Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Coupé, 1989. Chassis no. ZA9CA05A6KLA12692 appeared in and was wreaked for Martin Scorsese's film The Wolf of Wall Street. The 25th Anniversary model finished in Bianco Polo over Bianco interior is one of 12 built for the US market. It is the exact car that Leonardo DiCaprio crashed in the film, apparently Scorsese was dissatisfied with the damage done during the stunts and had a flatbed truck collide with the Bertone-designed Lamborghini multiple times to inflict more damage. It is to be offered at auction by Bonhams and has an estimate of US$1,500,000- $2,000,000.

auction listing

Standing Frog

Dempsey Bob

1957 Lotus 12, chassis number 353 !

Image via Bonhams

A shirt believed to have been worn by Napoleon on St. Helena, circa 1820

This shirt is believed to be one of the six examples listed in the bathroom linen in Napoleon’s will (see Dr. F. Antommarchi, Last moments of Napoleon, Vol. II, Paris, London, Henri Colburn, 1825, p. 215). A handwritten note bearing a black wax seal, written by the eldest son of General Bertrand, the Emperor’s aide-de-camp, attached to the front of the shirt, attests to its authenticity: “Chemise que l'Empereur Napoléon a porté à Ste Hélène. Elle a été/donnée à Henry Bertrand, par un article/du testament de son père, le général Bertrand./Henry Bertrand/ 29bre 1844/Souvenir de bonne amitié à Feisthamel”. General Bertrand accompanied Napoleon to St Helena and brought the former Emperor’s remains back to France in 1840 for burial at Les Invalides. After his death, Bertrand bequeathed the shirt to Henri, his eldest son.

(Bonhams: Napoleon Bonaparte, the British Sale)

Alfa Romeo 6c 1750 Super Sport Supercharged Spider 1928 - Photo via Bonhams. - source Motor Authority.

Chryssa Vardea-Mavromichali, "Multiple A," 1979,

Neon construction in plexiglass box,

48 x 38 x 24 cm. (18.9 x 14.96 x 9.45 in.)

Private collection, © photo Bonhams

1895 Litograph by Art Nouveau painter Fernand Toussaint (Belgian, 1873-1956), Le Sillon (the furrow).

Lithograph in colors on wove paper backed with japon, printed by O. de Rycker, Bruxelles.

Bonhams

"This magnificent poster, an artistic and lithographic tour de force, was Toussaint's first. It publicizes the magazine of 'Le Sillon' one of many artists' groups that bred in rich cultural ferment of 1890s Brussels. 'Sillon' means furrow, to make one's own way in the world, which was the aim of this group. Thus Toussaint depicts an allegory of the harvest of grain that will spring from his work. Credit for capturing the fine colour nuances of this delicious watercolour in soft tones, is shared by Toussaint's friend, O. de Rycker, the master lithographer (printer) of Brussels. (Rennert, PAI-XVII, 525) At the turn of the century Brussels was a major center of artistic creativity. Powerful artistic movements and groups, such as Libre Esthetique, Pour l'Art and Le Sillon, all of whom attracted avant garde artists from all over Europe, were based there.Amongst them, Le Sillon (the furrow) was an artistic circle of decorative realists. Toussaint, who was primarily a painter, created his first poster for the group and instantly achieved fame in the field. It is easy to see why. The result is a stunning and flamboyant symbolist poster, marvelously executed in warm, soft tones, with gently, though not over exaggerated, Art Nouveau curls. The simple image of a beatific woman, gently pulling aside some flowers which she is about to cut with her scythe, is fertile with meaning. Symbolically it depicts the artist making his own way, "his determination to express himself according to his convictions", it can also be seen as the members of Le Sillon clearing away the old style of art in preparation for the new style they are about to sow. The following year Toussaint created a poster for the Café Jacqmotte in the same style, and together these two masterpieces have become his legacy. (Swann, Sale 1945, 111) (x) 

An Egyptian greywacke cosmetic palette,

Predynastic Period, Naqada II, circa 3500-3200 B.C.

In the form of a tilipia fish, with open mouth and circular eyes, the fins with serrated edges, perforated at the top for suspension, 

19cm long

Courtesy: Bonhams

Max Ernst  (German, 1891-1976)

Violette Sonne 1962 oil on waxed paper laid to board 20.5 x 17.4cm (8 1/16 x 6 7/8in)

© Bonhams, IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART

Pierre Soulages (24 December 1919 – 26 October 2022)

Pierre Soulages is considered a major figure of post-war European abstraction, alongside Hans Hartung, George Mathieu, Serge Poliakoff and Jean-Paul Riopelle.

