#christies auction

[dozydawn]

19 Magazine, September 1978.

Photographed by Mike Berkofsky.

Model: Jemma.

[7pleiades7]

Eve (1885), (detail), by Anna Lea Merritt (American, 1844-1930), signed and dated 'Anna Lea Merritt/1885.' (lower left), oil on canvas, 30 x 43 in. (76.8 x 109.2 cm.), Private Collection

[empirearchives]

First French Empire era travel mirror. Monogram of Caroline Bonaparte.

(Christie’s)

[chaoticdesertdweller]

Psychedelic minidress by The Fool, 1967

Part of the upcoming Christie's auction of the Collection of Pattie Boyd

[coochiequeens]

Money and privilege isn’t enough to protect women and girls from sexual abuse. Content Warning: descriptions for child sexual abuse

High-fashion brand Gucci is owned by Balenciaga's parent company, Kering, and heiress Alexandra Gucci Zarini came forward in 2020 to allege she was sexually abused by her stepfather for many years—and the Gucci family intentionally covered for him instead of protecting her. 

Balenciaga's name has been dragged through the mud for the last few weeks after the high-fashion brand released a campaign featuring young girls holding bondage teddy bears and standing on top of court documents from a Supreme Court case about child pornography. Ever since the brand was forced to apologize and remove the campaign, investigative journalists and everyday social media users have been digging deeper into the roots of Balenciaga and its parent company Kering. 

Balenciaga and Its Parent Company Kering Have a History with Pedophilic Content

The S&M teddy bear photo shoot was just the tip of the iceberg. The very next campaign that Balenciaga released featured art books that glamorize pedophilia, cannibalism, and the occult. Some of the images look very similar to the kind of photo shoots that artists like Marina Abramovic, who is known for hosting "spirit cooking" events with powerful people in the fashion and political world, have done with fashion magazines in the past. And many of the paintings depict dystopian, disturbing scenarios in which adults are leading around young children in occult-like costumes with their heads and faces covered fully in hoods, naked toddlers covered in blood playing with severed human body parts, and young children standing around a rodent presumably getting ready to sacrifice it for an occult ritual. It has left many people wondering why on earth a fashion brand would willingly display these types of books in a fashion campaign.

But of course it doesn't stop there. Balenciaga's parent company Kering is associated with some extremely disturbing content too. The CEO of Kering, François-Henri Pinault (who is married to actress Salma Hayek), owns Christie's auction house, a famous auction site that sells a series of pedophilic art. Brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman created multiple child sex mannequins that are extremely disturbing and predatory. There is one piece of art in particular that is labeled F*ck Face. It's a male toddler with an erect penis in place of his nose and an anus in place of his mouth. The piece of art shows the boy walking with a large brown t-shirt on and purple sneakers. It sold for $140,000. This is just one example of many similar mannequins. 

It's important to note that Kering also owns the following luxury brands: Adidas, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma, Montblanc, and Gucci. And a Gucci heiress came forward a couple years ago to allege that she was sexually abused by her stepfather while the Gucci family covered it up for years. 

Gucci Heiress Alexandra Gucci Zarini Was Allegedly Sexually Abused by Her Stepfather and She Says Her Family Covered It up for Years

Alexandra Gucci Zarini, 37, came forward in 2020 to allege she was sexually abused for years at the hands of her stepfather, Joseph Ruffalo. Zarini is the granddaughter of industry titan Aldo Gucci, and she says from the ages of 6 to 22 she was sexually abused by Ruffalo—and even worse, her mother, Patricia Gucci, and her grandmother, Bruna Palombo, knew of the abuse and groomed her for Ruffalo. She alleges they allowed him to videotape her naked in the bathtub while he hit her, in addition to a slew of other physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Zarini says both women were pressured to stay quiet by Ruffalo. 

Zarini filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court in 2020, alleging that her mother would hit or try to choke her, and then Ruffalo would step in and act like her rescuer, only to abuse her in even worse ways. She said she knew the abuse was coming because she could hear the ice clinking in his glass of scotch, which meant he was headed to her bedroom. He allegedly also encouraged her to use cocaine and crystal meth. The lawsuit alleges that Ruffalo would get into Zarini's bed naked and digitally raped her and rubbed his genitals on her. Palombo allegedly told her "to keep quiet" and cover everything up. 

“If you think this doesn’t happen here in Beverly Hills, then you should know that my perpetrator still lives in California, spends time at the Bel-Air country club and volunteers in your children’s hospitals,” she said in a video.

“What he did to her is inexcusable and I was devastated when she disclosed everything to me at our family doctor’s office in London in September 2007. I immediately initiated divorce proceedings against Mr Ruffalo and set about healing my family through counseling," Zarini's mother Patricia Gucci said in a statement. However, she said that her allegations against her and Palombo were untrue. “I am equally devastated by the allegations against me and her grandmother, which are completely false,” she said.

These dark, disturbing allegations really make you wonder why these Kering luxury brands are associated with so much child abuse and pedophilia, whether it's pedophilic art, child sex abuse allegations, or predatory campaigns featuring minors with bondage teddy bears. At some point, you have to acknowledge that these can't all just be coincidences. What else are these brands hiding? What else is hiding beneath the surface?

