INAUGURAL SALE FROM THE KENO AUCTIONS ACHIEVED $5,818,460 IN SALES

THE INAUGURAL SALE FROM THE KENO AUCTIONS, WHICH TOOK PLACE 1-2.MAY AT THE MARRIOTT STAMFORD HOTEL IN CONNECTICUT, ACHIEVED $5,818,460 IN SALES, OVER ITS PRE-SALE HIGH ESTIMATE WITH 87.5%OF THE 741 LOTS FINDING BUYERS, AND ESTABLISHED THREE WORLD SALES RECORDS. KENO AUCTIONS' PRESIDENT LEIGH KENO ANNOUNCED ON 5.MAY THAT POST-SALE ACTIVITY BROUGHT THE TOTAL TO $6,014,000. THE TOP LOT OF THE SALE WAS THE JAMES BEEKMAN CHIPPENDALE CARVED MAHOGANY CHEST OF DRAWERS FROM THE SHOP OF THOMAS BROOKMAN WITH CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO HENRY HARDCASTLE, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1752. THE HISTORIC LOT INCITED A HEATED BIDDING WAR BETWEEN DEALER TODD PRICKET, ON THE PHONE, AND NOTED AMERICAN COLLECTOR JOHN MCGRAW, WHO WAS IN THE ROOM. MCGRAW PREVAILED, WINNING THE CHEST WITH A FINAL BID OF $1,428,000, MORE THAN TWICE THE HIGH END OF ITS $200/600,000 ESTIMATE, AND SETTING A WORLD RECORD FOR A PIECE OF NEW YORK FURNITURE SOLD AT AUCTION. ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING PRICE WAS ALSO ACHIEVED FOR THE PORTRAIT OF ANNA BRODHEAD OLIVER, ATTRIBUTED TO GANSEVOORT LIMNER, KINGSTON, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1743 (est. $40/80,000). THE BIDDING STARTED AT $50,000 AND RAPIDLY SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS, FINALLY SELLING FOR $1,118,600, ESTABLISHING A RECORD FOR AN 18th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART. A THIRD HISTORIC MILESTONE WAS ATTAINED WHEN A PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER ROCOCO SAUCE-BOATS BY PAUL REVERE, JR, BOSTON, CIRCA 1783 (est. $50/100,000) SOLD FOR $190,400, SETTING THE RECORD FOR A PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER. KENO AUCTIONS' NEXT SALE WILL BE A MAJOR AMERICANA AUCTION JANUARY 2011 IN NEW YORK.

HARRODS SOLD TO QATARI ROYAL FAMILY FOR £1.5 BILLION

LONDON'S ICONIC LUXURY DEPARTMENT STORE HARRODS HAS BEEN SOLD FOR £1.5 BILLION FOLLOWING MOHAMED AL FAYED'S DECISION TO RETIRE. JUST WEEKS AFTER INSISTING THE EXCLUSIVE KNIGHTSBRIDGE STORE WAS NOT UP FOR SALE, AL FAYED RECONSIDERED AND AGREED TO AN OFFER FROM THE QATARI ROYAL FAMILY. THE NEW OWNERS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY WOULD 'MAINTAIN THE TRADITIONS OF HARRODS'. KEN COSTA, CHAIRMAN OF LAZARD INTERNATIONAL WHICH ADVISED THE AL FAYED FAMILY ON THE HISTORIC DEAL, SAID: 'AFTER 25 YEARS AS CHAIRMAN OF HARRODS, MOHAMED AL FAYED HAS DECIDED TO RETIRE AND TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN', HE TOLD SKY NEWS. 'QATAR HOLDING (QH) WILL BECOME ONLY THE FIFTH OWNER OF HARRODS SINCE ITS CREATION IN 1840. QATAR HOLDING WAS SPECIFICALLY CHOSEN BY THE TRUST AS THEY HAD BOTH THE VISION AND THE FINANCIAL CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE LONG TERM SUCCESSFUL GROWTH OF HARRODS. OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO MOHAMED AL FAYED WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE HARRODS' STAFF WOULD FIND IN QH AN OWNER WHO WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN THE TRADITIONS OF HARRODS', COSTA ADDED. QATARI PRIME MINISTER SHEIKH HAMD BIN JASSIM BIN JABR AL-THANI WAS GIVEN A SHORT TOUR OF THE STORE BY AL FAYED AND DECLARED THE STORE WOULD BE MADE 'EVEN GREATER AND BETTER.' HE SAID HE WAS 'VERY HAPPY WITH THE TRANSACTION', AND CONTINUED: 'IT'S A HISTORICAL PLACE. I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT, NOT ONLY FOR THE BRITISH PEOPLE BUT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR TOURISM.' AL FAYED, WHO IS NOT NORMALLY PUBLICITY SHY, STOOD TO ONE SIDE AWAY FROM THE CAMERAS AS THE PRIME MINISTER ADDRESSED THE REPORTERS. THE SALE COULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A RAPPROCHEMENT WITH THE MONARCHY WHO HAVE REFUSED TO SHOP THERE EVER SINCE AL FAYED ACCUSED THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH OF MURDERING HIS SON DODI AND DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, BY STAGING A CAR CRASH IN PARIS. A SOURCE CLOSE TO QATARI HOLDING SAID: 'YOU COULD SPECULATE THEY WOULD BE KEEN TO RENEGOTIATE WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY.'

