bLavish

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Jacket Goes For $1.8 Million!

June 27, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 11:47 pm | Comments off

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Michael Jackson’s famed Thriller jacket going up for auction. The famed jacket was expected to go for between $200,000 and $400,000. I don’t know who actually expected the thing to go that cheaply. It must have been some new jack, because there’s no way that anyone who was actually conscious in the 1980′s thought for a second that it would sell for less than a million dollars. Seriously, this was THE jacket to have for no less than half a decade.

The previous owners of the jacket were the designers themselves, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush. He even had it inscribed to them with the words, “Love Michael Jackson”. The name of the buyer hasn’t been released, but plenty other auction goers got lucky that day. CNN says:

The signature fedora Jackson wore during his Bad Tour was sold for $16,250, a handwritten note to friend Elizabeth Taylor went for $5,625 and a signed pillowcase fetched $3,584. And a bidder paid out $330,000 — more than 10 times what Julien’s had expected to get — for one of the famous, shiny, crystal-covered gloves that Jackson wore during the 1980s.

 

 

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Jacket Up For Auction

June 7, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 10:49 pm | Comments off

If you’re of my generation, or even if you’re not, you’ve definitely seen this jacket before. When I was a kid I had one just like it, which I wore with a single white glove and probably Underoos. Even today, this red and black wonder is one of the most iconic articles of clothing I can think of, something like the 80′s equivalent to Marilyn Monroe’s white dress. And now you can have it for your very own.

That’s right, the one and only Thriller jacket is up for auction. Actually, it’s one of two that he wore in the video, but who’s counting?Anyhow, it’s expected to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000, but my guess is that some fanatic music fan out there is willing to pay even more. And they can do so in good conscience, since a percentage of the proceeds are going to the Shambhala Preserve where two of the late Mr. Jackson’s Bengal tigers are currently living. The auction will take place June 25th and 26th in Beverly Hills.

Laurence Stephen Lowry Painting Sells For A Record $9.2 Million

June 2, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Artsy Fartsy, Auctions at 11:55 pm | Comments off

Laurence Stephen Lowry was a British artist painting around the second World War who was known for his sketchy renderings of “matchstick men”. This intriguing painting from 1949 entitled, “The Football Match” in considered a modern masterpiece by collectors. It recently sold at Christie’s for $9.2 million, twice as much as it was expected to go for, and also twice as much as any other Lowry painting.

Why all the excitement over this large format landscape? Critics say it encapsulates the spirit of the town gathered for an afternoon of sport in Lowry’s own indelibly unique way. The subdued color palette shows an extensive view of Manchester, in which the center of activity is the match. The tiny “matchstick” figures huddled together en masse give the audience a sense of the camaraderie. Lowry’s point of view is inimitable and expertly rendered. Let’s see how much this sale drives up the value of his other paintings!

Van Gogh Still Life Up For Auction At Rau Antiques

May 27, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Artsy Fartsy, Auctions at 10:12 pm | Comments off

Vincent Van Gogh is famous for a lot of things. First and foremost, he created his own inimitable style within the Impressionist movement. Second, he cut off his own ear, although we don’t know whether this was because of frustration over auditory hallucinations or a frustrated love affair or both. Regardless, he is a master of both modern painting and of modern life. It is for these reasons that his work is hard to come by on the open market.

Hard, but not impossible. This remarkable still life, entitled “Still Life With Two Sacks And A Bottle” has recently gone up for auction at Rau Antiques. I am personally fascinated by it. Any fan of Van Gogh will recognize both his signature style and also the fact that this painting is unusual within that style. It has less obvious brush strokes than much of his work. Some might consider the piece less painterly than his more famous works, but the distinctive quality of his artistry shines through, nonetheless.

 

Byron Keith Brown’s Cars Up For Bid

February 28, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 11:02 pm | Comments off

In case you haven’t been keeping an eye on the news, Ponzi schemer Byron Keith Brown has been sentenced to fifteen years in jail, and all his assets are being auctioned off to pay restitution to his victims. His company, In God We Trust Financial Services, operated under various names in Virginia and Maryland and liberated his clients of $17 million in personal investments.

Luckily for his victims, Mr. Brown has quite an admirable car collection. The 17 cars up for sale at Manheim Auctions include a Maybach, a Maserati, a Laborghini, several Rolls-Royces, a Jaguar, a GMC truck, and then some. In other words, Mr. Brown was an “I’ll take one of each” kind of guy until his arrest. There are no official estimates on how much the auction is supposed to fetch, but if the world is fair, it will go a long way towards paying back the poor saps that invested in this fool.