[serpentinesheldonserpentine]

Charlie Happy Christmas from Mick

[watchilove]

Christies Watches Geneva achieves CHF55 million | US$62 million

Geneva – Christie’s autumn Luxury Week totalled CHF125,367,440 | US$139,901,892 | €130,355,457 and was highlighted by the Bleu Royal which sold for CHF39,505,00 | US$44,009,645 becoming the most expensive jewel sold at auction in 2023. The bidding took 7 minutes, after which the diamond entered another private collection, for the first time after 40 years. Continue reading Untitled

[7pleiades7]

Flora unveiled by Zephyrs (1807) by Richard Westall RA (English, 1765–1836), oil on panel, 76.7 × 59.1 cm, Private Collection

[blueiscoool]

Blue Diamond Sells for more than $44 Million at Christie's Auction in Geneva

Christie’s says the largest fancy vivid blue diamond to ever come to auction has sold for more than $44 million, far outstripping the pre-sale estimate.

The largest fancy vivid blue diamond to ever come to auction sold Tuesday for more than $44 million, far outstripping the pre-sale estimate, Christie's said.

The “Bleu Royal” — a ring featuring a fancy vivid blue pear-shaped diamond of 17.61 carats — was one of the standout pieces to go under the hammer at the auction house for Geneva’s Luxury Week.

Christie’s had estimated the ring would fetch around $35 million.

The auction house said the sale made the “Bleu Royal” the most expensive jewel sold at auction this year.

Christie's said the gemstone would be handed over to another private collection for the first time in 40 years.

BLEU ROYAL EXCEPTIONAL COLOURED DIAMOND AND DIAMOND RING Fancy vivid blue pear brilliant-cut diamond of 17.61 carats, pear brilliant-cut diamond of 3.12 carats and pear modified brilliant-cut diamond of 3.07 carats, platinum and 18k rose gold.

[ladyvogueuk]

[donotdestroy]

“Jackson Pollock, the renowned American artist known for his abstract expressionist paintings, didn't often speak at length about the monetary value of his art. He was more focused on the creative and expressive aspects of his work. Pollock did express his thoughts on art in general and his artistic process, but discussions about the market value of his art were not a central theme in his public statements. The value of his art became more prominent in later years, as his works gained significant recognition and fetched high prices in the art market.”

— ChatGPT

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

The Ripoli Press was the first press in Florence to operate for a significant period, its cloisters filled with the daughters of illustrious Florentine families producing a wide range of books. Their operations from 1476 are documented in the manuscript diario of the convent, written in the hand of Fra Domenico (whose death in 1484 seems to have ended printing activity at the house, making Ficino’s Plato their final work). 

The Plato was “by far the largest printing job the press had ever undertaken…the commission of such a significant edition—the first translation of all the works of Plato into any Western language—underwritten by friends of Ficino himself, suggesting the press had gained a very good reputation within the influential and monied humanist circle in Florence” (Conway).

[thephoblographer]

How This Iconic Photo by William Eggleston Set a New Record at Auction

William Eggleston was a color pioneer who found beauty in the everyday. However, despite beginning his journey in the 1950s, the world did not see his work until the 1970s, when John Szarkowski, a curator, decided to showcase it at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit was the start of a new way of looking at the world, inspiring millions. And now, Eggleston’s work is getting more appreciation…

[trendynewsnow]

Art Auction Week: Highlights and Challenges in the Contemporary Market

Art Auction Week: A Rollercoaster of Highs and Lows In a week marked by the sale of approximately 1,600 pieces of Impressionist, modern, and contemporary art, the most talked-about moment came not from a traditional masterpiece, but rather from a quirky conceptual artwork: a $6.2 million banana. This piece, titled “Comedian” and created by Maurizio Cattelan, drew a crowd of over 300 eager…

[romanovsmurdermystery]

On the photograph: on the left, the Faberge diamond and gold cigarette case of Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark) (26 November 1847 – 13 October 1928); on the right, Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark).

The Faberge diamond and gold cigarette case of Maria Feodorovna will be presented at the Christies Magnificent Jewels Auction that will take place on 15 May 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The current owner's family acquired the case in 1960s.

The estimate price: 20,000-30,000 CHF

Update on the sale: as of 15 May 2024 Christies Auction results, the cigarette case was not sold failing to reach estimated 20,000 CHF.

A speculation on whom might have sold the case to the current owner:

Maria Feodorovna from Russia to Denmark in April 1919 and took residence in the Hvidøre House that she and her sister Alexandra purchased in 1905 as a summer residence.

She lived there together with her daughter Olga Alexandrovna , her daughter's husband Nikoaly Kulikovsky, and their two sons, Tikhon and Guri, until her death in 1928.

Two years later, in 1930, Olga and her sister Xenia sold the Hvidøre House. Most likely, the cigarette case ended up with either Olga or Xenia. In 1948, Olga Alexandrovna immigrated to Canada. The case might have been with her. She died in 1960. Most likely either of her sons, Guri or Tikhon, sold the case to the current owner's family. However, the case might have ended up also with Xenia, the other daughter of Maria Feodorovna, who lived in England and also died in 1960. And it is one of her children who could have sold the case after her death. Either way, it appears that one of the grandchildren of Maria Feodorovna might have sold it in 1960s.

On the photograph: a page from the Christies catalogue - Magnificent Jewels for the Auction in Geneva on 15 May 2024.