PAINTING IN STORAGE FOR DECADES MAY BE A RAPHAEL

A FINELY PAINTED PORTRAIT OF A DEMURELY LOOKING WOMAN NESTLED IN AN EXCEPTIONALLY ORNATE FRAME THAT WAS KEPT IN AN ITALIAN DUCAL PALACE STOREROOM APPEARS TO BE A RAPHAEL ORIGINAL AND NOT A COPY AS LONG THOUGHT, AN ART OFFICIAL IN CENTRAL ITALY SAID FRIDAY. HOWEVER, EXPERTS ON THE RENAISSANCE GIANT QUICKLY CAUTIONED THAT ART HISTORIANS WOULD HAVE TO CLOSELY STUDY IT BEFORE ANY CONCLUSIONS CAN BE MADE. MARIO SCALINI, STATE SUPERINTENDENT FOR ART IN MODENA AND NEARBY TOWNS, SAID HE WAS DOING INVENTORY OF ABOUT 20,000 PAINTINGS IN STOREROOMS AFTER HE WAS NAMED TO THE POST A FEW YEARS AGO HE WAS STRUCK BY THE UNUSUALLY FANCY, GILDED 17th CENTURY FRAME IN THE PALACE IN SASSUOLO, NEAR MODENA. IT SURROUNDED A PORTRAIT OF A LADY, HAIR BRAIDED, HEAD TILTED TO ONE SIDE AND EYES DEMURLEY LOOKING DOWNWARD, AS IF THE PORTRAIT-SITTER WANTED TO AVOID THE GAZE OF THE ARTIST. THE WORK WAS LONG CONSIDERED TO BE A COPY OF THE HEAD OF ONE OF THE SUBJECTS IN THE MUCH LARGER 'MADONNA DELLA PERLA' IN MADRID'S PRADO MUSEUM, SCALINI SAID. THE PRADO WORK IS CONSIDERED TO HAVE BEEN PAINTED BY GIULIO ROMANO FROM THE DESIGN OF RAPHAEL NOT LONG BEFORE HE DIED IN 1520. BUT SCALINI SAID IN A RECENT INTERVIEW THAT HE WONDERED WHY A COPY WOULD BE GIVEN SUCH AN ELABORATE FRAME. HE SAID A HUNCH THAT IT MIGHT BE A RAPHAEL WAS HEIGHTENED WHEN HE FOUND CENTURIES-OLD INVENTORY NOTATIONS INDICATING THE COLLECTION CONTAINED A WOMAN'S PORTRAIT BY RAPHAEL. THE DOCUMENTATION CONTAINED NO INDICATION THE RAPHAEL WORK MIGHT HAVE BEEN LATER SOLD OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED, HE SAID. 'IT HAD OBVIOUSLY BEEN FORGOTTEN' AND SAT IN THE STOREROOM FOR DECADES, HE ADDED. THE ART OFFICIAL SENT THE 12 BY 16 INCH WORK TO A LABORATORY IN FLORENCE, WHERE ONE OF THE EXPERTS WHO RAN SCIENTIFIC TESTS ON THE PAINTING, ANNA PELAGOTTI, SAID INFRARED TESTING REVEALED THREE LAYERS UNDERNEATH, INCLUDING A PREPARATORY DESIGN. 'IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SENSATION, OUR MOUTHS DROPPED OPEN', SAID PELAGOTTI, DESCRIBING THE REACTION SHE AND HER FELLOW EXPERTS HAD WHEN THEY SAW THE SKETCH. 'IT LOOKED MORE RAPHAEL' THAN ONE COULD IMAGINE, PELAGOTTI MARVELED, ADDING, 'YOU COULD SEE HIS HAND' IN THE FINELY DETAILED SKETCH. SCALINI SAID HE HOPES DURING A VISIT TO MADRID THAT HE CAN PERSUADE THE PRADO TO LEND 'MADONNA DELLA PERLA', SO ART HISTORIANS CAN STUDY THE TWO WORKS SIDE BY SIDE TO HELP CONCLUDE IF THE LONG LANGUISHING PAINTING IS REALLY A RAPHAEL.

'COPY' OF A PAINTING DISCOVERED TO BE WORTH £250,000.

