Unseen since it was last sold in 1949, the famous Hamilton Aphrodite is to be offered in a dedicated sale at Sotheby’s in London. The larger than life-size Roman statue is now estimated to fetch between £2 million and £3 million.
Continue reading
Frida Kahlo self-portrait smashes auction record set by adulterous husband Diego Rivera
Frida Kahlo’s (1907-1954) intimate oil painting has sold for a staggering $34.9 million (£25.9 million) at Sotheby’s New York, setting a new auction record for the most expensive artwork by a Latin American artist. It is significant as one of her final self-portraits, which candidly reveals the artist’s distress over her husband Diego Rivera’s (1886-1957) public affair with friend and famed actress Maria Félix (1914-2002).
Continue reading
Small Scottish museum receives major Museums Association award
Rising from the ashes of a devastating fire, The Scottish Crannog Centre on Loch Tay has defiantly won a prestigious national museum award. “We’ve had brilliant support from partners to make this happen, so a big thank you to all and a big well done to everyone within the Crannog community,” reflected managing director Mike Benson.
Continue reading
Prado museum curators latest to cast doubts on the attribution of the ‘Salvator Mundi’
Curators at the Museo del Prado in Madrid are the latest in a long string of scholars and other arts professionals to publicly announce their doubts about the attribution of the Salvator Mundi to Leonardo da Vinci. The painting was sold at Christie’s in 2017 as by Leonardo for a staggering $450m, however even prior to the sale there was considerable debate over this attribution.
Continue reading
Marie Antoinette’s diamond bracelets sell for CHF 7.5 million (£6.1 million)
Two diamond bracelets that once belonged to Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), the queen of France, have sold at Christie’s in Geneva for CHF 7.5 million (£6.1 million). The jewellery, which includes 112 diamonds in total, outshone the pre-sale estimate by more than double.
Continue reading
Possible Rembrandt returned forty years after it was stolen in East Germany
In 1979, five paintings were stolen from Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Germany. The works did not re-emerge for 40 years, and the event became communist East Germany’s biggest ever art heist. In 2019, however, the paintings were returned to Friedenstein, and new scientific analysis and research indicates that one of the portraits, previously attributed to seventeenth-century artist Ferdinand Bol, might be a lost masterpiece by Rembrandt.
Continue reading
England’s largest Anglo-Saxon coin hoard declared as treasure
An anonymous metal detectorist has officially uncovered England’s largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold coins in a field in Norfolk. Norwich Castle Museum now hope to acquire the “internationally significant” hoard of 131 coins and four gold objects.
Continue reading
Mexico tries to halt auctions of Pre-Columbian artefacts in Paris
The Mexican government has attempted to halt two auctions of Pre-Columbian artefacts in Paris. In a letter sent to the French Ministry, the Mexican Embassy expressed its “deep concern” about the legality of the sales.
Continue reading
Maro Itoje scores a try at Sotheby’s with his guest curation of Contemporary African art
Professional rugby player Maro Itoje has ventured into the contemporary art auction world, with his guest curation of the upcoming ‘Contemporary Curated’ sale at Sotheby’s London. Itoje is one of English rugby’s biggest stars: he is blindside flanker for English Championship club Saracens and the England National team, and has won three European Rugby Champions Cups with his club, and three Six Nations titles with England, as well as being named European player of the year in 2016. However, Itoje is by no means only absorbed in the world of rugby. He has a keen interest in art, particularly contemporary Nigerian art, so his involvement in Sotheby’s upcoming contemporary auction seems the perfect fit.
Continue reading
Cambridge University returns looted Benin Bronze cockerel
Jesus College in the University of Cambridge has returned a looted Benin bronze to Nigeria, becoming the first UK institution to do so. The unprecedented decision was announced in November 2019 after a student-led campaign initiated talks between the college and the Benin Dialogue Group.
Continue reading
Art Law & More 