Auction

There are thought to be only ten big canvasses by British artist JMW Turner left in private hands. Now one of those, Rome from Mount Aventine, has come up for auction at Sotheby’s. And it’s likely to spark a fierce bidding war. Elsewhere, the legendary music producer Pete Waterman sells off some of his hand-made steam locomotive models. Each took one craftsman five years to make.

Get ready for the jewelry sale to end all jewelry sales. In Geneva, Christie’s are auctioning off some of the most incredible precious gems, including those of Empress Eugenie of France and the Duchess of Windsor. In London, Sotheby’s have a rare miniature of the composer Mozart while Bonham’s are selling scientific instruments from a world very different from the one we know today.

They say time is money and in Geneva, center of the world for watches, Sotheby’s are selling the Henry Graves Supercomplication. Made for the esteemed banker in 1925 by Patek Phillipe, it featured a description of the stars in the night sky, seen right above Graves’s Manhattan apartment. It’s been called the most expensive pocket-watch in the world, but will it really make over £10 million?

She was Winston Churchill’s last surviving daughter. Mary Soames acted as her father’s private secretary during the Second World War and now, after her death, the contents of her house have come to auction in London. They include a fine collection of her father’s paintings. Elsewhere, an unusual van Dyck is generating frenzied interest at an Old Masters Sale at Christie’s.

Who can forget the iconic image of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road? Now, the originals of that photograph are up for auction in London and there’s a frenzy of interest from bidders. At Sotheby’s, they’re selling Old Master sculptures and Christie’s have a sale of superb pictures and decorative arts from a French collector, which they’re calling ‘Un Moment de Perfection’.

A different form of horsepower comes to Ascot racecourse as classic cars are put up for sale. They include a 99-year-old Fiat and a streamlined Berlinetta, designed to take part in the Mille Miglia, one of the world’s most famous road races. Meanwhile, in London, a Henry Moore sculpture from the collection of Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall is up for auction at Christie’s.

At Sotheby’s a great survivor is up for sale. It’s a huge four-poster bed that’s part of a collection of pieces sourced from the great houses and collections of Europe. And at Bonham’s, buyers are invited to bid for a selection of beautifully decorated musical boxes which offered their owners that chance to listen to the ‘hits’ of the day, long before vinyl, CDs or streaming.

A painting from the brush of Edouard Manet, Le Bar au Folies-Bergere, is being offered at Sotheby’s big Impressionist sale. The estimate is fifteen to twenty million pounds, but will it make it? Elsewhere in London, important images from the very early years of photography come up for sale and, at Christie’s, they’re auctioning items from the world of popular music.

Claude Monet’s work is up for auction in London. His Iris Mauves is expected to make over £10 million, but will it reach its estimate? Also in the sale are works by van Gogh, Degas, and Gauguin. At Sotheby’s, Chinese buyers go crazy over works of art that they want to take back home. And at Mallett Antiques, bidders snap up a fine collection of statues assembled by a family firm in Holland.

It’s a classic of Americana. A beautifully preserved 1954 Chevrolet Corvette with cream body and red leather seats is up for auction at Ascot Racecourse. But will the Brits be willing to spend big bucks on this American icon? And in Geneva, the famous Cartier tiger jewels, once owned by the Duchess of Windsor and later by the actress and singer Sarah Brightman, come under the hammer.