Most expensive auctions and their winners
The uber-rich have been known for the assets they collect and the price they pay for acquiring them. This list provides a detail of the most expensive auctions held in recent times, the prized items sold in them, and the people who bought these items.
1) Most expensive painting to be sold at an auction
Item: Picasso’s Nude, green leaves and bust
Sold: $ 106.5 million
Year: 2010
Winner: Roman Abramovich
Within 8 minutes of the auction taking place, Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich picked up the masterpiece made by Pablo Picasso, which was supposedly created within the span of a day, in 1932. This painting went past the record set earlier in the year, when a work of Giacometti went on sale for $104.3 million. The work of art in question is one of the most famous by the European artist, who created it after drawing inspiration from his then-mistress Marie Therese Walter.
2) Most expensive diamond
Item: Graff Pink
Sold: $ 44.8 million
Year: 2010
Winner: Laurence Graff
Among the varieties of diamonds available, pink diamonds are deemed to be the rarest and most expensive the world over. It was only befitting that a sample of the variety become the world’s most expensive diamond to be sold at an auction. Bought by British billionaire Laurence Graff, through the auction house Sotheby’s, this diamond is known because of its ability to disperse light absorbed from within the earth’s surface as it was formed over millions of years. The shape of the diamond is in the form of a unique shield shape, which is rare among cut diamonds.
3) Most expensive Imperial Censers
Item: Cloisonné enamel double crane censers
Sold: $ 16.7 million
Year: 2011
Winner: Joseph Lau
The reason these set of bejeweled cranes have been famous, is because Emporer Qialong of Hongkong had commissioned the making of these cranes, and were part of his personal collection even after he became the king. This set changed many hands since its time of creation, and is currently owned by Josepg Lau, one of the richest men in Hong Kong.
4) Most Expensive Book
Item: Audubon’s Birds of America
Sold: $10.3 million
Year: 2010
Winner: Michael Tollemache
The Birds of America was made famous because of the reason that it was the world’s first printed book, authored by American naturalist, Audubon. Printed in the 1830s, only 119 copies were ever printed of this gigantic book (100 cm in length and 67 cm in width), and it was a surprise that such a copy of it still existed in today’s times. The content of the book included life size illustrations of birds, which Audubon captured during his studies of bird’s habitats. At a time when photography didn’t exist, it vowed everyone to see the detailing of the illustrations carried in the book, which were printed reproductions of what Audubon created by hand.
5) Most Expensive Mercedes Benz at an auction
Item: 1937 Mercedes Benz 540K
Estimated Price: $ 8.25 million or higher
Year: 2011
Winner: Yet to be determined
This 1937 version of the Mercedes Benz 540K is said to be one of the only three in existence during modern times. This car has been endowed with an 8-cylinder engine, which generated 180 HP of power, with a top speed of 105 miles per hour. It also has a 4-wheel transmission and suspension, which was a rarity in cars of that time. The auction house to be involved for the vehicle is RM Auctions, known for selling rare vintage vehicles at their auction events.
6) Most Expensive Photograph
Item: Cindy Sherman’s Print
Sold: $ 3.9 million
Year: 2011
Winner: Philippe Segalot
The photographed titled ‘Untiled #96’ became the most expensive photograph to be sold at an auction, for reasons that were clearly never known. This photograph showed a young girl in orange-colored clothing lying down, looking away from the direction of the camera. The auction happened through America’s largest auction house, Christie’s.
7) Most expensive piece of space artifact
Item: Vostok 3KA-2
Sold: $ 2.88 million
Year: 2011
Winner: Evgeny Yurchenko
On the 12th of April this year, a historical day came into existence as being the 50th anniversary of man’s first flight into space. However, before Vostok 1 was sent into space, the Vostok 3KA2 was sent there as an experiential mission, before being recovered in a burnt state. It was, however, very similar in design to the Vostok 1 which carried Yuri Gagarin. The space artifact was bought over by Russian businessman Evgeny Yurchenko for the purpose of donating to a science museum in Russia that would display the history of the development of the Russian space mission.
8) Most Expensive Bottle of Champagne
Item: Arman De Brignac Midas
Sold: $ 190,000
Year: 2011
Winner: Don Johnson
This 30-liter bottle of Champagne from the house of Arman De Bregnac became one of the largest bottles of Champagne, and also the most expensive bottle of Champagne to be ever sold at an auction. The bottle measured 45 kgs in weight and needed the efforts of three men to carry it the venue for display at the auction. The size was known to be the equivalent of 40 regular-sized bottles, and had to be created by eight artists who ended up making this golden giant bottle, named after Greek mythological King Midas, who could change anything he touched into gold. The auction happened through an exclusive club in London, called OneforOne Park Lane, where Mr. Don Johnson, known for his casinos worldwide, placed the winning bid.
9) Most royal cardboard memorabilia box
Item: Cardboard Memorabilia box
Sold: $ 185,300
Year: 2011
Winner: Elisabeth Murdoch
Daughter of Rupert Murdoch, Ms. Elisabeth Murdoch successfully bid for a piece of royal memorabilia that may never really reach her in the end. The item in question is a cardboard box that can hold child vaccinations, signed by Prince William and his wife, though some sources say otherwise as it is against the protocol for them to have done so. The proceeds of the sale will be donated toward the cause of children’s health around the world, especially in poorer nations.
10) World’s Oldest Champagne
Item: 200 year old Veuve Clicquot
Sold: $ 43,300
Year: 2011
Winner: Buyan Restaurant, Singapore
Unlike other rare bottles of alcohol, this bottle was found under the sea near a site of a ship wreckage, near one of the islands of Finland. During one of the excavations, this bottle was discovered and later purchased by the Buyan chain of restaurants in Singapore. The owner of the chain, Julia Sherstyuk, defined the purchase as a landmark one, and would be served among patrons of the restaurant to educate them about wine history.
