Tag: Christie’s

Craig’s Centenary

007 numbered Aston Martin owned by Daniel Craig to be sold for charity at auction

A 2014 ‘Centenary Vanquish’ Aston Martin numbered 007 and owned by the actor Daniel Craig is to be sold at auction in New York in April.

Offered to benefit The Opportunity Network, a non-profit which counts not only Daniel Craig on its board but also Rachel Weisz as well, the customised left-hand, automatic car has a top speed of 183 mph. It features an interior personally crafted by Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s creative officer, that was guided by “Daniel Craig’s preference of denim and dark colours.”

Of selling the 6.0-litre V12 vehicle, Daniel Craig commented:

“This Aston Martin Vanquish is a tour-de-force of automobile engineering and a distinct pleasure to drive. While I will miss it, I am keen to further the very important work of The Opportunity Network with its sale.”

Christie’s will sell the left-hand drive, midnight blue with deep blue interior car on 20^th April at their ‘Exceptional Sale’ and offer it with an estimate of £285,000 to £428,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €322,000 to €483,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million). As a bonus, the winning bidder will also get an opportunity to visit the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England for a behind-the-scenes tour with Marek Reichman.

Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

February 17, 2018
Five of the Best – Bonhams’ Gentleman’s Library Sale

Harry Houdini’s escape prop sack to be sold alongside all manner of other unusual items on Valentine’s Day

On 14^th February, Bonhams will hold their ‘Gentleman’s Library Sale’ in Knightsbridge, London. Amongst the circa five hundred items to be offered are all manner of unusual items and here we choose five of the best:

Harry Houdini’s escape prop sack – £1,500 to £2,000

($2,100 to $2,800, €1,700 to €2,300 or درهم‎‎7,800 to درهم‎‎10,400; pictured above)

This green, oversized canvas sack was used by Harry Houdini (1874 – 1926) as a prop for tricks. It dates to around 1915 and comes with a poster for his ‘Metamorphosis’ act. Houdini’s brother, Theo, gave the item to a mutual friend after his death and it was last sold at Christie’s in 2011.

Australian silver and Kangaroo paw lighter – £800 to £1,000

($1,100 to $1,400, €910 to €1,100 or درهم‎‎4,200 to درهم‎‎5,200)

Possibly one of the most unusual cigarette lighters available, this unusual item was made by WD&Co Limited in 1910. It is 40cm long.

Australian throwing club – £150 to £250

($210 to $350, €170 to €280 or درهم‎‎780 to درهم‎‎1,300)

Dating to the 19^th century, 69cm long and made of carved and incised hardwood this dangerous weapon could certainly be used to see off a burglar. It was collected in the 1860s in Queensland, Australia.

Silver plated model battleship – £800 to £1,200

($1,100 to $1,700, €910 to €1,400 or درهم‎‎4,200 to درهم‎‎6,200)

This early 20^th century silver plated model battleship is 23cm high and comes with three pairs of cannons to the deck. It’d make a jolly addition to any desk.

Novelty Eiffel Tower clock – £800 to £1,200

($1,110 to $1,700, €910 to €1,400 or درهم‎‎4,200 to درهم‎‎6,200)

This 62cm tall gilt and bronze 19^th century clock is designed in the form of a model of the Eiffel Tower. It has a brass dial with Roman numerals.

Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

February 2, 2018
Calmed Down Cameron

David Cameron snapped ‘Hugging a Corbyn’ after he’s revealed to have a ‘Calm Down – It’s Only a Recession’ in his kitchen and a £25,000 shepherd’s hut in his garden

David Cameron is plainly enjoying life to the full. Not only has he been rewarded with a huge literary advance after walking away after calling the disastrous and divisive Brexit referendum, but now he’s got time to sit in a shepherd’s hut in his garden and attend posh music festivals.

Not for ‘Call Me Dave’ will it be necessary to put in a presence in a wheat field in Norfolk to support Theresa May and her garden gnome-like hubby at the forthcoming ‘Conservative Ideas Festival’, but instead him and ‘Sam Cam’ are now able to find time to attend parties at Christie’s and holiday in Miami, Florida.

Cameron – who was widely criticised for having a sign in his kitchen that reads: “Calm Down Dear, It’s Only a Recession” – spent time this weekend at the Wilderness Festival at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire. He was spotted drinking, smoking and even got snapped with his arm casually wrapped around an art consultant named Lucy Edwards. For him it seems, it’s no longer “Hug a Hoodie” but now instead “Hug a Corbyn.” In the picture, Ms. Edwards sported a ‘glitter coat’ emblazoned with a heart complete with the Labour leader’s name.

David Cameron pictured in his Oxfordshire kitchen; the ‘Calm Down – It’s Only a Recession’ sign is circled to his right

In purchasing the sign, Cameron, shown here with his £25,000 shepherd’s hut, was plainly inspired by the late, great Michael Winner

August 7, 2017
Expensive Shit

‘SHIT’ to be sold at Christie’s in South Kensington; it comes at quite a price

A painting which simply depicts the word ‘SHIT’ is to be sold at Christie’s in South Kensington, London this month.