WHEN A 'COPY' OF A PAINTING BY WARTIME ARTIST SIR WILLIAM ORPEN WAS FIRST TAKEN TO THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW FOR EVALUATION IT WAS JUDGED TO BE NOTHING SPECIAL. AFTER EXPERTS FROM THE LONG-RUNNING BBC PROGRAM DID FURTHER RESEARCH, HOWEVER, THEY WERE ASTONISHED TO FIND IT WAS AN ORIGINAL, AND IT WAS VALUED AT AN INCREDIBLE £250,000. THIS NOT ONLY MADE IT WORTH MORE THAN THE OWNER'S HOUSE, BUT ALSO THE MOST VALUABLE ARTWORK EVER TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW. THE OWNER, WHO AFTER LEARNING THE VALUE OF THE PAINTING NOW WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, WAS LEFT 'COMPLETELY GOBSMACKED' AFTER DISCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS TREASURE. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW'S RUPERT MAAS SAID: 'HIS UNCLE BOUGHT THE PAINTING BECAUSE HE LOVED IT AND THE OWNER KEPT IT AND HUNG IT IN HIS HOME ALL THESE YEARS BECAUSE HE LOVED IT. BOTH MEN HAD NO IDEA IT WAS BY ORPEN HIMSELF AND THE CURRENT OWNER WAS STAGGERED THAT IT WAS WORTH SO MUCH MONEY. HE IS A MODEST MAN OF MODEST MEANS.' THE MAN INHERITED THE PAINTING OF YVONNE AUBICQUE, ORPEN'S BEAUTIFUL YOUNG MISTRESS, AND HUNG IT IN HIS LIVING ROOM BEFORE TAKING IT TO A RECORDING OF THE PROGRAM IN GREENWICH. THE STUNNING AND EMOTIONAL STORY BEHIND THE PAINTING WILL BE TOLD ON THE UPCOMING EPISODE OF ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

OBSESSIVE HOARDER'S SIX TON COLLECTION OF JUNK TO BE AUCTIONED

AN OBSESSIVE HOARDER WHO FILLED EVERY ROOM OF HIS HOME WITH A LIFETIME'S WORTH OF JUNK AND TRASH HAS LUMBERED AUCTIONEERS WITH THE MAMMOTH TASK OF FINDING HOMES FOR IT ALL AFTER INSISTING IN HIS WILL THAT EVERY LAST PIECE MUST BE SOLD. ECCENTRIC COLLECTOR STEWART CLARK REFUSED TO THROW OUT ANYTHING HE ACQUIRED DURING HIS LIFE, FROM NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES TO TINY STICKY LABELS FOUND ON APPLES AND PEARS. HE AMASSED A HUGE COLLECTION OF MATERIAL IN HIS THREE-BEDROOM HOUSE INCLUDING RUSTY LAWNMOWERS, A WATER FOUNTAIN, OLD BIKES, TYPEWRITERS, A TRUMPET AND BOARD GAMES. HIS HOARD WAS SO OVERWHELMING THAT THE STUNNED EXECUTOR OF HIS ESTATE COULD NOT GET INTO HIS HOME IN POOLE, DORSET, TO VALUE THE ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN CRAMMED IN EVERY ROOM. THE SIX-TON COLLECTION TOOK FOUR MEN THREE DAYS TO PLACE INTO TWO SHIPPING CONTAINERS AND IS SO LARGE IT HAS TO BE SOLD IN A WAREHOUSE. CLARK, A LIFELONG BACHELOR, DIED IN DECEMBER AGED 64 AND HAD NO FAMILY TO PASS HIS ESTATE ON TO. SURVEYOR BARRY HUTCHINSON DID NOT KNOW HE WAS THE EXECUTOR OF CLARK'S WILL UNTIL AFTER THE DEATH OF THE ONE WHO NAMED HIM WITHOUT TELLING HIM. HUTCHINSON SAID: 'THE AMOUNT OF STUFF ASTONISHED US. WE ACTUALLY COULDN'T GET INTO THE HOUSE AT FIRST. IT SEEMS HE AND HIS PARENTS WHO LIVED IN THE HOUSE BEFORE HIM, NEVER THREW ANYTHING OUT FOR DECADES, PERHAPS LONGER, INCLUDING EVERY SINGLE LOCAL NEWSPAPER AND STACKS OF THE RAILWAY MODELER MAGAZINE. HE CERTAINLY HAD A PASSION FOR COLLECTING. MR CLARK EVEN SAVED THE LABELS OFF APPLES AND PEARS AND STUCK THEM ON A BOARD IN HIS KITCHEN. QUITE BIZARRE REALLY. EVERYTHING WAS PILED UP IN THE ROOMS FOUR AND FIVE FEET DEEP AND THERE WERE LITTLE PATHWAYS RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE.' OTHER POSSESSIONS INCLUDED A CAR TRAILER, A HUGE LIBRARY OF BOOKS, SCORES OF PAINTINGS, SOME VALUABLE, CERAMICS, GLASSWARE, FURNITURE, SEWING MACHINES, FUR COATS, BRIEF CASES AND ASSORTED BRIC-A-BRAC. THERE WAS ALSO COLLECTIONS OF RARE HORNBY AND TRIANG MODEL TRAINS AND COUNTLESS BOXES OF DINKY AND CORGI TOYS. JONATHON ROOKE, OF THE CHIPPENHAM AUCTION ROOMS IN WILTSHIRE, WHICH IS SELLING THE HOARD, SAID SIX TONS OF MEMORABILIA FROM THE HOUSE IS BEING AUCTIONED IN THE 'SALE OF A LIFETIME'. IT IS BEING SOLD IN 665 LOTS BUT MANY OF THE LOTS INVOLVE NUMEROUS ITEMS. THE OVERALL ESTIMATE FOR THE ITEMS IS ABOUT £50,000. ROOKE SAID: 'THERE IS A HUGE COLLECTION OF LEAD FIGURES THAT WILL SEE COUNTLESS COLLECTORS GATHER FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY FOR THE SALE.' THE COLLECTION WILL GO UNDER THE HAMMER ON 15.MAY.

