONES.