On September 18, Sotheby's will auction 118 lots of rare (and rarely at auction) Indian and Southeast Asian paintings, miniatures and objects. The group is expected to fetch a total of between $2.3 and $3.2 million. Sotheby's has experienced unusually high prices for traditional Indian art in recent years, as economic growth in India appears exponential, and young collectors turn from modern pieces to those artists' historical roots.
British painter Lucian Freud's portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (above) sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for $33 million in May, setting a new world record for a living artist, and no doubt making him very happy. Freud just got some bad news, however; the artist was recently informed that one of his subjects, Bernard Breslauer, destroyed a similar portrait because he found the work "unflattering". Breslauer, a famed millionaire New York rare books dealer who once bought a Gutenberg Bible, destroyed the painting because of Freud's "unsightly depiction of his double chin," the London Daily Mailreports.
The destruction of the multimillion dollar painting by Breslauer, who died at the age of 86 in 2004, was discovered by a curator researching works painted by Freud between 1939 - 1954 for a retrospective exhibition taking place in London next month. Freud is reportedly extremely distraught at the discovery - as are Breslauer's heirs, no doubt.
On Oct. 30, Christie's in London will auction off the world's finest collection of 20th Century fashion in private hands. The Resurrection: Avant-Garde Fashion sale features seminal designs from the past 50 years, from "Pop Art and the Space Age of the 1960s through the iconoclasm of the 1970s and the revival of architectural couture of the 1980s and 1990s."
The 250 lots include a carefully curated assemblage of garments, headwear and jewelry from designers including Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Vivienne Westwood, Azzedine Alaia, Gianni Versace and Issey Miyake, among others. The top-priced lot is this full length wedding dress made from plates of white leather linked by metal rings by Paco Rabanne in 1967, est. about $12,000 - $16,000.
Get ready for another Florida condo auction. On September 6th, Bella Sol in Apollo Beach, Florida will auction off 23 condo units, five at absolute auction to the highest bidders. Bella Sol's private marina on Tampa Bay with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico will also sell 12 new boat slips with four selling absolute to the highest bidders. The auction will be held by J.P. King Auction Company onsite.
Bella Sol condominiums have six different floor plans with two, three and four bedroom villas including two-level penthouse units. Amenities include tiled exterior patios, porches and walkways, hurricane resistant windows and patio doors, granite countertops, stainless appliances, master bath with garden tub, two-car garage, and elevators in each building. The building also includes a pool or spa.
Travel + Leisure has announced its collaboration with 18 prominent artists including Maya Lin, Manolo Blahnik and April Gornik, to create specially-commissioned pieces to be auctioned as part of its second annual Project Globe event. Following the auction, the magazine will donate all proceeds to Future Generations, a non-profit conservation and community development organization. The online auction starts today at tlprojectglobe.com, where bidders are swiftly staking their claims.
The diverse group of photographs, sculptures and jewelry, all of which aim to celebrate travel's positive impact, will be shown at GlassHouses in New York City on September 19 and 20. Photographs from the auctioned items will be featured in Travel + Leisure's October Style + Culture issue, on newsstands September 23. See the gallery for a selection of items at auction.
A rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe sold for $7.92 million at Gooding & Co.'s auto auction (that we recently reported on) during the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California over the weekend - the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction in the U.S.A. The car was part of the Dr. Peter and Susan Williamson Collection, billed as the world's finest assemblage of Bugattis, several of which fetched high prices at the sale. The next highest price at the Gooding & Co. event was a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans, which fetched $2.2 million. Meanwhile, at RM Auctions' similar sale during the classic car event, which we told you about earlier this month, a 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta brought in an impressive $4.5 million.
A legendary prototype sportscar that helped shaped the future of Jaguar was auctioned off at Bonhams & Butterfields' Quail Lodge Sale in California on Friday for just under $5 million, setting a new world record. Bids for the 1960 E2A (above), often called the "missing link" between the marque's classic D-Type and E-Type models, had been expected to reach up to $7 million in what has lately been a heated market for multimillion dollar automotive classics.
Raced by some of the world's top drivers at Le Mans and elsewhere, the beautiful car had an historic win in August of 1960 at Bridgehampton, NY, beating out a Maserati Birdcage. James Knight, International Head of Bonhams' motoring department, called the E2A "one of the most charismatic and significant prototypes ever produced anywhere." And $5 million - now the highest price ever paid for a Jaguar at auction - isn't too shabby.