ANISH KAPOOR DESIGNS NEW BULGARI RING

THE ARTIST ANISH KAPOOR HAS REFERRED TO THE TOWERING, GLEAMING STEEL SCULPTURES HE CREATES AS 'VOIDS', AND THE SAME COULD DESCRIBE HIS LATEST, MUCH SMALLER SCALED PROJECT, A RING FOR THE LUXURY ITALIAN JEWELER BULGARI ON THE OCCASION OF ITS COVETED B.ZERO1 COLLECTION'S 10th ANNIVERSARY. TO RIFF ON THE ICONIC JEWELRY SERIES, WHICH IS DEFINED BY CYLINDRICAL BANDS SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO LOGO ENGRAVED RINGS, KAPOOR HAS DESIGNED A SMALL BAND OF REFLECTIVE STEEL SET BETWEEN TWO PINK-GOLD RIMS. IN THE LONDON-BASED ARTIST'S MASSIVE PUBLIC COMMISSIONS, THE SPACE SURROUNDING THE ARTWORK'S PHYSICAL STRUCTURE IS EMPHATICALLY BROUGHT TO THE FORE, NOT MERELY AS NEGATIVE SPACE, BUT AS SENSORY EXPERIENCE. THOUGH THE RING MAY NOT PROVIDE THE SAME HEADY SENSATION, ITS SPACE WILL SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR AN ADDITIONAL INSPIRING PROJECT: KAPOOR, WHO IS CURRENTLY THE SUBJECT OF A RETROSPECTIVE AT THE GUGGENHEIM BILBOA, WILL CREATE A SCULPTURE RELATED TO THE BULGARI COLLABORATION THAT WILL BE AUCTIONED OFF THIS SPRING, WITH THE PROCEEDS BENEFITING SAVE THE CHILDREN'S 'REWRITE THE FUTURE' CAMPAIGN.

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN BARBIE ANEMONE

BARBIE AND LUXURY SHOE DESIGNER CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN CONTINUE THEIR AMAZING COLLABORATION BY RELEASING THEIR NEWEST CREATION, THE THIRD IN A SERIES OF COLLECTIBLE LIMITED EDITION DOLLS, ANEMONE BARBIE, FRESH FROM WALKING THE RED CARPET A FILM PREMIERE AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL. DRESSED IN A STUNNING GREEN AND PURPLE SATIN GOWN WITH LILAC ANEMONE LOUBOUTIN'S. SHE ALSO COMES WITH THREE OTHER PAIRS OF SHOES: MADELEINE MULES, LADY CLAUDE PUMPS AND SPARTENVOL SANDALS, ALL IN THEIR OWN MINIATURE DUST BAGS AND BOXES. BARBIE REVEALED HER FIRST OUTFIT IN THE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN COLLECTION LAST NOVEMBER, THE CAT BURGLAR. HER SECOND LOOK, FOREVER DOLLY, WAS REVEALED IN FEBRUARY, A SAFARI CHIC ENSEMBLE WITH FUCHSIA OVER THE KNEE FRINGED BOOTS. HER LATEST, GLAMOROUS LOOK REPRESENTS THE TIMELESS BEAUTY OF BARBIE, THE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN WOMAN, AND THE DESIGNER'S STYLE AESTHETIC. ANEMONE BARBIE IN NOW AVAILABLE FOR $150 ON NET-A-PORTER AND BARBIECOLLECTOR.