Culture / Auctions

Radiohead and Shirley Temple Auctions

From magnificent jewels in New York to a virtual marketplace for everything, including hand-written lyrics, one sale is by Sotheby’s, the other by Invaluable.

Mar 21, 2016 | By Vimi Haridasan

Items from great artists always generate a certain level of interest. In the news this week for that very reason, are two artists who have made an impact in the world of popular entertainment. The first is none other than the late great screen legend Shirley Temple.

On April 19, Sotheby’s New York will auction off the childhood ring given to the actress by her father in 1940. The traditional cushion-cut stone is listed as a ‘Fancy Deep Blue, Potentially Internally Flawless, VVS2 clarity diamond ring’ and is set in its original Art-Deco inspired design. We assume the VVS2 part refers to the other smaller diamonds surrounding the main fancy stone, which is 9.75 carats. The ring will join other pieces making up the auction house’s 2016 “Magnificent Jewels in New York” sale, expected to fetch $25-35 million.

The other artist to make the news is Thom Yorke of Radiohead. On March 18, the lead singer of Radiohead auctioned off the handwritten drafts written by the band before they achieved fame and recognition. Found within the pages of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience the lyrics include ‘Airbag,’ ‘A Cradle Song’ and ‘The Divine Comedy,’ were sold via online bidding site Invaluable, and fetched £12,000 ($17,400). All proceeds of the sale benefitted global poverty and famine relief charity Oxfam, the band has long been associated with.


 
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