sothebys

World's Most Expensive Book Sells For $11.5 Million

One of the most monumental printed books ever produced, John James Audubon's Birds of America, sold at Sotheby's London this week for £7,321,250 ($11,542,683) setting a new world record for any printed book ever sold at auction. There are only around 100 copies of this book which contains 435 hand-colored prints and is more than three feet tall. A different copy sold for $8.8 million in 2000.

Four collectors bid on the phones and in the room, driving the price above the estimates of $6.3 million to $9.5 million. The book was purchased by London dealer Michael Tollemache, who was bidding in the room and who described the work after the sale as "priceless." The Audubon was part of the sale of Magnificent Books, Manuscripts and Drawings from the Collection of Frederick, 2nd Lord Hesketh that brought in a total of £14,971,950 ($23,604,776 ) sailing over the high estimate of approximately $18.6 million and setting a record as the highest price ever achieved for a single-session sale of Books and Manuscripts ever held in London.

The sale also featured a first folio of Shakespeare's plays dating back to 1623, one of the most important books in English Literature. It sold for £1,497,250, right around the high estimate of £1.5 million and was purchased by Stephan Loewentheil. Forty letters relating to the imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots, including four letters signed by Queen Elizabeth I, sold for £349,250 ($550,628) (estimated at £150,000-200,000), a record for a group of Elizabethan manuscripts at auction.

Tags: audubon, birds of america, john james audubon, most expensive, sothebys, worlds most expensive, worlds most expensive book

Historic Jade Necklace to be sold by Sotheby's

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Magnificent and historic imperial jadeite bead neckalce Quing Dynasty

An important and historic Chinese imperial jadeite bead necklace, owned by the family of Oei Tiong Ham family, will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on December 10. Its pre-sale estimate is $1.9 million to $2.2 million, but it is quite possible deep-pocked jade collectors in Asia will drive the hammer price much higher.

The sale of the magnificent neckalce marks the first time in more than 30 years that a jadeite jewel of major historical importance will appear at auction at Sotheby's in New York.

The story of The Oei Tiong Ham Necklace began more than 100 years ago when Oei Tiong Ham, a successful Chinese businessman, is said to have purchased two necklaces composed of beads from an Imperial court necklace from the leading jadeite dealer in Peking, who had reputedly obtained them from the family of Emperor Puyi. After descending through multiple generations of the family, the exceptional necklace is offered by a direct descendant of Oei Tiong Ham.

Gallery: Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels

Tiffany & Co.'s classic emerald-cut diamond weighing 27.19 carats

A magnificient and rare light pink diamond ring

Pair of platinum, natural pearl and diamond pendant earclips by Tiffany & Co.

A magnificent and historic Imperial jadeite bead neckalce

Tags: jade, jadeite, jewelry, Oei Tiong Ham Necklace, Sothebys

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Duchess of Windsor's Jewels Sell High At Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

An onyx and diamond panther bracelet once owned by Wallis Simpson set a new world record for the most expensive bracelet ever sold at auction. The bracelet sold for £4.5 million ( $7.036 million) at Sotheby's London on Tuesday. The bracelet was part of a collection of jewels once owned by King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, that brought in almost £8 million, far above estimates that topped out just over £4 million. The sale was 100% sold.

Tags: duchess of windsor, jewelry auction, jewels at auction, king edward VII, sothebys, wallis simpson, wallis warfield simpson

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Oldest Bottle of Cherry Heering Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

A very old bottle of Cherry Heering, considered the original cherry liqueur, is being auctioned off for charity. The 1890 vintage was discovered in the Heering cellars in Denmark where it had been since production more than 120 years ago. Only a few bottles were found, all perfectly preserved in original casks, hand packed in wooden casings. Earlier this year a tasting was organized at The Campbell Apartment in New York with some of the industry's top experts. The blend was discovered to be in immaculate condition.

The bottle is up for auction now through Charitybuzz.com until noon on December 6 and will also be made available to the public via a live auction at Sotheby's New York later that night. The exact value of the rare blend is currently unknown, but is estimated to be worth more than $100,000. All proceeds will benefit the charity organization DIFFA, Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids.

Tags: charity buzz, cherry heering, cherry liqueur, diffa, sothebys, World AIDS Day 2010

Sotheby's To Sell Off Scrushy Jewels

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Last time we heard about former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy he was losing one of his several homes in Alabama. But the Scrushy sell off continues. The Birmingham News reports that Sotheby's will auction off nine pieces of jewelry that once belonged to Leslie Scrushy, Richard Scrushy's wife. The pieces will be sold at Sotheby's New York on December 9, 2010. Richard Scrushy was found liable in civil court for an accounting fraud and ordered to pay $3.2 billion. Past sales of his cars, yachts and other belongings have raised money to help satisfy that debt.

