Textiles
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : China Ming Buddhism Islam Persia Safavid carpets US Independence Central and South Americas Maps Sport Baseball Baseball jersey Babe Ruth Basketball Jordan Sport II Movies Screen worn
Chronology : 15th century 1400-1429 17th century 1600-1609 1650-1659 1770-1779 1939 1989 1998
See also : China Ming Buddhism Islam Persia Safavid carpets US Independence Central and South Americas Maps Sport Baseball Baseball jersey Babe Ruth Basketball Jordan Sport II Movies Screen worn
Chronology : 15th century 1400-1429 17th century 1600-1609 1650-1659 1770-1779 1939 1989 1998
Yongle Thangka
2014 SOLD for HK$ 350M by Christie's
Hongwu had founded the Ming Dynasty by relying upon Buddhist sects. His fourth son, the Prince of Yan, was an able and competent general. Too competent indeed : the old emperor found a subterfuge for removing him from the rule of succession.
The Prince took power in a coup four years later, 1402 in our calendar. His nephew, who perished in the fire of the imperial palace after having revived the feudal war, was scholar minded and supported by the Confucians. The new emperor erased from the annals the reign of his predecessor of whom he massacred the followers, took the name Yongle meaning Perpetual Happiness and immediately began to prepare for the transfer of the capital from Nanking to Beijing.
The ambitious Yongle could not appear as a usurper : he offered to himself a Buddhist legitimacy. He invited the Karmapa, who was one of the most important sages of Tibetan Buddhism and got his power through reincarnation.
The trip of the Karmapa from Tibet to Nanking lasted four years, during which Yongle organized the Buddhist tribute to his deceased parents and prepared lavish gifts. The stories of miracles performed by the Karmapa were propagated and contributed effectively to assure the power of Yongle, now firmly established as Hongwu's heir.
On November 26, 2014, Christie's sold for HK $ 350M a wonderful silk thangka embroidered with silk and gold threads, lot 3001. This monumental piece 3.35 x 2.13 m is in perfect condition with bright colors of great beauty.
According to the concerns of Yongle, its theme is the victory over death. The central character with a bright red head is Raktayamari, the Conqueror of Death, who embraces his wife and mercilessly tramples the blue body of Yama the Lord of Death lying on the back of a buffalo. The top and bottom of the image display some deities inviting to Buddhist devotion.
This piece includes the presentation mark of Yongle. The existence of two thangkas of same quality in a monastery in Lhasa along with the fact that the thangka for sale was in Sikkim in the 1940s reinforces the assumption that it had actually accompanied the Karmapa in his return trip.
The Prince took power in a coup four years later, 1402 in our calendar. His nephew, who perished in the fire of the imperial palace after having revived the feudal war, was scholar minded and supported by the Confucians. The new emperor erased from the annals the reign of his predecessor of whom he massacred the followers, took the name Yongle meaning Perpetual Happiness and immediately began to prepare for the transfer of the capital from Nanking to Beijing.
The ambitious Yongle could not appear as a usurper : he offered to himself a Buddhist legitimacy. He invited the Karmapa, who was one of the most important sages of Tibetan Buddhism and got his power through reincarnation.
The trip of the Karmapa from Tibet to Nanking lasted four years, during which Yongle organized the Buddhist tribute to his deceased parents and prepared lavish gifts. The stories of miracles performed by the Karmapa were propagated and contributed effectively to assure the power of Yongle, now firmly established as Hongwu's heir.
On November 26, 2014, Christie's sold for HK $ 350M a wonderful silk thangka embroidered with silk and gold threads, lot 3001. This monumental piece 3.35 x 2.13 m is in perfect condition with bright colors of great beauty.
According to the concerns of Yongle, its theme is the victory over death. The central character with a bright red head is Raktayamari, the Conqueror of Death, who embraces his wife and mercilessly tramples the blue body of Yama the Lord of Death lying on the back of a buffalo. The top and bottom of the image display some deities inviting to Buddhist devotion.
This piece includes the presentation mark of Yongle. The existence of two thangkas of same quality in a monastery in Lhasa along with the fact that the thangka for sale was in Sikkim in the 1940s reinforces the assumption that it had actually accompanied the Karmapa in his return trip.
Safavid Carpet
Intro
The Safavid Shahs developed to its greatest perfection the art of Persian carpet, first in Tabriz and then at Isfahan and Kirman.
