Sotheby's

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Biggie's Crown Smashes Auction Estimates

Sells for nearly 100K times what the photographer paid

(Newser) - The crown that the Notorious B.I.G. wore in his last photo shoot, three days before his death, cost $6 in 1997. On Tuesday night, it sold for nearly 100,000 times that amount, the New York Post reports. The plastic crown, purchased by photographer Barron Claiborne, was auctioned...

Crown Biggie Wore 3 Days Before His Death Is for Sale

Sotheby's sale also includes a teen Tupac's love letters

(Newser) - Letters from a lovestruck 16-year-old Tupac Shakur will be auctioned off at Sotheby's first-ever sale devoted to hip-hop history. The 22 letters to Kathy Loy, one of the rapper's classmates at the Baltimore School for the Arts in the 1980s, are expected to fetch up to $80,000,...

Cats, Dogs Frolicked Near $9M Emperor&#39;s Vase
'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase
Found in Old Woman's Cupboard
in case you missed it
Aug 8, 2020 11:31 AM CDT

'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase Found in Old Woman's Cupboard

Rediscovered Chinese porcelain dating back 275 years kept in open cupboard near cats, dogs

(Newser) - A delicate Chinese porcelain vase believed to have been crafted for an emperor 275 years ago has sold for more than $9 million after turning up in a cupboard in a country home in central Europe. The rare find—actually two vases in one, with a pierced outer layer of...

A Classic Fictional Name Was a Last-Minute Switch

Truman Capote made it 'Holly Golightly' in manuscript, which is now up for auction

(Newser) - Even those who haven't read Breakfast at Tiffany's or seen the movie starring Audrey Hepburn might be familiar with her character's name of Holly Golightly. But what only diehard fans might know is that author Truman Capote originally named the character Connie Gustafson—only to scratch the...

Someone Just Paid $560K for These Sneakers

They were Air Jordan 1s from way back in 1985

(Newser) - Hurting for cash and hating the rich? Then really, don't read this—because someone just snagged a pair of Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers for $560,000, CNN reports. Sotheby's auctioned off the 1985 mid-tops Sunday, more than tripling the $150,000 estimate and dethroning the Nike 1972 "...

Hockney Painting Makes Splash at Auction

1966 work sells for $30M

(Newser) - David Hockney’s exuberant painting "The Splash" sold at auction at Sotheby's in London on Tuesday for almost $30 million. Its pre-sale estimate had been $26 million to $39 million, the AP reports. Painted in 1966, Hockney’s bold canvas shows a California swimming pool in the moment...

His $217 Auction Find Sells for $1.8M
His $217 Auction Find
Sells for $1.8M
Jul 23, 2019 12:23 PM CDT

His $217 Auction Find Sells for $1.8M

Gary George says farewell to original moon landing tapes

(Newser) - Gary George was an intern at NASA's Johnson Space Center when he bought 1,150 reels of magnetic tape belonging to the agency at a government surplus auction in 1976. The $217.77 purchase certainly paid off. Included were three tapes representing the "earliest, sharpest, and most accurate...

99% of Sneakers Auction at Sotheby's Goes to 1 Buyer

Canadian entrepreneur had bid on all 100 pairs

(Newser) - On Thursday, 100 pairs of the rarest sneakers—labeled Nike, Adidas, and Air Jordan, for starters—went up for auction. By Friday, they were all sold to a single bidder, except for one lone, expensive pair: the 1972 Nike Waffle Racing Flat Moon Shoe. Bill Bowerman, a cofounder of Nike,...

Chess Piece in a Drawer for 55 Years May Sell for $1.3M

Piece has been identified as one of the famous Lewis Chessmen from the Viking era

(Newser) - A chess piece purchased for $7.50 by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964 has been identified as one of the 900-year-old Lewis Chessmen, among the greatest artifacts of the Viking era. Sotheby's auction house said Monday the chess piece is expected to bring between $670,000 and...