Around 50 pieces of jewelry belonging to Mrs. Scrushy were liquidated as part of the settlement. Levy's Fine Jewelry has been handling the collection and contracted with Sotheby's to auction the nine best pieces including a 20-carat diamond ring valued at up to $700,000. The sale also include a platinum and diamond bracelet with a total of nearly 49 carats in diamonds valued at $150,000 to $200,000; a platinum, diamond and ruby ring made by Oscar Heyman & Brothers with a more than seven-carat marquis cut diamond; and three-carat diamond and pearl earrings made by Oscar Heyman & Brothers valued at $50,000 to $75,000 for the pair.

Tags: Healthsouth, Richard Scrushy, sothebys

Pink Diamond Sells for $46 million, Setting a World Auction Record

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

Sotheby's sells 24.78 carat pink diamond for $46 million, setting a world record

Sotheby's Geneva set a world auction record for any diamond and any jewel today when it sold an exceptionally rare and magnificent Fancy Intense Pink Emerald-cut Diamond. Weighing in at 24.78 Carats, the ring sold for for $46,158,674, well above the pre-sale estimate of $27 million to $38 million.

Four bidders competed for the gem, which is considered to be one of the most important and beautiful stones ever to come up for auction. The stone came to the market from a private collection, and has not appeared on the open market since it was purchased some 60 years ago from Mr. Harry Winston (who's namesake company won the Luxist Awards' Readers Choice Award for best jewelry line).

The diamond was bought by Patti Wong, Sotheby's Chairman in Asia, bidding on behalf of Laurence Graff, the British billionaire jeweler to the stars (and a Luxist Awards nominee for best jewelry line). Shortly after the sale, Laurence Graff named the diamond "The Graff Pink" and made the following statement: "It is the most fabulous diamond I've seen in the history of my career and I'm delighted to have bought it."

Tags: 24.78+carat+pink+diamond, 24.78caratpinkdiamond, 46+million+pink+diamond, 46millionpinkdiamond, auction, awards-main, diamonds, Harry Winston, jewelry, laurence graff, luxist-awards, pink diamond, pink+diamond+46+million, pink+diamond+auction, pinkdiamond46million, pinkdiamondauction, sothebys, world-record

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Rarest Macallan Bottle Fetches Record $460,000 At Sotheby's Auction

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

A bottle of Macallan 64-year-old scotch, housed within a Lalique crystal decanter, far exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $100,000-with a winning bid of $460,000-at Sotheby's in New York, this week.

With all proceeds of the sale going to benefit charity: water, the one-of-a-kind bottle, made by Lalique using the cire perdue ("lost wax") method, did a multi-city charity tour before the final event in New York. Scott Harrison, founder of charity: water, spoke before the auction of the idealism behind his organization and the impact that the evening's sale would have on helping to bring clean water to communities in developing countries. He then handed the microphone off to Sotheby's Head of Wine in the US and Asia, Jamie Ritchie, to perform the auctioneer duties.

A gentleman in the crowd eagerly placed the opening bid, sparking a cascading ping-pong of responses from around the room. Bidding quickly passed the $300,000 mark, with phone bidders setting the tone, outpacing most on-hand. Ritchie kept the mood light, cracking an "Only $5?!" joke when a Sotheby's rep asked if he would accept an increase of $5,000 from a potential buyer on the phone. Reminding everyone that the evening's sale would support a good cause, Ritchie broke the $400,000 barrier to a delighted response of the crowd. With everyone's mind wondering if the lot would reach the half-million mark, bidding slowed around $450,000 before finally settling on $460,000. Giving everyone one last chance, Ritchie brought the gavel down to mark the record sale, which went to an anonymous US bidder.

Tags: auctions, charity water, lalique, macallan, new york city, scotch, sothebys, whisky

Sotheby's Wine Auction Achieves Record Results

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Jamie Ritchie, auctioneer, presiding over a Sotheby's wine auction.

Sotheby's auction of fine and rare wines including the 2000 Collection on behalf of Bordeaux Winebank on November 13, was a huge success, signaling that the 2000 vintage is living up to its expectations.

Sotheby's sold all but two of the lots for a grand total of $5.4 million, well over the pre-sale estimate of $3.2 million to $4.6 million (estimates do not include the buyer's premium). Bordeaux Winebank's "2000" Collection set six wine auction records.

According to Sotheby's, there was also strong demand for wine from a number of other collections with strong prices for all of the First Growths as well as Burgandy, resulting in 64% of the sold lots achieving prices over the high estimate.

Online bidders were particularly active, with 15% of the lots sold to collectors bidding over the Internet. Nearly half of the lots offered received online bids and 55 people logged onto bid live online, which was the highest ever level of online participation in a Sotheby's Wine auction.

"We were delighted by the success of the sale---the highest value various owner wine sale ever held at Sotheby's New York," says Sotheby's Jamie Ritchie (above), Head of Wine, North America and a Luxist Awards Expert Panelist.

