For the Beautifully Particular.
World Class Antiques
Advanced
← The collector's library

Auction stories

Follow an interest through the World Class Antiques editorial archive.

A little curiosity goes a long way

Explore this topic.

Auction Highlights - Dinosaurs, Dummies and Diamonds

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Dinosaurs, Dummies and Diamonds

It’s not unusual to find strange items coming up for auction. Just look at the weird things that have come up for sale in the 20-year history of eBay, like Justin Timberlake’s half-eaten French toast or Mayor Rob Ford’s crack-confessing tie. Thankfully, in the world of antique auctions, the strange and unexpected are classified as such for their rare and extraordinary value.

5 min read · From the archive
Auction Highlights - Dinosaurs: Hot Trend in Collecting

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Dinosaurs: Hot Trend in Collecting

A growing trend in collecting is happening amongst private buyers across the biggest auction houses in the world and it’s dinosaur relics. Read today's Antique Collector Editorial for free.

5 min read · From the archive
Auction Highlights - Is Nothing Sacred?

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Is Nothing Sacred?

Auction highlights - A section of the original Eiffel Tower staircase, the first Dodo skeleton, the oldest inscription of the Ten Commandments, and more in this auction highlights.

4 min read · From the archive
Auction Highlights - Picasso's Women of Algiers

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Picasso's Women of Algiers

When the famous painting, Women of Algiers, by Picasso came up on the block at Christie’s in New York, it broke an all-time record. Read our auction highlights.

3 min read · From the archive
Auction Highlights - Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure

Finding sunken treasure is everybody’s childhood dream. So it’s always a pleasure when you discover such riches coming up for auction as the shipwrecked emeralds of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a galleon that sank off the coast of Florida in 1622.

3 min read · From the archive
Auction Highlights - Something Is Afoot At The Museum of Fine Art

Auction stories

Auction Highlights - Something Is Afoot At The Museum of Fine Art

Safely tucked away in the New York archives of the Museum of Fine Art is a sculpture by Early Renaissance artist Donatello…or so it is believed. The delightful gilded, wooden figure in question is of an angelic child lost in thought and swift of foot. It bears an uncanny resemblance to Donatello’s putto figures that were popular at the time, which is why Renaissance scholar and art dealer Andrew Butterfield is convinced it is by the same artist.

5 min read · From the archive