Record-breaking auctions
Auctions are traditionally the arena in which some of the world’s most famous and valuable items change hands. The world’s most prestigious auction houses have become a space in which the theatre of trade plays out in the most direct way possible.
Works of art are fetching massive sums at auction more and more often. Art is increasingly seen as a prudent investment, and allows buyers to make a statement not just about their wealth, but about their taste and, with modern art, the fact that they “get it”. Painted in 1905 by Picasso, ‘Boy with a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)’ sold for a record-breaking $104.1 million in 2004. In February 2010, Giacometti’s ‘Walking Man I’ sculpture sold for $104.3 million, and, in May 2010, the record price for a piece of art was broken again when Picasso’s ‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust’, which he painted in a single day, sold for $106.5 million.
In 1994, Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Codex Hammer’, making it the most expensive manuscript ever sold at auction. The manuscript contains writing and sketches from da Vinci’s journals, detailing the countless ideas he had. In 1997, Gates published a digital scan of the manuscript so the rest of the world could enjoy it.
Musical instruments come with their own historical narrative. The Guameri del Gesu violin, which was made 250 years ago by the grandson of one of Antonio Stradivari’s apprentices, holds the record for the highest-priced instrument at auction. It was purchased in 2007 by a Russian lawyer for $3.9 million. At a private performance in Moscow, Israeli violinist Pinchas Zukerman played the instrument for the first time in 70 years.
Regardless of the economic climate, car enthusiasts are often willing to part with big money. In May 2009, when we were in the grip of a recession, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa became the most expensive car sold at auction, fetching $12.2 million.