Beauty and durability result from a high technical complexity whose climax is reached at Kirman. The weavers use wool and cotton in the same pieces with a wide range of dyes. The colors are dazzling and the themes with flowers, leaves and birds are charming.
The most complex weaving technique uses no less than three weft passes per knot. It is named Vase on a proposal by May Beattie in 1976.
Beauty and durability result from a high technical complexity whose climax is reached at Kirman. The weavers use wool and cotton in the same pieces with a wide range of dyes. The colors are dazzling and the themes with flowers, leaves and birds are charming.
The most complex weaving technique uses no less than three weft passes per knot. It is named Vase on a proposal by May Beattie in 1976.
1
The Carpet of Senator Clark
2013 SOLD for $ 34M by Sotheby's
The extreme refinement of Persian carpets reached its peak under the Safavid dynasty. Well known by the connoisseurs, the carpet of Senator Clark had already been described for nearly a century as a masterpiece of Persian textile art. It was exhibited after the death of its owner in 1925 in a museum that de-accessioned it. It was sold for $ 34M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on June 5, 2013, lot 12.
Its red background is rare and perhaps unique in its class, the sickle-leaf pattern variant of the 'Vase' technique. Its fine floral motifs and its palmettes make it a vibrant and sumptuous artwork in 267 x 196 cm size.
It is always difficult to date and locate an old carpet, if not by considerations of its technical characteristics. The Clark carpet is Safavid and probably Kirman. It is comparable to the best pieces woven during the reign of Shah Abbas 400 years ago.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Its red background is rare and perhaps unique in its class, the sickle-leaf pattern variant of the 'Vase' technique. Its fine floral motifs and its palmettes make it a vibrant and sumptuous artwork in 267 x 196 cm size.
It is always difficult to date and locate an old carpet, if not by considerations of its technical characteristics. The Clark carpet is Safavid and probably Kirman. It is comparable to the best pieces woven during the reign of Shah Abbas 400 years ago.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
The Béhague Carpet
2010 SOLD for £ 6.2M by Christie's
A Kirman carpet was released from anonymity on April 15, 2010 at a Christie's sale in London when it was sold for £ 6.2M from a lower estimate of £ 200K, lot 100. The press revealed that it had been sold six months earlier in Augsburg from an estimate of € 800 by a local auctioneer who refused to publish the result.
This wool carpet is knotted using the intricate Vase technique, suggesting that it was woven in the royal workshops of the Safavid dynasty. It measures 339 x 153 cm and is in outstanding condition except for a few tiny repairs and some corrosion of the black threads. It had been commented in 1938 by an expert who stated for its provenance the prestigious collection of the comtesse de Béhague.
The golden age of Kirman carpets is the reign of Abbas I, who died in 1629 CE. The Béhague carpet is characterized by a very elegant simplification of shapes that Christie's positions around the mid-17th century.
In a magnificent geometric regularity, parallel stems support several pairs of leaves. From top to bottom, the leaves of one stem alternate with the leaves from the adjacent stem. Tiny flowers are inserted into the spaces between the leaves. This decoration anticipates the repetition of flowers and leaves in the highly popular Herati pattern and may evoke some figures from the Iznik ceramics.
This wool carpet is knotted using the intricate Vase technique, suggesting that it was woven in the royal workshops of the Safavid dynasty. It measures 339 x 153 cm and is in outstanding condition except for a few tiny repairs and some corrosion of the black threads. It had been commented in 1938 by an expert who stated for its provenance the prestigious collection of the comtesse de Béhague.
The golden age of Kirman carpets is the reign of Abbas I, who died in 1629 CE. The Béhague carpet is characterized by a very elegant simplification of shapes that Christie's positions around the mid-17th century.
In a magnificent geometric regularity, parallel stems support several pairs of leaves. From top to bottom, the leaves of one stem alternate with the leaves from the adjacent stem. Tiny flowers are inserted into the spaces between the leaves. This decoration anticipates the repetition of flowers and leaves in the highly popular Herati pattern and may evoke some figures from the Iznik ceramics.
1777 US Flag
2006 SOLD for $ 12.3M by Sotheby's
A Loyalist officer in the Revolutionary War, Banastre Tarleton returns to England in 1781 with a collection of four colors taken from the Americans.