Gallery: Sotheby's Bordeaux Winebank 2000 Collection Auction

Tags: auction, awards-main, bordeaux wine, Bordeaux Winebank, chateau lafite, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, chateau mouton rothschild, Chateau Petrus, Henning Thoresen, luxist-awards, Petrus, Sothebys, wine

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Sotheby's to Auction Bordeaux Winebank's "2000" Collection

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Sotheby's will offer an important selection of the 2000 vintage from Bordeaux Winebank, the company set up by Norwegian businessman Henning Thoresen that specializes in offering Bordeaux with the "Five Star Provenance" system. The sale celebrates the 10th anniversary of the great 2000 vintage.

A selection from the Bordeaux Winebank collection will make up a substantial part of the Finest and Rarest Wines sale on November 13th in New York with 128 lots expected to sell for between $890,500 to $1.3 million in total (not including the buyer's premium).

The auction, which will feature such wines as Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Margaux, is expected to be one of the highest-value various-owner wine sales ever held at Sotheby's New York. The auction will take place at Sotheby's location at 1334 York Avenue at East 72nd Street in Manhattan. Sotheby's Jamie Ritchie, Head of Wine, North America (and a Luxist Awards Expert Panelist), will serve as the lead auctioneer tomorrow in New York (see photo above).

Gallery: Sotheby's Bordeaux Winebank 2000 Collection Auction

Tags: auction, awards-main, Bordeaux, Bordeaux 2000, Bordeaux Winebank, chateau lafite, chateau margaux, chateau mouton rothschild, Jamie Ritchie, luxist-awards, Sothebys, wine

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Big Warhol Sales Start Contemporary Auction Week In New York

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

It's looking like the week of Warhol. This week's contemporary art auctions in New York City started off with a bang on Monday night as Phillips de Pury & Company inaugurated its Park Avenue salesroom in grand style. The NY Times reports that the auction house was trying out a new program called "Carte Blanche" in which someone outside the auction house curates a sale. The first auction was done by Philippe Ségalot, a private dealer who once ran Christie's postwar and contemporary art department in New York. The 33 lots orchestrated by Ségalot brought in a total of $117 million, above its high estimate of $104.8 million. Over half of that went to Andy Warhol's "Men in Her Life," shown above, a 1962 painting featuring Elizabeth Taylor. The $63.3 million price easily topped the $50 million high end estimate and was the second highest ever paid for a Warhol (the first was the $71.7 million paid at Christie's in 2007 for "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)." But Andy Warhol's work wasn't through dazzling New York yet.

Tags: andy warhol, art market, auction house, phillips de pury, sothebys

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Avedon Nude of Stephanie Seymour Expected to Fetch $210,000

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

A racy nude portrait of supermodel Stephanie Seymour (detail above) taken by the late, great Richard Avedon in 1992 is expected to fetch up to $210,000 at Sotheby's' Photographies sale in Paris on November 19. Part of a private European collection, the image will bolster the strength of the photography market if it achieves its price. Though most of the lots date from the early 1900s, the stunning sale also includes an Albert Watson portrait of Naomi Campbell from 1989 and a David LaChapelle portait of Andy Warhol from 1987 taken shortly before the artist's death, both estimated at up to $21,000; and a Herb Ritts portrait of Madonna from 1986, expected to fetch up to $10,000. Notable works by Irving Penn, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and more round out the offerings.

Tags: Albert Watson, Andy Warhol, auction, David LaChapelle, Irving Penn, Madonna, Naomi Campbell, nude, Paris, Phtography, Richard Avedon, Sothebys, Stephanie Seymour, supermodel

"Finding of Moses" Sells for Seven Times Estimate, Sets New Record

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's 19th-century painting, "The Finding Of Moses," had a pre-sale estimate of $3 million to $5 million. At Sotheby's 19th Century European Art Sale November 4, it sold for a remarkable $35,922,500 to an undisclosed bidder. Three people raised their bids consistently during a battle for ownership of this masterpiece that lasted nearly eight minutes. Once the bidding started, it rose quickly to more than $20 million in a battle between two clients on the phone. Then a new bidder in the room raised a paddle for a $23 million bid. After several more minutes, the painting was sold to one of the the original phone bidders. The whopping price sets a new record for the artist at auction. His previous record set for this same painting was $2.8 million in 1995.

The painting depicts the pharoah's daughter carried aloft by bare-chested slaves while her handmaidens hoist the baby Moses in his basket so that his new "mother" can gaze down at him. Although not too biblically correct, it's still a meticulously painted version of an Old Testament scene. Alma-Tadema possibly became infatuated with Egyptian themes on a visit to the British Museum in 1862 where the main attraction was the newly acquired Elgin Marbles.

