A 1000-year-old carved rock crystal ewer from the Fatimid royal treasury is all set to generate a sale of 3 million pounds ($5.3 million) at Christie’s sale of Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds on 7 October. Dating back to late 10th to early 11th century AD, the Fatimid ewer is one of counted seven fully-carved recognized extant examples and the foremost one to be available for sale in an open market. Undoubtedly, it is a notable occasion for private collectors and institutions across the world. The auction is anticipated to sport an amazing grouping of exceptional artworks ranging from diverse geographical areas, materials and time and is expected to generate over £11 million.

Engraved from an individual piece of flawless rock crystal (hard as toughened steel), the ewers were first unfilled and then carved by hand with astonishing elegance, leaving a surface in the thinner areas that is only a few millimeters wide.

Designed and developed in 1854 by the French silversmith Jean-Valentin Morel, the Ewer is auxiliary embroidered with enamelled gold mounts that is clearly visibile on its right.

Via MiddleEastEvents

Another auction for charity! News is Tony Soprano’s boxers; black leather jacket, tan bathrobe and velour tracksuit falling amongst the old-fashioned mobster’s clothes are set to be auction at Christie’s International on 25 June in New York. James Gandolfini, who enacted the lethal yet oddly engaging New Jersey hooligan in “The Sopranos,” has plans to sell off 25 lots of clothing his character wore on the TV series that ended in June 2007. The profits, anticipated around $36,500 hence would be donated to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a Jacksonville, Florida-based nonprofit that aids injured soldiers. As a part of auction comes black leather Harley Davidson motorcycle jacket owned by Elvis Presley sporting Elvis’ initials EP stitched on the inside breast along with his diamond encrusted “Chief Deputy, Shelby County, Tennessee” badge. The jacket is expected to sell for $2,000 on 25 June at Christie’s.

Via Bloomberg

Athina Onassis, the heiress once hailed as ‘the richest little girl in the world’, is on a move to auction off her millions of pounds of jewelry that she inherited from her mother Christina. The fortune worth is amounted at £1 billion but her call for auction is the result of her decision that she has no need of what she sees as the glittering paraphernalia of a departed era. The jewelry collection up for auction is anticipated to generate £8 million on 11 June at Christie’s.

The exhibited collection include a pear-shaped 38-carat diamond estimated at up to £2.2 million, a ruby and diamond necklace by Van Cleef and Arpels expected to fetch £40,000, a rare Buddha by Carl Fabergé that was positioned on Onassis’s yacht likely to generate £250,000 to £350,000 plus a 14.79 carat diamond ring by Harry Winston worthy to realize £500,000-£700,000.

Via DailyMail

I don’t mind if the world’s most expensive rug is designed using silk, Persian or is centuries old but for sure the challenge is if it manages to tie the room together. An unnamed buyer inked a deal with a 16th-17th Century Persian rug that got sold for $4.45 million. Measuring 7’ 5” by 5’ 7”, it was formerly possessed by Doris Duke, a tobacco heiress and before she died left it to the Newport Restoration Foundation. The record selling price that it demanded was $700 per square inch.

One thing is for sure that the proud buyer should mention: “Wipe your feet” next to this rug so that it gets iits worthy respect.

Via MostExpensive/ Deluxe

We have covered various paintings, antiques, statues at international auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s. And lately here comes a mandatory update to my list of paintings sold at Christie’s. A Gundam painting by Japanese artist Tenmyouya Hisashi lately fetched $600,000 (HK$4.8 million) at Hong Kong based Christie’s auction house. The painting “RX-78-2 Kabuki-mono 2005 Version” reflects a perfect blend of traditionalism with modernism.

Hisashi states: Japan is known for numerous “Gundam-Otaku’s,” and their admiration of Gundam is profound. Hence, he didn’t wish to alter the image of Gundam. By shifting Gundam’s “mobile suit” to tattoos, he has offered a custom-built model and its setting against the background of gold leaf from customary Japanese painting accentuates Gundam’s samurai genesis.

