The Indian Finance Ministry announced the sale of government bonds worth Rs 28,000 crore through auctions to be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India on July 5th. The bonds will be sold in three lots, with varying maturities and interest rates, through a price-based auction using the multiple price method.
The iconic Savoy Hotel in London is hosting an auction featuring over 1,800 items from its history, including memorabilia from famous guests like Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. The auction will offer a unique opportunity for collectors to own a piece of luxury and history.
Global superstar Jackson Wang is auctioning off pieces from his personal archive through Joopiter.com, a digital-first auction house founded by Pharrell Williams. The auction, titled “Jackson Wang Metamorphosis”, will feature items from Wang’s fencing gear to custom pieces worn on his Magic Man World Tour. The sale will open for global bidding from June 18-25, with proceeds going to an undisclosed charity. Wang says it was an easy decision to part with the items as he looks back on his journey from athlete to performer to designer. The auction offers fans a chance to own a piece of Wang’s legacy and support a good cause.
A rare, hand-painted Boba Fett action figure from the 1970s has become the world’s most valuable toy after selling for a record $525,000 at auction. One of only two known to have survived, the figure was created by Kenner in 1979 and was originally intended as a free gift for those who purchased four other Star Wars action figures. However, the toys were never released due to safety concerns, and most prototypes were destroyed. This particular figure was later salvaged from a box of discarded toys and has now broken auction records, surpassing the previous record set by a Barbie doll with a 1-carat diamond in 2010. The sale price also more than doubled the $236,000 paid for another Boba Fett toy in 2022. The identity of the buyer remains anonymous.
A complete and enigmatic manuscript of Albert Camus’ renowned novel ‘The Stranger’ is set to go under the hammer at Tajan in Paris today, with an estimated value between €500,000 and €800,000. Despite being dated ‘April 1940,’ experts believe it was written in 1944, based on the recollections of Camus’ wife and other clues. The manuscript reveals numerous revisions, additions, and sketches that differ from the first edition, raising questions about Camus’ creative process. Previously auctioned twice, this literary masterpiece has belonged to a private collector until now.
Eight luxury watches owned by legendary Formula One driver Michael Schumacher will be auctioned off by Christie’s in Geneva to mark the 30th anniversary of his first Drivers Championship victory in 1994. The collection includes timepieces from renowned brands such as Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, and Patek Philippe.
Gustav Klimt’s long-lost masterpiece, ‘Portrait of Miss Lieser,’ has emerged from obscurity and sold for €30 million at an auction in Vienna. Once presumed missing, the unfinished work depicts a young woman and was inherited by its current owners two years ago. Despite its absence from the public eye, the painting’s discovery marks a significant moment in art history.
Gustav Klimt’s ‘Portrait of Fräulein Lieser’ sold at auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million), making it one of the artist’s last major works. The painting had been presumed lost for decades and was auctioned on behalf of its current owners, Austrian private citizens, and the heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser. It is unclear which member of the Lieser family commissioned the work, but it was believed to have been painted in 1917, a year before Klimt’s death. The fate of the painting between 1925 and the 1960s, a period that included the Nazi era, remains uncertain. Currently, there is no evidence of Nazi confiscation, but the Washington Principles were employed to address potential restitution issues related to Nazi-confiscated art.
John Lennon’s iconic ‘Help!’ guitar, played during the making of the album and film, is headed to auction after spending decades in an attic. Discovered in the British countryside, the Framus 12-string acoustic guitar has an estimated value of $600,000 to $800,000, but experts believe it could surpass the $2.4 million record set by Lennon’s Gibson J160E in 2015. Auctioneers have hailed the discovery as ‘the greatest find of a Beatles guitar’ since the recovery of Paul McCartney’s lost Höfner bass guitar.
A long-lost painting by renowned Austrian symbolist Gustav Klimt, ‘Bildnis Fraeulein Lieser’ (Portrait of Miss Lieser), will be auctioned in Vienna on Tuesday. The unfinished portrait, created in 1917, resurfaced this year after almost a century, leaving art enthusiasts in awe. Despite its estimated value of up to €50 million, the painting’s provenance remains shrouded in mystery.
