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From Bono to Dylan, Marilyn Monroe to The Terminator, Christie’s Pop Culture auction at South Kensington, London on December 16 has it covered. The sale celebrates some of the greatest names in 20th century cinema and the music legends of today. It features hand written lyrics, costumes, film scripts and instruments including a custom prototype Gretsch Irish Falcon electric guitar made for Bono and signed by all four members of U2.  Bono commissioned Gretsch to build ten of these guitars for  U2’s 2001 elevation tour.   There is an elaborate harem costume worn by Marilyn Monroe in a photo shoot with Richard Avedon in which she portrayed  legendary screen seductresses Lillian Russell, Jean Harlow,  Marlene Dietrich, Clara Bow and Theda Bara. It featured in Life Magazine on December 22, 1958.  The catalogue for the sale is online. Here is a small selection:

U2/Bono – A circa 2002 custom prototype Gretsch Irish Falcon hollow body electric guitar (£120,000-180,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991/Arnold Schwarzenegger (£18,000-25,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

An elaborate harem costume worn by Marilyn Monroe as Theda Bara in her role as Cleopatra (£300,000-500,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

Bob Dylan
Untitled (Sara), 1968 (£50,000-70,000).  Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014

The Nobel Medal © Christie’s Images Limited 2014  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $4.75 MILLION

Dr. Watson – Image courtesy Science Source.

The 1962 Nobel Prize gold medal awarded to Dr. James D. Watson for his 1953 discovery with Dr. Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, of the structure of DNA will be offered by Christie’s in New York on December 4.  Dr. Watson is one of the world’s greatest living scientists.  The discovery of the double helix gave birth to the new science of molecular biology and revolutionized modern medicine. A Nobel Prize medal has never before been offered for sale by a living recipient. A portion of the proceeds will be donated by Dr. Watson to continue his philanthropic legacy of supporting scientific research, academic institutions, and other charitable causes. It is estimated at $2.5 to $3.5 million.

Dr. Watson wrote the first textbook of the new science, the influential Molecular Biology of the Gene in 1965.  This was followed in 1968 by his memoir of the discovery The Double Helix, one of the best selling popular science books of all time.  In April 2013 Christie’s sold Dr. Crick’s Secret of Life letter, in which he explained the structure of DNA to his son a few weeks before their discovery was published. It made $6,059,750, more than three times the estimate, and it holds the record for a letter sold at auction.

UPDATE:  It was bought by Russia’s richest man, mining, steel and telecoms magnate Alisher Usmanov, who plans to return it to Dr. Watson.

The Catherine Parr locket at James Adam in Dublin on November 23.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

A locket of hair inscribed Catherine Parr and crested with a crown motif is one of the more unusual lots at the James Adam Sunday Interiors sale in Dublin tomorrow. Catherine Parr (1512-1548), the last of six wives of Henry VIII, was  Queen of England from 1543-47 and outlived her husband. The memorial glazed oval pendant which contains the hair  measures just 4.5 cms and  is estimated at 400-600.  It is lot number 153.

Catherine Parr was the first English queen to be titled Queen of Ireland.  She was also the most married, with four husbands.

Collectibles on offer include a collection of 1976 Montreal Olympics coins, a pair of Tiffany plated oil lamps and a 19th century Canton carved and stained ivory chess set. Furniture includes a late 17th century Antwerp inlaid curiosity cabinet on stand (5,000-7,000) and a suite of Louis Seize style gilt wood framed salon seat furniture (4,000-5,000).  More than 600 lots will come under the hammer.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 19, 2014)

This 9.75 carat blue diamond sold for a world record price.

A rare 9.75 carat fancy vivid blue diamond sold for a world record US$32,645,000 at Sotheby’s in New York last night.  That is US$3,348,205 per carat, a world record per carat for any diamond.  From the celebrated collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon it has gone to a private collector in Hong Kong, who has named the stone The Zoe Diamond. No less than seven bidders competed in a 20 minute bidding battle.

Gary Schuler, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York, commented: “From the moment I saw this diamond, I knew that it would be one of the most important stones that I will ever have the privilege of presenting at auction.  It was incredible to see each of my colleagues experience the diamond for the first time, watching as the blue hue warmed and intensified in front of them with every minute in natural light.  Mrs Mellon’s diamond absolutely deserves the place in the record books that it achieved tonight.”

The previous auction record for any blue diamond was US$24,311,191, set by the Wittelsbach Diamond at Christie’s London in December 2008. The previous per-carat auction record for any diamond was US$2,398,152, set by a 14.82 carat Fancy Vivid Orange Diamond at Christie’s in Geneva in November 2013. Sotheby’s New York auctions of the Mellon Collection continues through Sunday.

The Henry Graves Supercomplication.

The hammer came down at $24 million US dollars on the most expensive timepiece in the world at Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 11.  The Henry Graves Supercomplication re-established its supreme status as the most valuable timepiece in auction history beating the record of $11 million it established in 1999. Five bidders competed for the watch completed by Patek Philippe in 1932. It  went to an anonymous buyer in the room. It is the most complicated watch ever made by human hands – without computer-assisted technology.   In 1925, Patek Philippe was commissioned by Henry Graves, a prominent New York banker, to produce the most complicated watch in the world. The product of three years of research and five years’ effort by the most skilled technicians, this extraordinary timepiece is a gold openface minute repeating chronograph clockwatch with Westminster chimes.  It incorporates a perpetual calendar, moon phases, sidereal time (used by astronomers), power reserve, and indications for time of sunset and sunrise and the night sky of New York City.

Commenting on the results of the sale, Tim Bourne, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Watches, and Daryn Schnipper, Chairman of Sotheby’s Watch Division, said: “This evening’s stellar result confirms the “rockstar” status of The Henry Graves Supercomplication. It is more than a watch. It is a masterpiece which transcends the boundaries of horology and has earned its place among the world’s greatest works of art. The fascination it has attracted over the past few months, as Patek Philippe celebrates its 175^thanniversary, is a fitting tribute to the genius of the Swiss manufacturer.”