His late father, a shipowner from Liverpool, had made his fortune in the slave trade. As soon as the war for independence broke out, the 21-year-old Banastre crossed the Atlantic. In 1778 he created in New York the Tarleton's Raiders, a cavalry unit wearing the green uniform of the British Legion. This brilliant officer is famous for the massacre of the Patriots at the Battle of Waxhaws.
Directly from his descendance, the four trophies were auctioned by Sotheby's on June 14, 2006.
Lot 1, sold for $ 12.3M, is a flag of the 2nd Continental Light Dragons taken in 1779 at the Battle of Pound Ridge. It is in silk 76 x 90 cm plus a 7 cm silver fringe on the three fly sides.
This piece is the only surviving example of the first style of US flags, with the thirteen red and white stripes symbolizing the founding states but before the addition of the stars by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. In the center of this flag, a rectangle fabric is painted with a winged storm cloud with a motto in ribbon. Its terminus post quem is the creation of its regiment on December 12, 1776.
The other three flags were sold together for $ 5.1M, lot 2, by Sotheby's on June 14, 2006. They constitute the 3rd Virginia Detachment color set, taken at Waxhaws in 1780.
One of them is in gold-yellow silk 128 x 115 cm painted with a beaver dropping a palmetto tree and sewn with a block of sky blue silk bearing the thirteen silver stars in the disorder of a constellation. The other two, a little smaller, are respectively in gold-yellow and blue silk. Their terminus post quem is the definition of their style by the Continental Army in 1778.
His late father, a shipowner from Liverpool, had made his fortune in the slave trade. As soon as the war for independence broke out, the 21-year-old Banastre crossed the Atlantic. In 1778 he created in New York the Tarleton's Raiders, a cavalry unit wearing the green uniform of the British Legion. This brilliant officer is famous for the massacre of the Patriots at the Battle of Waxhaws.
Directly from his descendance, the four trophies were auctioned by Sotheby's on June 14, 2006.
Lot 1, sold for $ 12.3M, is a flag of the 2nd Continental Light Dragons taken in 1779 at the Battle of Pound Ridge. It is in silk 76 x 90 cm plus a 7 cm silver fringe on the three fly sides.
This piece is the only surviving example of the first style of US flags, with the thirteen red and white stripes symbolizing the founding states but before the addition of the stars by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. In the center of this flag, a rectangle fabric is painted with a winged storm cloud with a motto in ribbon. Its terminus post quem is the creation of its regiment on December 12, 1776.
The other three flags were sold together for $ 5.1M, lot 2, by Sotheby's on June 14, 2006. They constitute the 3rd Virginia Detachment color set, taken at Waxhaws in 1780.
One of them is in gold-yellow silk 128 x 115 cm painted with a beaver dropping a palmetto tree and sewn with a block of sky blue silk bearing the thirteen silver stars in the disorder of a constellation. The other two, a little smaller, are respectively in gold-yellow and blue silk. Their terminus post quem is the definition of their style by the Continental Army in 1778.
1932 Babe Ruth's Called Shot Jersey
2024 SOLD for $ 24M by Heritage
The 1932 World Series was opposing the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. An animosity was growing between both teams since Yankee manager Joe McCarthy had been fired by the Cubs two years earlier despite winning the National League pennant in the previous season.
Game 3 was played in Chicago. On the fifth inning, Babe Ruth hit a home run after making a pointing gesture visible from the whole stadium. The ball traveled to the stands for an easy home run which was decisive for the Yankees to lead the Series. This homer in a mere jogging made laugh the presidential candidate Roosevelt.
What the champion expressed in his emotional gesture has not been correctly disclosed, possibly simply a challenge against the insults from the Cubs. The unprecedented shot beyond the field was interpreted by observers as indissociable from the sporting feat, identified by a journalist as a "called shot", a term used in billiards. Ruth later said that it was the funniest, proudest moment he had ever had in baseball.
A road jersey was identified in 2005 as the possible uniform of the called shot. From a family's memory it had been presented by Ruth to a friend after losing a round of golf on him. The story shared by Grey Flannel also states an auction result by them at $ 1.06M which is not reported in the auction catalogue, on June 30, 2005 lot 1.
This garment is now photo-matched with three events of the same day. SGC assessed a Superior grade. It was sold for $ 24M by Heritage on August 24, 2024, lot 80162. Please watch the videos shared by the auction house, narrated by their executive vice president Joe Orlando.
