July 2nd, 2009
Forbes reports that Sotheby’s is offering a 1,500-year-old biblical document that includes layers of text and meaning–in three languages.
Known as the Codex Climaci Rescriptus, the piece was written over the span of three centuries and stowed in a sacred monastery until landing in the hands of a pair of British twins by way of local Egyptian dealers.
Now an English college is cannibalizing its library and cashing out, to pay for some building renovations.
June 27th, 2009
A late “musketeer” painting by Pablo Picasso sold for 7 million pounds ($11.5 million) at Sotheby’s last night as buyers looked for value in the contracted auction market for Impressionist art.
The 1969 work dates to a period late in Picasso’s life when he was obsessed with floppy-hatted swashbucklers and their Casanova lifestyles.
In this version, Picasso’s doppelganger stands before a velvety red backdrop in a yellow jacket. He holds a sword as if posing for an Old Master portrait.
June 25th, 2009
Footwear and clothing company Undrcrwn have teamed up with cool-watch designers Nooka to produce a very colourful watch!
The watch features a striped polyurethane band with a black ZenV display. Nooka is now taking presale orders for the watch and the orders will ship out June 29th.
Only 200 watches available - $275
June 23rd, 2009
An iconic photograph of Albert Einstein was sold by a New Hampshire auction company Friday for $74,324, making it the most expensive Einstein photograph ever sold at auction, according to the auctioneers.
The photograph was taken in 1951 while Einstein was celebrating his birthday at Princeton University.
Photographer Arthur Sasse tried to convince Einstein to pose with a smile for the photo, but Einstein instead stuck out his tongue, producing one of the most recognizable images of the irreverent physicist.
June 22nd, 2009
One of the Thinker sculptures by French master Auguste Rodin has been sold at auction for more than 3 million euros ($5.2 million) in Paris, Reuters reports.
The bronze, just 72.5 centimetres high, set a record for any of the Thinkers - a series of 21 sculptures made by Rodin in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
One of the most famous sculptures in the world, the Thinker represents a naked man sitting on a rock looking downwards, with his elbow on his knee and his chin resting on his hand.
June 1st, 2009
From famous chateaux ranging from Lafite to Margaux and Mouton, wine lovers had a chance to bid for top French wine in Beijing on Friday at the first wine auction yet on the Chinese mainland.
Around 1,000 bottles of fine wine from France’s renowned Bordeaux area were on auction with a starting price of several hundred to several thousand U.S. dollars Xinhua reports.
94 percent of the wines were sold and over 90 percent of the buyers said they would drink the wines themselves, not for investment.
