The gem, recovered from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, ended up in the possession of the chicken magnate Frank Perdue. His widow, Mitzi Perdue, is auctioning it to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Auctions”
Paul G. Allen’s Art at Christie’s Tops $1.5 Billion, Cracking Records
By Gotham Rex on November 9, 2022
A museum’s worth of masterworks from the Microsoft co-founder’s collection are offered in a two-part charity sale. Five topped $100 million. Source: New York Times
When Picasso Created an Image of Notre-Dame, All in Glass
By Gotham Rex on November 1, 2022
The “gemmail” — a glass mosaic — will go on the auction block with an estimate of at least $1 million. Source: New York Times
Man Gets 3 Years in Scheme to Sell Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings
By Gotham Rex on August 30, 2022
A New Jersey man cheated an unidentified Patriots player out of his championship ring and then posed as him to order three more engraved with Tom Brady’s last name, federal prosecutors said. Source: New York Times
Subway Car 9075, Where Are You?
By Gotham Rex on July 26, 2022
A “redbird” car from the 1960s was auctioned off for $235,700. Its future whereabouts and purpose are unknown. Source: New York Times
An Embattled N.Y.P.D. Unit
By Gotham Rex on July 5, 2022
It turns out that two supervisors of the Special Victims Division were disciplined in recent months amid an internal affairs investigation into misconduct by the department’s leadership. Source: New York Times
The Tangled Tale of Eric Adams’s Apartment in Brooklyn
By Gotham Rex on June 23, 2022
The mayor acknowledged that he does, in fact, still co-own the apartment, which he’d previously said was fully owned by a former partner. Source: New York Times
A Rapper’s Delight: Hip-Hop Memorabilia Goes Up for Auction
By Gotham Rex on June 15, 2022
Original vinyl records, turntables and other ephemera belonging to the hip-hop pioneer D.J. Kool Herc will be included in a sale at Christie’s. Source: New York Times
New York City Eliminates the Rules That Govern Art and Other Auctions
By Gotham Rex on May 3, 2022
Auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s will no longer need to be licensed as part of a sweeping package designed to promote a business-friendly climate. Source: New York Times
Christie’s to Sell a Dinosaur That Inspired the ‘Jurassic Park’ Raptor
By Gotham Rex on April 29, 2022
The auction house says this is the first-ever sale of a Deinonychus, the species on which the ‘velociraptor’ in the 1993 movie was based. Source: New York Times
Lost Judy Garland ‘Wizard of Oz’ Dress Up for Auction
By Gotham Rex on April 23, 2022
The dress worn by Judy Garland was given to a priest at the Catholic University of America in 1973, but had been missing for decades when it was found in a shoe box last year. Source: New York Times
Christopher Coover, Auction Expert in the Printed Word, Dies at 72
By Gotham Rex on April 15, 2022
At Christie’s, he managed sales of rare books, manuscripts and documents by the likes of da Vinci, Lincoln and Kerouac. On TV, he lent his eye to “Antiques Roadshow.” Source: New York Times
SNL Star Colin Jost Takes a Spin on Ferryboat He Bought With Pete Davidson
By Gotham Rex on April 11, 2022
After buying the retired Staten Island ferry at auction in January, the new owners rode it into New York Harbor en route to a temporary home. Source: New York Times
Amelia Earhart’s Helmet Sells for $825,000
By Gotham Rex on March 2, 2022
The leather aviator’s helmet she wore on record-setting flights in the 1920s sold to a big money buyer. Source: New York Times
How Amelia Earhart's Aviator Helmet, Lost for Decades, Was Found
By Gotham Rex on February 10, 2022
How the pilot’s long-lost aviator helmet came to spend the better part of a century in a closet somewhere in Minnesota. Source: New York Times