In this fascinating series we cover the huge range of art treasures which go under the hammer in London, Paris and New York. From a snuff box made from the timbers of HMS Victory, through a ‘ski chair’ made for the Maharaja of Indore in 1929 which may fetch over £2 million, to a Qianlong Dynasty jade teapot and Mrs Thatcher’s handbag for £100,000 – it’s all in the auction rooms of the world.
EPISODE 1
In this programme, the royal palaces of Europe offer up their treasures in a sale which includes a singing clock like that made for the Empress Josephine. We meet the independent auctioneer Charles Miller who specialises in marine sales: today’s includes a snuff box made from the timbers of HMS Victory.
EPISODE 2
The best of twentieth century design goes under the hammer in Paris. This is a unique collection built up over the past ten years. It includes a ‘ski chair’ made for the Maharaja of Indore in 1929 which may fetch over £2 million. In London a portrait of Debbie Harry by Andy Warhol is one of the highlights of a modern art auction. And, sixty years on, a sketch portrait of The Queen at the Derby is attracting a lot of interest.
EPISODE 3
After years in the wilderness, the work of the British artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema is in demand. In New York, his painting of Antony and Cleopatra is on offer. It has an upper estimate of $6 million, but there are two very determined bidders. In Edinburgh, they’re asking £20,000 for a table designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh; but will the fact that it’s been in someone’s garden for thirty years work against it?
EPISODE 4
The world comes to Wiltshire – for a teapot. But this is no ordinary teapot. It’s from the Qianlong dynasty, made from a single block of Jade and is expected to fetch over £300,000 – reflecting the high prices being paid by Asian buyers anxious to buy back their heritage. And, in London Victorian and British Impressionist paintings are on offer – including an unusual work from the brush of Edward Seago.
EPISODE 5
This time in Auction the world’s biggest (and most expensive) jewellery box comes under the hammer. It was made for the Exposition Universelle in Paris in the nineteenth century and could fetch half a million pounds. And, in London the Chicago gangster Al Capone’s revolver is up for sale.
EPISODE 6
Would you pay over a million pounds for a chandelier? Perhaps, if you knew about its royal connections and the fact that it was once owned by the French couturier Hubert de Givenchy. It’s part of a sale in London of exceptional pieces from the great houses of Europe. Elsewhere in this programme; the sketch by Michaelangelo for a painting that never was. How much will it fetch?
EPISODE 7
One of Britain’s most important private art collections is up for sale. Assembled by the solicitor Wilfrid Evill, it includes work by his friend and client Stanley Spencer. In Salisbury, clocks made for Liberty in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ style are attracting intense interest. And, from Scotland comes a sale of the contents of Kinross House where, after generations of ownership, the family are finally moving on.
EPISODE 8
In the nineteenth century, Monet bought a row of Poplar trees that he wanted to paint – to prevent them being cut down. Was it a wise move? His painting of the Poplars near Giverny is up for sale in New York. In London, a stunning sculpture of Berenice – carved from a single block of marble by Ambrogio Borghi – may fetch £400,000.
EPISODE 9
In London, amateur auctioneer Jeffrey Archer has called together the Great and the Good for a charity sale. He’s selling off everything from the chief timekeeper’s watch used when Roger Bannister beat the four-minute mile in 1954…to Mrs Thatcher’s handbag. Will it fetch the estimated £100,000? Elsewhere, the German artist Gerhard Richter confirms his position as a star of the saleroom – with works painted using a squeegee!
EPISODE 10
Was George Stubbs the greatest painter of horses of all time? That’s what the auctioneers in London believe. They’re asking £20 million for his portrait of Gimcrack at Newmarket. In Geneva, the most important emerald and diamond tiara to come to the market for thirty years has an upper estimate of $10 million. And, tables made for the new Liberty department store in 1928 are up for sale in Edinburgh.