Game 3 was played in Chicago. On the fifth inning, Babe Ruth hit a home run after making a pointing gesture visible from the whole stadium. The ball traveled to the stands for an easy home run which was decisive for the Yankees to lead the Series. This homer in a mere jogging made laugh the presidential candidate Roosevelt.
What the champion expressed in his emotional gesture has not been correctly disclosed, possibly simply a challenge against the insults from the Cubs. The unprecedented shot beyond the field was interpreted by observers as indissociable from the sporting feat, identified by a journalist as a "called shot", a term used in billiards. Ruth later said that it was the funniest, proudest moment he had ever had in baseball.
A road jersey was identified in 2005 as the possible uniform of the called shot. From a family's memory it had been presented by Ruth to a friend after losing a round of golf on him. The story shared by Grey Flannel also states an auction result by them at $ 1.06M which is not reported in the auction catalogue, on June 30, 2005 lot 1.
This garment is now photo-matched with three events of the same day. SGC assessed a Superior grade. It was sold for $ 24M by Heritage on August 24, 2024, lot 80162. Please watch the videos shared by the auction house, narrated by their executive vice president Joe Orlando.
After touring the country, including a return to Wrigley Field, and six plus hours in extended bidding tonight, Babe Ruth’s ‘Called Shot’ Jersey closes at $24.12 Million to become the world’s most valuable piece of sports memorabilia pic.twitter.com/EuHKB3KicP
— Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) August 25, 2024
1939 Ruby Slippers in The Wizard of Oz
2024 SOLD for $ 32.5M by Heritage
A dream world can not become obsolete because, since its inception, it is timeless. Released in August 1939, The Wizard of Oz, film adaptation of a children's book, is the most watched film in the history of cinema. The project had been conceived by the Metro Goldwyn Mayer to compete with Disney's growing success.
The new Alice is named Dorothy, played by Judy Garland with her long braids of a young girl.
The ruby slippers have a major role in this story. They are in possession of the teenager Dorothy, but a wicked witch tries to recover them because of their magical power. They are somehow symbolizing home, innocence and childhood. It has been said that the MGM management had refused silver shoes because that color did not demonstrate the Technicolor.
The Ruby Slippers were conceived by the chief custom designer of the MGM. They were assembled over white silk commercial pumps with red silk heels while uppers and heels are covered with hand-sequined silk georgette, lined in white leather, and the leather soles are painted red with orange felt.
Four pairs of screen worn slippers survive. One of them passed at Profiles in History on December 16, 2011 and was brokered in a private sale in February 2012 by that auction house to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Another pair was supposedly used for close up shots where Dorothy was tapping her heels together. It is burgundy colored because ruby red could not be properly caught by the Technicolor. The pair was exhibited in the 1980s and 1990s by Michael Shaw in his Shaw's Hollywood Tour and was nicknamed the Traveling Shoes.
The slippers were stolen in 2005 during a ceremony from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The thief was caught in 2023. He said that he had stolen the shoes only because he thought the sequins were genuine rubies. Unable to sell the slippers on the black market, he ditched them. They had resurfaced in 2018.
That pair was returned to its rightful owner Michael Shaw in 2024 by the FBI supported by Heritage Auctions. Please watch the video shared by Heritage to narrate that restitution. Still in a beautiful condition, the 'traveling shoes' were sold for $ 32.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Heritage on December 7, 2024, lot 89182.
One of these pairs of slippers is a highly popular attraction at the Smithsonian. It is mismatched with the pair stolen in 2005. Taken together, the two pairs are the predominant ruby slippers worn in the film.
Another one was sold for $ 670K by Christie's on May 24, 2000, lot 148.
At the first sale of the Debbie Reynolds collection by Profiles in History on June 18, 2011, a pair of slippers used for test shots was sold for $ 610K, lot 111 here linked to the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform. This one is identified as the Arabian pair.
The new Alice is named Dorothy, played by Judy Garland with her long braids of a young girl.
The ruby slippers have a major role in this story. They are in possession of the teenager Dorothy, but a wicked witch tries to recover them because of their magical power. They are somehow symbolizing home, innocence and childhood. It has been said that the MGM management had refused silver shoes because that color did not demonstrate the Technicolor.
