The Tower of Babel – Shop of the Day No. 74



May 7, 2015

The Tower of Babel – Shop of the Day No. 74

We have reached the top! There are 11 levels to the Tower of Babel, each with a different price band, reflecting their status or perceived status in our capital.  The top level of the Tower is made up of 10 shops.  Still to be hotly debated but surely Christie’s needs to be there. With annual sales last year of £5.1 billion – $8.4 billion I think the big auction houses have a unique status in the fact that you can actually pay whatever you want and you never quite know what may come up for sale!  

Most expensive things sold at Christie’s:

Most expensive painting sold: Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust $106.5 million

Most expensive furniture: Badminton Cabinet $36 million

Most expensive clothes – Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President”  $1,267,500 

Most expensive manuscript – Da Vinci’s Codex Hammer – $30,802,500

Most expensive instrument – Guarneri del Gesù violin  – $3.9 million

Most Expensive Lock of Hair – Tresses from Elvis Presley –  $115,000

Most Expensive Antiquity – Roman-era statue, Artemis and the Stag – $28.6 million

Most Expensive Car – 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – $12.2 million

Most Expensive Diamond – Wittelsbach diamond – $23.4 million

and most importantly: Most Expensive Barbie Doll – $302,500

The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, Christie’s soon established a reputation as a leading auction house, and took advantage of London’s new found status as the major centre of the international art trade after the French Revolution

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©Barnaby Barford 2015

About the author



May 7, 2015

Barnaby Barford is an artist who works primarily with ceramics to create narrative pieces. He is best known for his work with both mass-market and antique found porcelain figurines, cutting...

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