OFF THE BLOCK
We keep you up-to-date on the hottest lots under the hammer.
Choupette by Joana Vasconcelos
Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Monaco for €20,160
Comfortably exceeding its pre-auction top estimate of €7,000, this faience sculpture of the late Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette, was created by the Portuguese contemporary visual artist Joana Vasconcelos. Composed of earthenware by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, polychrome enamelling and hand-crocheted cotton, the sculpture was executed in 2013 and was a highlight of the first session of the Karl auction series, featuring items from the German designer’s estate. Following the completion of the first and second sessions last December (both in Paris and online), the third auction is scheduled to take place in March in Cologne.
Karuizawa 1964 - 51 Year Old
Auctioned by Bonhams in Hong Kong for HK$1.2 million
Of the many Karuizawa whisky lots sold by Bonhams in November 2021, none attracted more attention than this bottle, which contains Karuizawa whisky (with an ABV of 51.6 per cent) distilled at the beginning of May 1964. “The fact that there were some casks left from the 1960s was nothing short of a miracle. This was old, old-style Japanese whisky, of a character that would never be seen again,” commented expert David Broom. Numbered bottle 32 of 43 and drawn from cask number
17, the single malt was bottled in 2015 by Wealth Solutions and presented in a walnut wood box decorated with cherry blossom carvings.
Diego y yo by Frida Kahlo
Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$34.9 million
Returning to the art market for the first time in over 30 years, the sale of Frida Kahlo’s 1949 self-portrait, Diego y yo (Diego and I) smashed her previous highest-selling auction record of US$8 million. Painted in the wake of her husband Diego Rivera’s affair with actress and singer María Félix, it conveys the artist’s passion, pain, vulnerability and her tumultuous relationship with Rivera. This new auction record is all the more significant given that this work fetched just US$1.4 million at Sotheby’s in 1990, illustrating the soaring popularity of Kahlo’s work and Latin American art.
Coin du bassin aux nymphéas by Claude Monet
Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$50.8 million
Hotly pursued by collectors from
Asia and the Americas, this 1918 masterpiece by Claude Monet had
– until its appearance at auction remained in the same private collection for almost 25 years. Within this celebrated canvas, floating water lilies are juxtaposed with weeping willow tendrils and water grass fronds to create a sense of dynamism and motion. Considered a hallmark of 20th-century art, this rich, kaleidoscopic depiction of Monet’s lily pond at his garden in Giverny (a prominent subject of the artist’s work throughout several decades) outlines the vision and creativity of his mature years.
Entrance of Act II, Giselle by Natalia Osipova
Auctioned by Bonhams online and in London for £10,837.50
A unique attraction of Bonhams’ Encore! Modern Art on Stage sale, this was the first time that NFTs for ballet were offered for auction. Russian ballerina Natalia Osipova, a principal dancer at
The Royal Ballet in London, performed two pieces from the classic ballet Giselle and one from the contemporary duet Left behind, collectively referred to as Natalia Osipova: Triptych. Her interpretation of the role of Giselle was recorded exclusively for the NFT last November, marking one of the first opportunities for collectors and ballet admirers to own a piece of performance art.
Hublot Classic Fusion Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie, Ref 505. WX.9000.LR
Auctioned by Bonhams in Hong Kong for HK$1.1 million
A total of 1,185 baguette diamonds,
500 hours of dimensional checking and quality control, 4,100 hours of cutting, and four months of stone-setting work were poured into this extraordinary wristwatch. Hublot fans who were present at Baselworld 2013 may recall the moment it was unveiled as an haute joaillerie piece, following which only eight pieces were produced of this 18-carat white gold and baguette-cut diamond, skeletonised tourbillon timepiece. This watch, which was crafted in 2015, has a power reserve of 120 hours and a water resistance of 30m.
Le Nez by Alberto Giacometti
Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$78.4 million
This bronze, steel and iron sculpture was one of 35 artworks from The Macklowe Collection to appear at auction – an event that brought in a combined total of US$676.1 million, making it the most valuable sale to be held at Sotheby’s. Only eight examples of Le Nez were created by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, with this particular example having been conceived in 1949 and cast in 1965. This is one of just three examples to remain in private hands. Having previously belonged to real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his wife, it eventually sold to a collector in Asia.