Via Kotaku / LikeCool

A deep analysis at the jewelry market today would show you the signs of weakness but then also the latest tip in the market proved to be really strong. Pictured above is a 13.39 carat stunner that got sold off at Geneva-based Christie’s breaking the world record at $8.9 million. I reckon you would agree with me that such blue diamonds are rarely found. The stone is a type IIb diamond and such diamonds are only valued by jewelry lovers or collectors.

They surround small amounts of boron that gives them their return in the form of elegant shade. Another worth pointing feature is their property of being semi-conductors they conduct electricity. The auction generated total sales of $48.3 million.

Via Christie

An antique ‘Satlada’ necklace embedded with 1,888 pearls, once a possession of Arab world’s most famous singer, Umm Kulthoum got sold for $1,385,000 at a Christie’s auction in this rich Gulf emirate. This nine-strand necklace was purchased by an unnamed buyer from the Middle East and has fetched almost 10-times the pre-estimated sales price of $1, 20,000. The necklace is a part of the valuables collected by the Egyptian-born singer.

The descendants of Arab’s diva had put this necklace for sale. This necklace was flaunted by Umm Kulthoum at number of her stage performances. The pearl necklace with its multihued enamel and white stone minutiae was designed in 19th century India. It was a gift to the Umm by diva by Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late president of the United Arab Emirates in 1975 when she was 70.

Via FoxNews

The most respected thing about vintage jewelry is the inheritance of history that comes with it. Featured above is an intricate Empress Eugénie’s brooch, an aged diamond bow brooch designed dated back in 1855 by the Parisian jeweler François Kramer for the French Empress. The brooch was the highlight of the scheduled auction at Christie’s called “Eye of a Connoisseur sale,” that came to standstill during last minutes because of some court orders involving Fred Leighton owner, Ralph Esmerian under the charge of outstanding loans of $178 million debt owned to Merrill Lynch & Co.

Esmerian has had hard times paying off his debts and thus had to give up the security (his collection). Merrill Lynch made quality efforts to cash in the jewels at a Christie’s auction but Esmerian managed to put an hold on the sale, thereby declaring bankruptcy.

Against the pre-sales estimated amount of $4 million to $6 million, the brooch generated $11 million and all thanks to Louvre, who inked this pricey deal in order to get back a piece of the crown jewels. Having auctioned first in 1887, the brooch remained in the custody of jeweler Emile Schlesinger throughout his stay of 100 years in the Astor family.
I think more than craftsmanship, it is the legacy factor that has led to such a pricey auction.

Christie’s International is hoping to take deep breaths as it is focusing into the antique English furniture market by holding an evening sale of 12 “masterpieces” in London on 18 June. The discretely segmented selection that follows Christie’s evening sale of the anthology of the late Simon Sainsbury, is anticipated to fetch 10 million pounds ($19.7 million). The sale exhibits five works by Thomas Chippendale, the renowned English cabinetmakers.

Chippendale’s Kenure Cabinet from 1750s, an affluently stamped piece in a Chinese “fantasy” style is illustrated as the “finest example of his craft to ever appear at auction” by the auction house.

Since 1964, it was not seen in the market and news it this time at Christie’s it may generate a sale of record 2.5 million pounds to 4 million pounds ($3.9-$7.8 million) on 18 June.

Via Bloomberg

An elite painting by 20th Century French artist Fernand Leger is all set to undergo a hammer for $45 million at New York based Sotheby’s impressionist sale scheduled for 7 May. “Etude pour La Femme en Bleu” (1912-13) is a brew of arithmetical shapes hued in blue and white with intonations of pale yellow, red and black. The canvas dates back to the family compilation of German collector Hermann Lange, who purchased it from Galerie Neumann-Nierendorf in Berlin in 1920s. If this painting happened to fall near the expected sale i.e. $35-$45 million, then it would top the lot of the evening sale that would in total count to be $284 million. Leger’s earlier record was set in 2003 when his 1914 painting fetched him $22.4 million at Christie’s International in New York.

Via Bloomberg