A few months ago, British socialite Daphne Guinness auctioned off some of her couture possessions for a good cause. Now willowy British model Erin O'Connor has followed suit. She has consigned thirty items of designer clothing and accessories to be sold at auction through Christie's, South Kensington. The proceeds go directly to the British Fashion Council which nurtures young designers and models at the start of their careers. Her items include dresses, jackets and shoes by top names such as Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Alexander McQueen.
O'Connor has an abiding interest in young fashionistas, last year she began The Model Sanctuary, a retreat and area for models to find health advice during the hectic tumult of London Fashion Week.
On September 12th you'll have your chance to bid on celebrity shoes and help stamp out lung cancer through the Roy Castle Centre's event, De-Feet Lung Cancer Campaign. Fancy a pair from Dame Judi Dench or feel like walking a mile in Harry Potter's shoes? Even Spice Girl Melanie C will have shoes on the auction block. Unfortunately it seems you can't view the shoes before the 12th but when the site goes live get on and put your bid in for a great cause across the pond.
This weekend, Gooding & Company is staging a multimillion dollar auto auction during the 58th annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Carmel, CA. Among the stunning cars on offer is the world's finest collection of Bugattis, including a 1937 Type 57SC Atalante Coupe, which is expected to fetch over $4 million. Another star attraction is a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider, originally owned by H.R.H. Prince Vittorio Emanuele de Savoia, the last prince of Italy. Both that car and the beautiful model pictured above, a rare 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, are expected to fetch in excess of $3 million. Also on offer is Steve McQueen's 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera, the actor's personal car for several years, a relative steal with an est. of only $125,000 - $175,000.
A giant bunch of Japanese grapes recently sold for almost $1000 at an auction in Ishikawa. The Ruby Roman variety, developed by the Ishikawa Prefecture Agricultural Research Center, was sold to an upscale hotel owner on Monday. The single bunch, consisting of 30 grapes each slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, were described as "delicious: sweet but fresh at the same time, very well balanced," by Agricultural official Hirofumi Isu. At that price they better be!
The Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman families are auctioning off dozens of highly prized cigars to raise money for their foundation, the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which donates proceeds to impoverished children living in the Dominican Republic, where the lauded cigars are produced. The foundation has already raised over $3 million for needy kids.
The auction will go on for another several days, though cigar connoisseurs are already in a bidding war over a selection of OpusX cigars from Carlos Fuente Jr.'s personal collection. With three days left before this particular auction's end, 37 eager bidders have notched the price to $6,500.
In November, London-based auction house Christie's will hold their first wine auction in Asia since 2001, featuring a landmark collection of 140 years worth of Latour sourced directly from the Château cellars.
The first Château-sourced collection of the fabled Bordeaux ever to be sold in Asia will go on the block Nov. 29 in Hong Kong; the 150 Latour lots, including magnums and large format bottles from a wide range of vintages dating from 1865 - 2005, are expected to fetch over $1.5 million total.
One of the top prizes is a 1900 magnum estimated at $18,000 - $24,000. Christie's already has a strong showing in Hong Kong with art and antique auctions bringing in over $300 million in Spring 2008, the highest total ever achieved for an Asian season.
Starting this Friday, August 15th at 10am, eBay will be hosting the Sightsavers Auction 'Specs Appeal' supported by such celebrities as Ewan McGregor, Michael Caine and BBC's Kate Silverton. Over twenty celebs are donating their specs to help alleviate blindness and ensure the preservation of sight for millions around the world particularly in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. You can pick up a famous pair online yourself between August 15th and August 24th with prices starting at just £15 -- the equivalent of ten pairs in the developing world. Glasses are a fantastic accessory and you can make a statement with starlike panache and charitable spirit.
In 2002, the self-described eccentric Lord of Warleigh advertised for a lady of the manor, and he received over 2000 replies. Now suffering from late-stage prostate cancer, Lord David Piper has now put his manor and title in addition to a "gentleman's residence" with English Channel views and a 42-foot sitting room, a 140-piece contemporary art collection and a pair of Bentleys up for sale on eBay.
Mr. Piper will be moving to London for treatment and apparently needs an influx of cash, claiming he is "impoverished" and "owes a lot of money." Bids are up to almost 10 million pounds sterling (just shy of $20 million), though the property is valued between 5 and 6 million pounds. Best of luck to the Lord of Warleigh regarding his estate and his health.
.jpg)
On Oct. 30, 
.jpg)
jp4rs_thumbnail.jpg "Ex-Maharaja Of Jodhpur 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom")
The Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman families are 
In November, London-based auction house 
.jpg)