He’s particularly renowned for his “outrenoir” (“beyond black”) series of paintings, which feature matte and glossy black fields interrupted by ridges, scores, and gashes; the artist is interested in how black paint absorbs and reflects light.

Since making his gallery debut in 1947, Soulages has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, The Louvre and the State Hermitage Museum (he was the first living artist to show at the institution), and his work has been acquired for the collections of the Centre Pompidou, The Guggenheim, Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Applying the paint in thick layers, Soulages’ painting technique includes using objects such as spoons, tiny rakes and bits of rubber to work away at the painting, often making scraping, digging or etching movements depending on whether he wants to evoke a smooth or rough surface. The texture that is then produced either absorbs or rejects light, breaking up the surface of the painting by disrupting the uniformity of the black.

Peinture 65 x 92 cm, 9 février 1960, 1960, signed; signed and dated 9 Fev 60 on the reverse, oil on canvas, 65 by 92 cm, 25 9/16 by 36 1/4 in.  © Bonhams 2001-2020.

Aston Martin Lagonda 2-Door Coupé, 1988. To be offered at auction, DP 2034/1, the first Aston Martin Virage prototype which was disguised as a 2-door Lagonda in order to keep the styling of the Virage secret. After the Virage/Lagonda "mule" became surplus to requirements, Works Service completely rebuilt, fully finished, painted and trimmed the car and sold it to a UK collector. It is to be auctioned at Bonham's Goodwood Revival auction in September

auction listing

Thunderbird Transformation Mask

Lorrie Pambrun

1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta

Ferrari built the 412P at the height of its Le Mans rivalry with Ford. Only four examples were ever manufactured, each built to the spec of the private teams that would race them. All were converted from 330 P3 race cars and of the four, two were built for NART and Scuderia Filipinetti while the other two were commissioned by Ecurie Francorchamps and Maranello Concessionaries.

This 412P was raced by Maranello Concessionaries. While it did not claim any race victories during its debut season, it did finish third at Spa and was running just outside the top 10 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans before it retired due to an oil pump failure.

In 1968, the car was sold, repainted green and raced in both Europe and South Africa. It retired from racing later that year before being sold to a U.S. resident who converted it into a street car.

The car then passed through the hands of multiple owners over the following decades and has been in the possession of its current custodian since 2005. It remains road legal and registered and has a numbers matching chassis, engine, transmission, and all of its original bodywork.

Courtesy Bonhams

Road plan of the city and fauxbourgs of Paris in 1804-1805, divided into two town halls.

From Napoleon’s office following his coronation in December 1804 as Empereur des Français, the imperial residence then being at St Cloud. Publisher Jacques Esnaults (1739-1812).

A similar map of the city of Paris, Jean's Plan routier de la ville et faubourgs de Paris divisé en douze mairies (Paris, 1809) with a note stating that it was recovered from Napoleon's desk at Malmaison by a Prussian volunteer, was offered for sale by Karl Hiersemann in the sale Napoléon I. et son temps; catalogue... composant principalement la collection H. Buhrig, Leipzig, 1913, lot 494.

(Bonhams: Napoleon Bonaparte, The British Sale)

🥳 Happy Birthday The Bell Jar! 🎂 The Sylva Plath Calendar - 60 years ago today: Sylvia Plath‘s only novel The Bell Jar was published in the UK on Monday, 14 January 1963 by Heinemann under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, 28 days before her death. Plath called the novel “an autobiographical apprentice work which I had to write in order to free myself from the past” and said: “What I’ve done is to throw together events from my own life, fictionalizing to add color- it’s a pot boiler really, but I think it will show how isolated a person feels when he is suffering a breakdown…. I’ve tried to picture my world and the people in it as seen through the distorting lens of a bell jar” Source: Biographical Note by Lois Ames, in: The Bell Jar, Bantam Windstone, 1981 . If you want to learn more about the creation and publication history of The Bell Jar, I highly recommend Peter K. Steinberg’s blog post from 14 January 2013 at sylviaplathinfo.blogspot.com: “Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar Published 50 Years Ago Today”. . Photo: The synopsis page from the uncorrected pre-publication proof copy of Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ that was also included in the first Heinemann edition; with Plath’s Devon address in her handwriting. This copy belonged to her daughter, Frieda Hughes. Sold for £ 75,000 at an auction at Bonhams in March 2018. 📷 bonhams.com/auction/24633/lot/359/plath-sylvia-the-bell-jar-by-victoria-lucas-sylvia-plaths-uncorrected-proof-copy-with-her-own-manuscript-corrections-and-ownershsip-inscription-heinemann-1962/

65 Aston Martin DB5