The Ruby Slippers were conceived by the chief custom designer of the MGM. They were assembled over white silk commercial pumps with red silk heels while uppers and heels are covered with hand-sequined silk georgette, lined in white leather, and the leather soles are painted red with orange felt.
Four pairs of screen worn slippers survive. One of them passed at Profiles in History on December 16, 2011 and was brokered in a private sale in February 2012 by that auction house to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Another pair was supposedly used for close up shots where Dorothy was tapping her heels together. It is burgundy colored because ruby red could not be properly caught by the Technicolor. The pair was exhibited in the 1980s and 1990s by Michael Shaw in his Shaw's Hollywood Tour and was nicknamed the Traveling Shoes.
The slippers were stolen in 2005 during a ceremony from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The thief was caught in 2023. He said that he had stolen the shoes only because he thought the sequins were genuine rubies. Unable to sell the slippers on the black market, he ditched them. They had resurfaced in 2018.
That pair was returned to its rightful owner Michael Shaw in 2024 by the FBI supported by Heritage Auctions. Please watch the video shared by Heritage to narrate that restitution. Still in a beautiful condition, the 'traveling shoes' were sold for $ 32.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Heritage on December 7, 2024, lot 89182.
One of these pairs of slippers is a highly popular attraction at the Smithsonian. It is mismatched with the pair stolen in 2005. Taken together, the two pairs are the predominant ruby slippers worn in the film.
Another one was sold for $ 670K by Christie's on May 24, 2000, lot 148.
At the first sale of the Debbie Reynolds collection by Profiles in History on June 18, 2011, a pair of slippers used for test shots was sold for $ 610K, lot 111 here linked to the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform. This one is identified as the Arabian pair.
1986 Diego Maradona Shirt
2022 SOLD for £ 7.1M by Sotheby's
On June 22, 1986, a quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup was played in Mexico City between Argentina and England. The Argentinians led by their 25 year old captain Diego Maradona minded it like a revenge after the 1982 Falklands War.
Maradona scored within four minutes at the beginning of the second half two goals that were to become legendary for opposite reasons.
He opened the score with a goal helped by his hand. At that time when no video support was available for the referees, the point was declared as valid in an atmosphere of triumph supported by Maradona's spectacular celebration. Fully aware of his mischief, Maradona commented in the post game press conference that he made the goal “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios".
The decisive goal of the match was scored by Maradona four minutes after the Hand of God. This one is a great demonstration of Maradona's superior dribbling skills as he had been able to pass four defenders in a run of half the length of the pitch. It will referred in 2002 as The Goal of the Century and described as the greatest individual goal of all time. The image of Diego celebrating that feat is shared by Wikimedia.
A later English goal put the final score to 2-1.
Steve Hodge had been involved as an English defender in both Maradona's winning actions. He managed to swap his shirt for Maradona's in the changing room. Please watch the interview shared by Goal of Steve Hodge as 'the Man with Maradona's shirt of God'.
Maradona's shirt of the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century was loaned from 2002 by Hodge to the National Football Museum in Manchester. It was then consigned by him to Sotheby's who commissioned conclusively to Resolution Photomatching the photo-matching with the quarterfinal. It was sold for £ 7.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M on May 4, 2022, lot 1.
Maradona scored within four minutes at the beginning of the second half two goals that were to become legendary for opposite reasons.
He opened the score with a goal helped by his hand. At that time when no video support was available for the referees, the point was declared as valid in an atmosphere of triumph supported by Maradona's spectacular celebration. Fully aware of his mischief, Maradona commented in the post game press conference that he made the goal “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios".
The decisive goal of the match was scored by Maradona four minutes after the Hand of God. This one is a great demonstration of Maradona's superior dribbling skills as he had been able to pass four defenders in a run of half the length of the pitch. It will referred in 2002 as The Goal of the Century and described as the greatest individual goal of all time. The image of Diego celebrating that feat is shared by Wikimedia.
A later English goal put the final score to 2-1.
Steve Hodge had been involved as an English defender in both Maradona's winning actions. He managed to swap his shirt for Maradona's in the changing room. Please watch the interview shared by Goal of Steve Hodge as 'the Man with Maradona's shirt of God'.
