Auction houses

Twenty-two world records have been set at a Christie's auction, including the $832 million total for the priciest private collection of artworks and other treasures, owned by Peggy and David Rockefeller. The late couple's family is donating all proceeds from this week's sale to charity.

A painting of a nude by Amedeo Modigliani is expected to fetch $150 million, the highest ever pre-sale estimate for an artwork at auction, Sotheby's said April 23 as the work was unveiled in Hong Kong.

London saw a new record in art painting sales after a rare portrait by Pablo Picasso was sold for $70 million at Sotheby's auction, London.

Prince's guitar was sold for $ 700,000 at auction at Julien's Auctions, AP reported. The price is record-breaking for the musician's guitar, the auction house said.

There was a real war between the bidders for the blue-green guitar. Thus, the price was much higher than the preliminary estimate from $ 60,000 to $ 80,000.

Lawyers who represented Turkey in the Kilia idol case in the New York District Court will make a presentation on Sept. 25 about the return of the idol, which has been smuggled from Kulaksızlar in the western province of Manisa's Akhisar district and found a buyer for $14.5 million in a recent auction, to Turkey. 

The Kilia Idol, a 23-centimeter statuette that has been smuggled from Turkey, was sold at an auction in New York. According to a court order, the idol will not be returned to Turkey since the ministry was too late in taking action

A luxury Hermes handbag shattered the world auction record in Hong Kong on Wednesday, fetching an eye-popping $380,000, Christie’s said.
The auction house didn’t identify the buyer of the matte white “Himalaya” crocodile skin Hermes Birkin bag.
The handbag was produced in 2014 and has 18 karat gold buckles and strap loops encrusted with 205 diamonds.

A bronze sold for $57.37 million in New York on May 15, setting a new auction record for Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi and fetching more than twice its lowest pre-sale estimate, Christie's said.

As auction powerhouses Christie's and Sotheby's gear up for their New York spring sales, hopes are high that a host of major works the likes of which have not hit the block for several seasons will reap strong, even record, prices.

Guennol Stargazer, a 5,000-year-old Anatolian marble female figure that was smuggled from Turkey, was sold for $14,5 million at a New York auction on April 28. 

The sale was protested by Turks who gathered outside the auction house.