Harrod’s Tycoon Sells Off Enviable Car Collection

January 27, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions, Furious Luxury Cars at 6:47 pm | Comments off

Mohamed al Fayed, the former owner of Harrod’s, London has something of an infamous car collection. It seems however, that Mr. al Fayed is liquidating his collection after selling Harrod’s last year to Qatar’s royal family for $2.2 billion. Maybe this is his version of a New Year’s makeover? Out with the old, in with the new? Maybe it’s just out with the old, but in any case, his loss could be your gain as the he rolls out his collection of Ferraris and Rolls-Royces.

All in all, al Fayed is putting ten cars up for sale, some expected to sell for more than $220,000 each. One of the most coveted cars on the chopping block is a 1965 Ferrari formerly owned by John Lennon (not to mention Dodi Fayed). A 1963 Rolls Phantom limo that used to belong to Prince Edward is expected to fetch around $240,000. One thing’s for sure, this is not your average used car sales lot, and you can bet that no high-pressure sales are going to be necessary.

Dennis Hopper’s Mao Warhol Sells For $300k

January 12, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Artsy Fartsy, Auctions at 4:10 pm | Comments off

There’s so much going on in this story that it’s hard to know where to start. This very iconic screenprint was made by Andy Warhol in 1972 and was subsequently purchased by the star of Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper. At some point, supposedly in a drunken and/or drug-induced haze, Mr. Hopper put two bullet holes through the famous painting. He said that he got freaked out when he mistook the painting for Mao himself. When Hopper showed the bullet holes to Warhol, Warhol agreed to consider the painting a collaboration. He then drew circles around the bullet holes, and labeled one of them “warning shot” and the other “bullet hole”.

This amazing piece went up for bid after Hopper’s death at the age of 74 last year. Christie’s expected the piece to sell for between $20,000 and $30,000, but they drastically underestimated its cult value. The piece sold yesterday for $302,500, along with numerous other paintings from Hopper’s collection. The sale garnered over $10 million for his estate.

Giant Gold Nugget Up For Auction

January 10, 2011 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 8:00 pm | Comments off

This 100 troy ounce gold nugget, dubbed the Washington Nugget, was found in Washington, California. In case the whole history of the American Gold Rush passed you by, this is an extremely rare find.  It was found by a gold prospector in 2010 and goes up for auction in March. The Washington Nugget is expected to fetch as much as $400,000.

A mining geologist, Fred Holabird, took possession of the nugget in 2010. He contends that the nugget was extremely difficult to find, as it was buried in a an ancient riverbed, and took a large amount of heavy machinery to extract it. But extract it they did, and it is now making the rounds of the coin show market until it gets to the auction block. Here’s a chance to own your own not-so-little piece of American history. Although, to be truthful, I’m not really sure what you’d do with it.

Christie’s To Auction Off Star Spangled Banner

December 1, 2010 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 10:00 pm | Comments off

The Star Spangled Banner, composed by Francis Scott Key in 1813, is one of the earliest American musical masterpieces. This version of the tune was bound into a songbook of popular songs published in 1814, which is the first known edition of the song published. It has been removed carefully from the binding to be sold individually.

There are only eleven copies of this edition of the song able to be located presently. All of them are owned by museums, universities, or music preservation foundations. If this copy sells to a private owner, it will become the only privately owned copy of the music. It is expected to sell for between $200,000 and $300,000 this week.

The owners of the music, two retired antiques dealers from Pennsylvania, bought the music at a small auction for $50. They were thrilled to discover the rarity of the item. They will, no doubt, be even more thrilled when a hefty check arrives.

Heritage Jewelry, Handbag, And Timepieces Auction

November 20, 2010 | Posted by bLavish as Auctions at 3:24 pm | Comments off

This gorgeous 35cm Birkin bag by Hermes may be one of the finest handbags ever made. It’s made of matte black Porosus crocodile skin, the most luxurious skin that Hermes offers. The palladium hardware beautifully offsets the subtle sheen of the surface of the bag. This is the kind of bag that you have to wait years on a waiting list to purchase, even if you’re rich, famous, or both. It’s estimated to be valued as between $40,000 and $50,000. As of this posting, there are no bids on the bag, and the minimum bid is $38,000.

Heritage, the third biggest auction house behind Christie’s and Sotheby’s, offers live online bidding, which makes it convenient to purchase heirloom luxury items from the privacy of your own home. This particular auction offers a plethora of opulent objects, including several other Hermes bags, and several stunning pieces of David Webb jewelry.

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