Maradona's shirt of the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century was loaned from 2002 by Hodge to the National Football Museum in Manchester. It was then consigned by him to Sotheby's who commissioned conclusively to Resolution Photomatching the photo-matching with the quarterfinal. It was sold for £ 7.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M on May 4, 2022, lot 1.
1989-1991 Mappa by Boetti
2022 SOLD for $ 8.8M by Sotheby's
Artist in the abstract and lettrist styles, Alighiero Boetti wanted to express the globalization of time and space. The name of this universal minded Italian could be a pseudonym in tribute to Dante and Boethius, his two famous compatriots from ancient times. Not at all : it was his real name, sometimes used as Alighiero e Boetti.
In addition to his personal work, he managed from 1971 a fertile idea in the follow of his hippy trek in Asia. He chose then as a theme the Mappa, the map of the Earth, which he made hand woven by Afghan women, as a tribute to the endangered survivance of folk art within the modern world.
The design is fixed : they are the continents. The choice of colors of earth and sea is made by the craftsman, along with his possible selection of a text for the border. The flags of the nations, embroidered at the place of their geographic location, follow over time the political changes in a lifetime output of 150 works.
A precursor by the same artist had been in 1969 a Planisfero Politico where he decorated some blank countries of a paper world map with their national flags.
December 1979 was a key date in Boetti's art business, for political reasons. The invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR deprived him from access to the Kabul workshops where his Mappe were woven.
A Mappa 130 x 230 cm begun before that event and finished in 1980 was sold for € 5.6M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 7. It is dated 1358 (AH).
To reflect these political turmoil, the Afghan flag is superseded by the inscription in farsi of the defeated Khalq party, demonstrating an increased autonomy of the weavers and a renewed interpretation of the role of the artist in his own art. It certainly pleased the former hippy keen to promote the multi-cultural dimension of his Mappe.
Also for political reasons, the Namibian flag has been removed. The ocean is a deep rose pink, possibly to avoid an extensive use of blue threads then under shortage in Kabul.
A 1984 Mappa signed by Alighiero Boetti, embroidery on canvas 113 x 170 cm on a silver color background, was sold for $ 1.84M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 124. That date marks a restart after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR.
Made in the same year and size, a Mappa woven in Kabul was sold for £ 880K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2010.
In 1984 the artist also began to work with weavers displaced to Peshawar, Pakistan, by the political events. In the later 1980s, Alighiero Boetti's colors of the Mappe converge to blue seas, which effectively offer a nice contrast with the other colors.
A 128 x 230 cm embroidery on linen executed in Afghanistan was sold for £ 2.3M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 17. Oceans are cyan.
It is dated in Persian script 1360 AH matching 1988-1989 CE and bears on the border among other inscriptions a motto of the artist revealing his desire to control the time despite the unstable contours of the political countries : a tempo, in tempo, con tempo, il temporale.
Another Persian inscription regrets the recent history of the beautiful Afghanistan which was had been no more accessible to his business for a few years after the 1984 Soviet invasion.
The tapestries would take from a few months to several years to complete. In the above example, the flags and borders keep their 1988 figures before the 1989 termination of the Cold War.
A 116 x 217 cm Mappa was sold for £ 1.83M by Christie's on June 30, 2010, lot 10. This embroidered tapestry was executed in 1989 in Peshawar by Afghan refugees from the communist backed regime.
Its deep blue oceans distinguish it from the other examples. It is inscribed in Farsi in its border with a quote from the medieval poet Sa'di whose English translation is 'Of One Essence is the Human Race, Thusly has Creation put the Base', accompanied by a temporal Italian statement by the artist.
This encounter of mankind and time and of East and West reflects a new hope for the world as the termination of the Cold War is in view, to be formally assessed by Gorbachev and Bush in December of that year.
In this specific Mappa the written instructions of the artist for the colors have been incorporated by its makers into the woven design of each flag.
A monumental Mappa 260 x 585 cm by Alighiero Boetti was sold for $ 8.8M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2022, lot 129.
This embroidery on fabric is dated 1989, 90 and 91 and inscribed Peshawar Pakistan by Afghan People on the overlap. These three years saw the fall of the Berlin wall, in November 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the deletion of the iron curtain in Eastern Europe. This Mappa is indeed a swan song of the sickle and hammer as a national symbol.
The series is overall constituted of about 150 maps.