Offered with an estimate of £2,000 to £4,000 ($2,590 to $5,180, €2,260 to €4,520 or درهم9,470 to درهم18,940) in spite of having been painted with household gloss, the work by Kent born, New York based artist and filmmaker Sarah Morris (born 1967) is 153 centimetres by 244 centimetres and simply reads: ‘SHIT’ in capital letters.

Other works by Morris are displayed at Gloucester Road tube station, the V&A and the Tate Modern in London, the Hamburger Bahnholf in Berlin, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Christie’s will auction the work, which is dated 1996 on the reverse, on 19^th July. It was acquired by the current owner from Jay Jopling in London.

Sarah Morris with another of her works; she is described as having a style that uses bright color fields and graphic line work, often referencing elements of architecture and taking titles from bureaucratic institutions.

July 9, 2017
Wealthy in Wiltshire

Classically proportioned Wiltshire village house for sale; it’ll supposedly appeal to “your typical wealthy Briton” (whatever that might mean)

Primarily built between 1620 and 1760, a classically proportioned four-storey house in the Wiltshire village of Seend has been placed on the market this week for £4.5 million ($5.8 million, €5.2 million or درهم21.2 million).

Of ashlar and rendered stone construction and built for Mary, Dowager Duchess of Somerset in 1760, Seend Park (or ‘Seend Green House’ as it was previously known) was owned by the now retired judge Sir Mathew Thorpe from 1971 and since 1990 by its current owners. It has been Grade II listed since 1962 and was somewhat unkindly described by the architectural scholar Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE FBA (1902 – 1983) as: “So absolutely plain… that it looks like an institution”.

The main house, which has been modernised in recent years and extends to 11,357 square foot, includes 4 reception rooms, 11 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It has many original features and in addition there is a 4 bedroom, 1,994 square foot lodge and a 3,630 square foot coach house within the property’s 26.4-acre grounds.

Of the pint-sized mini estate, James Mackenzie of selling agents Strutt & Parker told The Times: “Architecturally, the house will attract your typical wealthy Briton”.

May 27, 2017
Nelson & Nintendo

Georgian mansion, where Admiral Lord Nelson lived with his lover and her husband, for sale for £4.25 million; it was renovated by a former Nintendo executive

One would expect a senior executive of a tech company to live in a slick, modern home in Silicon Valley, but since 2004, Matthew Hill, for many years a senior manager at Nintendo, has called a Grade II listed manor house named Fir Hill in Hampshire’s Meon Valley home.

Built in 1765 and the scene of one of the most famous ménages à trois in history when home to Sir William Hamilton, his wife Emma and Admiral Horatio, 1^st Viscount Nelson in 1801 to 1802, the 7,905 square foot “Georgian masterpiece” includes 3 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It stands in 5.2 acres of land and comes with a two-storey stable block with potential for secondary accommodation.

Mr Hill purchased the property from Mrs Vida Schreiber, previously Lady Clive, after the death of her husband, Brigadier Schreiber. He met intellectual property lawyer Georgy Evans in 2007 and married her in St Mary and All Saints church in Droxford in 2012 and in the time since, aside from completing the renovation of Fir Hill, the couple have worked together creating a website that comprehensively details the entire history of the building.

Of the renovation and why they are now selling, Matthew Hill told Hampshire Life:

“The renovation work took us 10 years on and off. Our architect said, you either have a big bang and not live here for two years or work in phases. We decided to do the work in four phases which meant we could live here, moving around the house as each phase was completed. The experience of living in the house helped with the restoration… It’s a lovely house, with a lovely feeling, but too big for the two of us now”.

Fir Hill is for sale for £4.25 million ($5.17 million, €4.87 million or درهم19.07 million) through Christie’s Real Estate.

March 14, 2017
A Happy House

Berkshire country house named “Gays” for sale

Not connected with the LGBT community in any way, but in fact named after a man named John Gays, “Gays” at Holyport, near Maidenhead in Berkshire dates to around 1456 and is currently for sale for £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million).

Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom

Also referred to as “John Gays House” and offered to the market by Christie’s Real Estate, this 12,482 square foot “bijou old world residence” stands in 20.75 acres and is predominantly built of red brick elevations with attractive sash fenestration, under a tile roof. It is Grade II listed, dates to the Tudor period and also includes later Queen Anne, Georgian, Victorian and 20^th century additions.

Less than 30 miles from central London, Gays has been owned by a Swiss family for 20 years according to Country Life and includes 6 reception rooms, a conservatory, a master bedroom suite with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and 2 dressing rooms, 6 further bedrooms and 5 further bathrooms. In addition, the property also comes with a 2-bedroom lodge cottage, a 2-bedroom staff cottage, an indoor swimming pool, wine store and 4-car garage.

Aside from a large lawned garden with an irrigation system, a lake adjoins the house and there is also an orchard with apple and pear trees. A stable block, a manège and paddocks stand beyond whilst a 1-kilometre long sand and rubber chip horse exercise track circles it. The Duke of York, it transpires, borrowed these facilities in the late 1990s for his own horses.