Big Money for Monet at Record-Shattering Auction

French artist's painting goes for $110.7M, a world record for impressionist art

(Newser) - Like a fine wine, this Claude Monet piece just got better with age. Or more valuable, at any rate: An 1890 oil painting from the French artist's "Haystacks" (or "Meules") series sold Tuesday at Sotheby's for $110.7 million—the first time an impressionist painting...

She Bought It for $100. Sotheby's Just Auctioned It Off

Unnamed buyer sees Buddha statue go for $2.1M

(Newser) - That garage sale in your neighborhood? Another reason to check it out: A Chinese statuette bought for $100 at just such a sale sold Wednesday at Sotheby's for an incredible $2.1 million, MarketWatch reports. The unnamed buyer appeared on the PBS show Antiques Roadshow in 2017 and said...

Sotheby's After $1.1M Sale: 'We've Just Been Banksy'ed'

Auctioned painting self-destructed soon after sale went through

(Newser) - Newsweek is saying it could be Banksy's "most jaw-dropping trick yet," and it would be hard to find anyone who disagrees. It happened Friday night at a Sotheby's auction in London, when the enigmatic street artist's 2006 Girl With Balloon painting was sold off...

Copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover Could Fetch Obscene Cash

The paperback was used by the judge in a landmark obscenity trial against the publisher

(Newser) - A paperback copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover used by the judge in the UK obscenity trial of the novel's publisher is expected to sell at auction for up to $20,000, auctioneer Sotheby's said Wednesday. Penguin Books was prosecuted in 1960 for publishing DH Lawrence's book...

Only 36 of These Were Made, and One Just Sold at Auction

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sells for a record $48.4M

(Newser) - A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at auction over the weekend for $48.4 million—setting a world record for the most money ever paid for a car at auction, CNNMoney reports. Thirty-six 250 GTOs were made and all are still running, creating an exclusive club of owners; this particular...

A Beheaded Queen's Jewelry Is Up for Grabs

Pearls worn by Marie Antoinette that haven't been seen in public in 200 years are up for auction

(Newser) - Sotheby's says it will be auctioning off a set of natural pearls that once belonged to the famed—or infamous—French queen Marie Antoinette, and that haven't been seen in public for centuries. The sale of "Royal Jewels From the Bourbon-Parma Family" is set to take place...

What May Be 'Most Famous Map in English Lit' Up for Grabs

1926 EH Shepard sketch of Hundred Acre Wood appears in AA Milne's 'Winnie-the-Pooh'

(Newser) - Sotheby's is prepping for a children's books and illustrations auction in July, and at the top of the list is what one expert calls "probably the most famous map in English literature." That, per the BBC , would be EH Shepard's original ink sketch of the...

They 'Didn't Like' the Vase. Then They Learned Its Value

Attic find from Qing Dynasty could fetch up to $850K

(Newser) - It's not $136 million in art , but it's not an ex-boyfriend , either. Rather, the latest attic find is a perfect condition Chinese vase from the 18th-century Qing dynasty. Its owners took the vase, reportedly made for the Qianlong Emperor, to be appraised at Sotheby's three months ago...

Painting Declared Obscene in 1917 Sells for $157M

Modigliani nude breaks Sotheby's record

(Newser) - A nude painting considered too obscene to display in Paris a century ago sold at an auction in New York City for $157.2 million Monday night, setting a new record for Sotheby's auction house but not for artist Amadeo Modigliani, the Guardian reports. Nu couche (sur le cote ...

This Might Be the Oldest Photo of a US President

1843 image of John Quincy Adams, then a congressman, is going up for auction

(Newser) - Sotheby's has an interesting item coming up for sale, one that will intrigue history and photography buffs. But they'll need deep pockets to take it home: An 1843 daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams is expected to fetch up to $250,000 when it goes up for sale on...

Flea Market Find of a Lifetime Is Sold

26-carat diamond fetches $848K

(Newser) - She bought it for $15, expected to sell it for $450,000, and instead got $848,000 for a whopping 56,500% return on her original investment. The mystery seller, who snatched up a chunky "costume jewelry" ring at a flea market in London in the 1980s, parted with...

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