Auction

Darth Vader’s Star Wars Lightsaber Goes to Auction

Darth Vader's lightsaber, used to chop off Luke Skywalker's hand in Star Wars classic The Empire Strikes Back, went on display in London on Wednesday, ahead of its US sale next month. The prop has been described as the "Holy Grail" for Star Wars fans, with millions prepared to end up like Skywalker and give their right arm to own the iconic ...

Pop Memorabilia: Glittery Michael Jackson Sock Fetches $8,822 at French Auction

A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than $8,000 on Wednesday, a French auctioneer said. A technician found the used sock discarded near Jackson's dressing room after the concert in the southern city of Nimes in July 1997, auctioneer Aurore Illy told AFP. The ...

Historic 1931 Gandhi Oil Painting Fetches £152,800 at London Auction

A rare painting of Mahatma Gandhi, believed to be the only oil portrait that the Indian independence leader ever sat for, has sold at auction in the UK for £152,800 ($205,000). The 1931 painting by British-American artist Clare Leighton fetched more than twice the estimated price when the auction closed on Tuesday in London, Bonhams auction ...

Karl Lagerfeld’s Private French Villa Heads to Public Auction

Hidden from view, once a creative sanctuary and reception venue, a former residence of iconic German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is headed for public auction this Tuesday under France’s notarial system. Purchased by Lagerfeld in 2010, the “Domaine de Voisins,” located in Louveciennes (Yvelines), was dubbed his villa outside Paris. The ...

Napoleon Collection Auction Fetches Over $10M in Paris

A massive trove of artwork and curios linked to Napoleon Bonaparte, including one of his iconic bicorne hats, has sold for more than $10 million in Paris, an auction house said. Sotheby's said it had originally estimated the more than 110 items of Napoleonic memorabilia that it sold on Wednesday at around $7 million. Famous paintings of the ...

Picasso’s Hidden Ceramics Emerge as Auction Highlights

A clutch of one-off and hitherto unseen ceramic plates and dishes by Pablo Picasso are going under the hammer in Geneva on June 19. Emblematic motifs from Picasso's artistic universe—pigeons, fish, a goat, a bull, and a bird—adorn the colorful plates and dishes. "It's a truly exceptional collection. The plates and dishes we have here are real ...

Set of Shakespeare Folios to be Sold in Rare London Auction

A set of four Shakespeare folios estimated to be worth more than £3.5 million ($4.7 million) will go on sale in London next month, auction house Sotheby's said Wednesday. The First Folio, published in 1623, was the first collection of William Shakespeare's plays and is considered one of the most important books in English literature. Without ...

Spielberg's Original 1982 E.T. Model Fails to Find Buyer

An original model of E.T., created for Steven Spielberg's beloved film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, did not find a buyer after being put up for auction, Sotheby's auction house in New York said Thursday. The piece, a little over a meter high and which had been estimated to fetch between $600,000 and $900,000, comes from the collection of Italian ...

Godard's 'Breathless' Script Set to Be Auctioned

The only known script of French director Jean-Luc Godard's New Wave classic "À bout de souffle" (Breathless) that includes pages of his handwritten notes is set to be sold at auction in June, Sotheby's said Thursday. The script comes from the estate of the film's producer, Georges de Beauregard, another pillar of the New Wave movement of the ...

Banksy’s 'Crude Oil' to Auction for £3-5 Million

A significant Banksy artwork is set to be auctioned in London on March 4, with an estimated value ranging from £3 million to £5 million (approximately €3.6 million to €6 million), according to an announcement made by Sotheby’s on Tuesday. The piece, titled Crude Oil (Vettriano), and sometimes referred to as Toxic Beach, is part of the ...

Exclusive Yves Saint Laurent Intimate Drawings Highlight Paris Auction

More than 20 drawings of nudes by French fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent will be auctioned this month at Sotheby’s in Paris. Other artworks collected by Saint Laurent, who passed away in 2008, and his partner Pierre Bergé, who died in 2017, will also be part of the sale. The auction, titled Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Bergé: an intimate ...

Magritte and the Poetic Enigma of 'The Empire of Light'

The Empire of Light by René Magritte undoubtedly ranks among the most fascinating pictorial series of the 20th century. An emblem of the singular artistic approach of the Belgian surrealist master, it embodies his relentless quest to challenge our certainties about reality and its representation. Created over three decades, from 1940 to 1960, the ...