January 22, 2017
Thatcher’s Jag

Armoured Jaguar that served as Margaret Thatcher’s last car – and which was also used by David Cameron – sells at auction

Offered with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 ($19,800 to $26,400 or €17,600 to €23,600), an armoured Jaguar XJ8 used by Margaret Thatcher sold at auction yesterday for £37,500 ($49,900 or €44,200).

The 2006 long wheelbase saloon, the last official vehicle allocated to the late Baroness Thatcher by The Government Car Service, a division of the Department for Transport, was paid for by HM Treasury and funds raised from its sale will go back to the department.

Christie’s South Kensington sold the vehicle as part of their annual ‘Out of the Ordinary’ sale. It was part of a collection owned by a Jersey based collector named David Gainsborough Roberts and featured armoured enhancement including titanium roof, ballistic steel armouring, under-floor Kevlar protection, bullet-resistant borosilicate glazing and tyres with run flat capability. It came with a certificate of authenticity signed by the Secretary of State, Patrick McLoughlin and has a gross weight of 3,200 kg.

Of the sale, Gainsborough Roberts remarked:

“After collecting for over 40 years the time has finally arrived to share my collection with the world”.

“I hope my insatiable appetite for the curious, the famous and the infamous will inspire a new generation of custodians”.

The car outside 10 Downing Street

The interior

Denis and Margaret Thatcher leaving Downing Street for the last time after she stood down as Prime Minister in another Jaguar

David Cameron in the car

Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[wysija_form id=”2″]

September 15, 2016
Five of the Best – Follies for sale

A selection of five of the best follies for sale in Britain and elsewhere

A folly is unlikely to make an ideal home for a family, but for someone a little more quirky – a writer or artist perhaps – they can easily make an ideal home.

Our selection of five of the best currently on offer follows:

Church Brow Cottage, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire – £280,000 ($367,000 or €328,000) through Davis & Bowring

Originally built by an eccentric vicar in the 1830s and spread over three floors, this Grade II* listed folly was restored by the now defunct Vivat Trust and opened as a holiday let by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1993. It features in JMW Turner’s painting of what is known as ‘Ruskin’s View’ (sold for £217,250 in 2012) and includes one bedroom, a sitting room with a balcony, a kitchen and a bathroom. An informally landscaped leads down to the banks of the River Lune and access – on foot only – is via the adjoining graveyard.

Treia, Macerata, Marche, Italy – £337,000 ($441,000 or €395,000) through Cella-Shirley Immobilliare

Built in medieval style in the 18^th century, this “landmark building” outside the ancient walls of the town of Treia stands on a hill with about 2.5 acres of land including secular olive trees. A former farmhouse, the property needs complete renovation, currently consists of 8 rooms and a number of outbuildings and has been reduced in price from £440,000.

The Summer House, Alderley, Gloucestershire – £990,000 ($1.3 million or €1.2 million) through Knight Frank

Grade II listed and built circa 1770, The Summer House is a completely refurbished “perfect romantic weekend getaway” that is being sold fully furnished. Originally used as a small banqueting house by the great-great-grandson of Lord Chief Justice Matthew Hale, the 1,108 square foot Georgian property stands in 2.1 acres of gardens and woodland and features a sitting room, breakfast kitchen, two double bedrooms and a bathroom.

The Tower, Sway, Hampshire – £2 million ($2.6 million or €2.3 million) through John D. Wood

Believed to be the world’s tallest unreinforced concrete structure at 218-foot tall, Sway Tower – also known as Peterson’s Folly – was constructed between 1879 and 1886. The structure cost Andrew Peterson (1813 – 1906) some £30,000 (the equivalent of £3.4 million today) and came about after a medium told the Anglo-Indian barrister, socialist and spiritualist named that Sir Christopher Wren expected him to prove concrete could be used to create such an edifice. It now provides 4,707 square foot of accommodation over a total of 14 floors and includes 4 bedrooms, 3 en-suite bathrooms and a crucifix shaped ground floor with a drawing room, dining hall, sitting room, kitchen and conservatory. The top three floors of the Grade II* listed building are let to mobile telephone providers at an annual rate of some £34,000 and within the 0.7 acre plot, there’s also an indoor swimming pool, extensive garaging and a tennis court.

Woodstock Castle, Connecticut, USA – £24.4 million ($32 million or €28.6 million) through Christie’s

Described as “just weird”, Woodstock Castle was built “for exotic women, exotic animals, both or neither” according to a 2008 feature by the Worcester Massachusetts Telegram. John Pizzi of Randall Realtors Christie’s International Real Estate takes a different view and describes the 18,177 square foot, 126-foot tall building as “majestic” and “a dream come true”. Used by its “colourful and impulsive” owner, importer-exporter Christopher W. Mark as a home for his family and his collection of emus, zebras and camels, this oddity comes with 9 bedrooms, an auditorium with a stage and 75 acres of land.

Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[wysija_form id=”2″]

August 30, 2016
HIM and Hitler

Likeness of Hitler sells for £11.9 million in New York
(more…)

May 9, 2016