In addition to his personal work, he managed from 1971 a fertile idea in the follow of his hippy trek in Asia. He chose then as a theme the Mappa, the map of the Earth, which he made hand woven by Afghan women, as a tribute to the endangered survivance of folk art within the modern world.
The design is fixed : they are the continents. The choice of colors of earth and sea is made by the craftsman, along with his possible selection of a text for the border. The flags of the nations, embroidered at the place of their geographic location, follow over time the political changes in a lifetime output of 150 works.
A precursor by the same artist had been in 1969 a Planisfero Politico where he decorated some blank countries of a paper world map with their national flags.
December 1979 was a key date in Boetti's art business, for political reasons. The invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR deprived him from access to the Kabul workshops where his Mappe were woven.
A Mappa 130 x 230 cm begun before that event and finished in 1980 was sold for € 5.6M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 7. It is dated 1358 (AH).
To reflect these political turmoil, the Afghan flag is superseded by the inscription in farsi of the defeated Khalq party, demonstrating an increased autonomy of the weavers and a renewed interpretation of the role of the artist in his own art. It certainly pleased the former hippy keen to promote the multi-cultural dimension of his Mappe.
Also for political reasons, the Namibian flag has been removed. The ocean is a deep rose pink, possibly to avoid an extensive use of blue threads then under shortage in Kabul.
A 1984 Mappa signed by Alighiero Boetti, embroidery on canvas 113 x 170 cm on a silver color background, was sold for $ 1.84M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 124. That date marks a restart after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR.
Made in the same year and size, a Mappa woven in Kabul was sold for £ 880K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2010.
In 1984 the artist also began to work with weavers displaced to Peshawar, Pakistan, by the political events. In the later 1980s, Alighiero Boetti's colors of the Mappe converge to blue seas, which effectively offer a nice contrast with the other colors.
A 128 x 230 cm embroidery on linen executed in Afghanistan was sold for £ 2.3M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 17. Oceans are cyan.
It is dated in Persian script 1360 AH matching 1988-1989 CE and bears on the border among other inscriptions a motto of the artist revealing his desire to control the time despite the unstable contours of the political countries : a tempo, in tempo, con tempo, il temporale.
Another Persian inscription regrets the recent history of the beautiful Afghanistan which was had been no more accessible to his business for a few years after the 1984 Soviet invasion.
The tapestries would take from a few months to several years to complete. In the above example, the flags and borders keep their 1988 figures before the 1989 termination of the Cold War.
A 116 x 217 cm Mappa was sold for £ 1.83M by Christie's on June 30, 2010, lot 10. This embroidered tapestry was executed in 1989 in Peshawar by Afghan refugees from the communist backed regime.
Its deep blue oceans distinguish it from the other examples. It is inscribed in Farsi in its border with a quote from the medieval poet Sa'di whose English translation is 'Of One Essence is the Human Race, Thusly has Creation put the Base', accompanied by a temporal Italian statement by the artist.
This encounter of mankind and time and of East and West reflects a new hope for the world as the termination of the Cold War is in view, to be formally assessed by Gorbachev and Bush in December of that year.
In this specific Mappa the written instructions of the artist for the colors have been incorporated by its makers into the woven design of each flag.
A monumental Mappa 260 x 585 cm by Alighiero Boetti was sold for $ 8.8M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2022, lot 129.
This embroidery on fabric is dated 1989, 90 and 91 and inscribed Peshawar Pakistan by Afghan People on the overlap. These three years saw the fall of the Berlin wall, in November 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the deletion of the iron curtain in Eastern Europe. This Mappa is indeed a swan song of the sickle and hammer as a national symbol.
The series is overall constituted of about 150 maps.
1998 Michael Jordan Last Dance Road Jersey
2022 SOLD for $ 10M by Sotheby's
The 1998 Finals were a key event in NBA history, opposing the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan, who had hitherto made his whole NBA career with the Bulls, won the Most Valuable Player award of the Finals and his sixth NBA championship.
The first game was made in Salt Lake City on June 3, in a surrounding ambience hostile to the Bulls. Utah won it by a narrow margin, despite the 33 points scored by Jordan.
The road jersey worn by Michael Jordan in that Game 1 was sold for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on September 15, 2022, lot 1. It has been photo matched in game use by MeiGray.
