Diageo and Sotheby’s have announced the opening of a sale of two of the rarest and most valuable casks of Single Malt Scotch Whisky in existence, sourced directly from the dwindling original ‘ghost’ stocks of the iconic distilleries Brora and Port Ellen. Each cask comes with the opportunity to collaborate on a commission with an internationally acclaimed artist, creating one-off pieces that reflect the distilleries and their whisky. Offered as part of the celebrations for...
The world’s largest cut diamond, thought to have come from outer space, has been sold by Sotheby’s for £3.2m. The billion-year-old, 555.55 carat black diamond entitled ‘the Enigma’, went under the hammer on the Sotheby’s online auction taking place from 3rd – 9th February. It didn’t achieve the stellar price expected, selling for £3.2m ($4.3m) on an estimate of $4m to $7m. Enigma, which possesses 55 facets, is designed in honour of the Middle Eastern...
The world-renowned partially shredded Banksy artwork, Love is in the Bin, previously known as Girl with Balloon prior to the self-destruction, has sold for a record-breaking £18,582,000 at Sotheby’s in London on Thursday. The original piece had attracted attention from all across the world three years ago, when the artist went on to operate the shredding mechanism of the artwork after it went under the hammer for £1m in 2018. Love is In the Bin...
The Dalmore Decades Highland Single Malt has achieved a record sale of HK$8,750,000/US$1,124,000 for a one-of-one, exceedingly rare collection of six extraordinary whiskies at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. The Dalmore Decades No.6 Collection, the only complete set of The Dalmore Decades, sold as a dedicated single lot auction. This price achieved represents the highest value for a whisky lot sold at Sotheby’s so far this year and the most valuable whisky lot ever sold by...
This morning, Thursday 9th September, at a global livestream event, Sotheby’s revealed details of the forthcoming landmark sales of The Macklowe Collection – one of the most important art collections, of any kind, ever to come to the market. See also: Macklowe Collection Auction Smashes Records for Sotheby’s Each of the 65 works is a consummate masterpiece in its own right; together they constitute an unrivalled ensemble that charts the high points of Western artistic...
A once-in-a-lifetime selection of six exceptional single malt whiskies is celebrated through the release of three unique collections that tell the story of The Dalmore’s relentless pursuit of excellence through six decades. A donation from the global auction at Sotheby’s of a unique one-of-a-kind collection of six rare Single Malts in October will be made to V&A Dundee as part of a four-year partnership with the arts powerhouse celebrating design, creativity, and vision. The Dalmore...
Private sales are generating a lot of business for auction house like Sotheby’s. But how does this discreet sector of the market operate? Auction houses like Sotheby’s are perhaps mostly associated with the excitement of live auctions (whether in person on online), but there’s another side to the business which is less well-known. Private Sales works discreetly and seamlessly with buyers and sellers of world-class works of art throughout the year, independent of the auction...
With the sad death of Sir Sean Connery, and the 100th birthday of the character James Bond coming up, the secret agent has never been more in the spotlight, or under the hammer. So is now a good time to buy James Bond Memorabilia at auction? Sir Sean Connery’s sad death in October 2020 reminded us all that the character of James Bond remains as entertaining, controversial, and stylish as ever. With the 100th anniversary...
As 2020 draws to a close, the international auction house looks back to discover some of the incredible moments and insights that defined this time of change. Online is where the action is Sharing the beauty of art and objects from afar brought us together in new and exciting ways, and led to memorable seasons underscored by innovation, adaptation and market leadership. The marketplace swiftly pivoted online, in 2020 70% of all auctions took place...
Pseudonymous street artist Banksy’s 2005 work Show Me The Monet has sold for $9.8 million at Sotheby’s in London. The second most expensive Banksy piece the art world has seen at auction, the piece is a parody of Monet’s water lily paintings with added traffic cones and shopping trollies. Sotheby’s said the piece “presents a dialogue on the impact of the corporate world on our environment and the sacrifices made at the expense of so-called...
