Martin Willis and Phyllis are nervous in their first show. They talk about weird auction stories and John McInnis auctioneer joins them toward the end.
We apologize for poor sound quality.
August 12, 2009.
The Guennol Lioness – Sotheby’s Auctions
The Guennol Lioness is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue found near Baghdad, Iraq. It sold for $57.2 million at Sotheby’s auction house on December 5, 2007 to a private collector. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-K7PNw1_dw
World Record $2 million Tlingit Helmet Sold at Fairfield Auction
May 18th, 2008 Fairfield Auction established a world record for a Native American object with a final sales price of $2.185 million for this very early and rare helmet. The Tlingit people reside along the Northwest Coast of North America and their art is considered among the finest of all tribal cultures. This particular helmet probably dates to the 18th century and is possibly the best example extant.
Gallery owner Jack DeStories discovered the helmet during a regular appraisal event. The owner, who brought the carved spruce helmet “just to find out what it was” had it on a shelf for some thirty years, never knowing its importance, was understandably astonished at the results. The sale was reported by several television stations and over sixty newspapers world-wide and placed Fairfield Auction along with Sotheby’s, Christies and Bonhams as the only auction houses in North America to surpass $2 million on a single antique object. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvIpy2DnqGw
Picasso Sets Record Sale Price At Auction
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewbYKWNVYXc
Faberge Egg fetches record $US18.5 MLN
A recently discovered Faberge egg has been sold to a mysterious Russian collector at Christie’s Auction house in London for a whopping $US 18.5 million — a world record. It’s thought the egg is one of only three in the world with a clock and mechanically operated cockerel. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiDGzIwzRSo&feature=fvw