Tags: art, art market, sothebys

Modigliani Painting Sets Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

While most of America was watching election results last night, a few were focused on the art market and specifically on the lady shown above, Modigliani's "La belle Romaine" which garnered a record-setting $68.9 million at Sotheby's in New York City. Sotheby's brought in a total of $227.5 million in the sale of Impressionist and modern art against pre-sale estimates of $195 million to $266 million. It was a nice jump over last year's $181 million sale and another sign of a potential art market recovery.

Amedeo Modigliani's 1917 portrait of a lovely, mostly undressed brunette sold to an anonymous telephone bidder. It was estimated to sell for as much as $40 million. The Wall Street Journal reports that the work's seller, Turkish banker Halit Cingillioglu, bought it for $16.8 million 11 years ago. Another Modigliani in the same sale, a 1917 portrait of the artist's lover, "Jeanne Hébuterne (in a Hat)," went for $19.1 million to a telephone bidder. Monet's "Water-lily Pond," also from 1917, sold for $24.7 million. Henri Matisse's 1942 "Dancer in a Chair, Checkerboard Floor" went for $20.8 million, over its $18 million high estimate.

Not every piece up for bid found a home, 15 of the sale's 61 pieces failed to sell. Matisse's 1934 lavender portrait, "Titine Trovato in Dress and Hat" was up for auction for the second time in two years but Sotheby's failed to sell the work yet again. Pablo Picasso's 1970 double portrait, "Man and Woman With a Bouquet" also went unsold. Matisse has another shot today when Christie's holds its major sale of Impressionist and modern art that includes Matisse's bronze "Back IV" sculpture which could bring as much as $35 million.

Tags: amedeo modigliani, art market, claude monet, Henri Matisse, impressionist art, matisse, modern art, modigliani, monetary policy, Pablo Picasso, sothebys

Most Expensive Wine Sells At Auction In Hong Kong

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Over the past couple years we've seen wine auction prices in Hong Kong rise and rise. A new level was achieved this week when three bottles of Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild 1869 sold at a Hong Kong auction by Sotheby's for an astounding hammer price of $232,692 a bottle (a total of $698,076). That makes these the most expensive bottles of wine ever sold at auction. The entire sale of treasures direct from the legendary Chateau Lafite brought in a total of $8.4 million, tripling the pre-sale high estimate of $2.5 million. Every lot was sold, adding to the success of Sotheby's Hong Kong in maintaining the tenth consecutive 100%-sold wine auction in Asia in the last 18 months. It is only auction house to achieve this record.

The sale featured 284 lots of Lafite, as well as the other chateaux owned by Domaines Baron de Rothschild, all with direct-from-the-cellar perfect provenance. Before being shipped to Hong Kong, these bottles never left the cellars in which they were placed immediately after being made.

Baron Eric de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Lafite, said: "I am delighted that this unique auction brought Lafite to so many true connoisseurs and wine lovers. Our aim was to open our cellar doors to the friends of Chateau Lafite in Asia so that they could enjoy fabulous vintages in the best possible condition. We are very happy that Sotheby's took Lafite to new heights with this sale and we toast all those followers of Lafite who appreciate the passion with which we make it."

[via The Wealth Report]

Tags: chateau lafite, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, hong kong wine auction, most expensive, most expensive wine, sothebys, wine auction

For Collectors from Sotheby's

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Sotheby's has a new application for the iPhone and iPad. Whether you're an experienced or new collector, relying on this auction house's app is one of the best ways to keep informed about the art market, but more importantly about artists and art trends. Go to the iTunes App store, dowload the free app and here's what you will get: the latest podcasts, a chance to browse catalogues for upcoming sales and view auction results. If you are interested in placing a bid, you can search upcoming lots, zoom in for a closer look, and leave an absentee bid. To access either Sotheby's new app or website, be sure to log in first.

The app can be particularly informative. Its main attraction right now is a video of the opening at Tate Modern for Frieze Week where Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's installation was featured. Visitors were invited to walk on 100 million individually made porcelain sunflower seeds. If you were puzzled by newspaper reports about this installation -- referencing traditional techniques with a contemporary message --the video makes it clear. The artist was referring to the time when Mao was considered the sun and the Chinese people were "sunflower seeds." (Incidentally, now visitors have to view the installation from a bridge as health officials worried that walking on the porcelain "seeds" created too much unhealthy dust.") Relying on a video like this one gives you a sense of what is happening at the biggest event in the UK art calendar and not just prices paid at auction.

Also, keep in mind there's a new addition to Sotheby's.com. BidNow is an online bidding service available for all auctions worldwide. You can access Sotheby's mobile site from almost any web-enabled handset, including the Blackberry, Android, iPhone, iPad among others.

Tags: ai weiwei, art catalogues, art market, bidding at auctions, ipad app, ipad apps, iphone apps, sothebys

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