After Game 5 the Bulls were leading 3-2 and Utah could expect a tie as the home team in Game 6. The game was tied 83-83 with one minute left. Utah scored with 43 seconds left and Jordan brought the victory of Game 6 and the Finals to the Bulls at 87-86 with 5 seconds and a timeout left. Jordan had scored 45 points in Game 6 where he wore a similar red and black road jersey as in Game 1.
That win was also the end of an era for the Bulls plagued by tension between manager and coach. Jordan announced his retirement but made a come back as NBA player with the Washington Wizards in 2001 after the September 11 attack.
In 2020 The Last Dance raised a worldwide attention to Michael Jordan as an all sport Greatest Of All Time. This 10-part TV documentary relied on 500 hour footage of candid film of the Bulls in that highly successful 1997-1998 season, made by an entertainment crew for use in a documentary. The project had been delayed until Jordan gave his permission;
The first game was made in Salt Lake City on June 3, in a surrounding ambience hostile to the Bulls. Utah won it by a narrow margin, despite the 33 points scored by Jordan.
The road jersey worn by Michael Jordan in that Game 1 was sold for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on September 15, 2022, lot 1. It has been photo matched in game use by MeiGray.
After Game 5 the Bulls were leading 3-2 and Utah could expect a tie as the home team in Game 6. The game was tied 83-83 with one minute left. Utah scored with 43 seconds left and Jordan brought the victory of Game 6 and the Finals to the Bulls at 87-86 with 5 seconds and a timeout left. Jordan had scored 45 points in Game 6 where he wore a similar red and black road jersey as in Game 1.
That win was also the end of an era for the Bulls plagued by tension between manager and coach. Jordan announced his retirement but made a come back as NBA player with the Washington Wizards in 2001 after the September 11 attack.
In 2020 The Last Dance raised a worldwide attention to Michael Jordan as an all sport Greatest Of All Time. This 10-part TV documentary relied on 500 hour footage of candid film of the Bulls in that highly successful 1997-1998 season, made by an entertainment crew for use in a documentary. The project had been delayed until Jordan gave his permission;
2022 Messi World Cup Set of Shirts
2023 SOLD for $ 7.8M by Sotheby's
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was held in Qatar. On December 18, the final was won by Argentina against the defending champion France 3-3 after extra time followed by 4-2 in penalty shoot out. Argentina had not won the trophy since 1986 with Maradona as captain. The final was watched on television by 1.5 billion people.
In 2022 Argentina's captain was the 35 year old Lionel 'Leo' Messi, playing his sixth World Cup including a lost final in 2014. Messi was the first ever player to score at least one goal in each round of the Cup.
The final was arguably the most spectacular FIFA final of all time due to the duel between the Paris Saint-Germain teammates Messi and Mbappé. It is also considered among the greatest football matches of all time.
Messi had scored once in first half, once in extra time plus the first Argentinian shoot out. Mbappé had scored twice in the second half, once in extra time plus the first French shoot out. No red card was attributed during this superb 120 minute game.
Six shirts respectively worn by Messi in the first halves of two from three group stage matches, the round of 16 and the quarterfinal, semifinal and final have been gathered as a single lot, sold for $ 7.8M by Sotheby's on December 14, 2023, lot 1.
These Adidas garments of medium slim size with the striped light blue and white of Argentina and Messi's number 10 have been photo-matched by Sports Investors Authentication. They are made in recycled polyester, jacquard and mesh.
In 2022 Argentina's captain was the 35 year old Lionel 'Leo' Messi, playing his sixth World Cup including a lost final in 2014. Messi was the first ever player to score at least one goal in each round of the Cup.
The final was arguably the most spectacular FIFA final of all time due to the duel between the Paris Saint-Germain teammates Messi and Mbappé. It is also considered among the greatest football matches of all time.
Messi had scored once in first half, once in extra time plus the first Argentinian shoot out. Mbappé had scored twice in the second half, once in extra time plus the first French shoot out. No red card was attributed during this superb 120 minute game.
Six shirts respectively worn by Messi in the first halves of two from three group stage matches, the round of 16 and the quarterfinal, semifinal and final have been gathered as a single lot, sold for $ 7.8M by Sotheby's on December 14, 2023, lot 1.
These Adidas garments of medium slim size with the striped light blue and white of Argentina and Messi's number 10 have been photo-matched by Sports Investors Authentication. They are made in recycled polyester, jacquard and mesh.
