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Regardless of the time of the creation – the 16th century or the 20th century – anything that is crafted with great precision will surely rack up more appreciation and ultimately fetch mind-blowing auction bids. Four such works are a necklace worn by Princess Diana, The Head of Saint John the Baptist presented to Salome painting, and two more.
Iconic Cross
Diana necklace surpasses bid estimate
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-70281 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The_Attallah_Cross_Sothebys_catalogue_shot_003_rgb-e1678677087796.jpg" alt="Auction Bids" width="768" height="767" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The_Attallah_Cross_Sothebys_catalogue_shot_003_rgb-e1678677087796.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The_Attallah_Cross_Sothebys_catalogue_shot_003_rgb-e1678677087796-200x200.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The_Attallah_Cross_Sothebys_catalogue_shot_003_rgb-e1678677087796-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The_Attallah_Cross_Sothebys_catalogue_shot_003_rgb-e1678677087796-600x599.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />
An amethyst and diamond pendant once worn by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, fetched £163,800 (HK$1,534,906) at a Sotheby’s auction. Kim Kardashian outbid her rivals to scoop up the Attallah Cross. The cross was bought by Naim Attallah CBE, from Garrard in the 1980s and through his friendship with Princess Diana, he could loan it to her several times over a number of years to wear at events. It is understood that the Princess only ever wore the cross, and following her death, it was never seen in public again until the auction. The cross-shaped pendant – thought to be a one-off private commission by Garrard for one of their regular clients &#8211; is a bold and colourful piece set with square-cut amethysts and accented by circular-cut diamonds. The cross has a total diamond weight of approximately 5.25 carats and measures about 136 x 95mm. Head of jewellery at Sotheby’s London, Kristian Spofforth, said: “To some extent, this unusual pendant is symbolic of the princess’s growing self-assurance in her sartorial and jewellery choices, at that particular moment in her life.”
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Head Hunts 
Depiction of decapitated saint
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-70278 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/salomepainting_rgb-e1678677117446.jpg" alt="Auction Bids" width="768" height="717" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/salomepainting_rgb-e1678677117446.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/salomepainting_rgb-e1678677117446-200x187.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/salomepainting_rgb-e1678677117446-600x560.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />
A controversial early masterpiece created by the renowned 16th century Flemish grandmaster, Peter Paul Rubens – Salome Presented With the Head of Saint John the Baptist – changed hands for an astonishing US$26.9m at auction during Sotheby’s Masters Week. Supposedly painted in 1609, it is regarded as one of a small group of masterpieces created by the artist immediately following his return from Italy in December 1608. The painting formed part of a truly grand white-glove sale of works from the fabled Fisch Davidson Collection &#8211; one of the most significant arrays of Baroque art ever to come to market. While many other fine items jostled for attention during the course of the sale, there was no doubt that this renowned example of Rubens’s singular artistic vision was the star attraction, with the winning bid of US$26.9m &#8211; the third highest price ever paid for one of the artist’s works at auction &#8211; merely confirming its significance. Christopher Apostle of Sotheby’s New York, said: “This Masters Week has been one of the strongest ever staged by Sotheby’s, both in terms of the record numbers pouring through our doors to peruse the lots on the show and the spirited bidding later seen in the saleroom.”
Bronze Award 
Rijksmuseum wins bidding battle
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-70274 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ecorche100_p_rgb-e1678677174495.jpg" alt="Auction Bids" width="500" height="750" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ecorche100_p_rgb-e1678677174495.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ecorche100_p_rgb-e1678677174495-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" />
A bronze figure of an écorché man – an individual sculptured with his inner anatomy very much on show &#8211; created by Willem Danielsz Van Tetrode, a much-admired 16th-century sculptor, went for a fairly healthy US$1.5 million when recently auctioned in New York. A sculptor rightly renowned for dramatic compositions and skilled écorché, this particular work – perhaps unimaginatively known simply as A Bronze Figure of an Écorché Man &#8211; together with Hercules Pomarius and Striding Warrior, are generally viewed as his three most accomplished pieces. Perhaps boosting its appeal to collectors, however, the exaggerated body, long legs, abbreviated torso and visually dazzling musculature are quite unlike any of the sculptor’s other works. Particularly popular throughout much of the 17th century, this sculpture was said to have inspired many later artists, with its distinct colouring and contours recreated in a host of subsequent drawings and paintings, most famously in Voorhout’s A Young Scholar in his Study. The sculpture is now believed to have been acquired by the Rijksmuseum.
Muscle Memory 
Nostalgia for the days of the mighty muscle
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-70273 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Daytona3_p_rgb-e1678677248536.jpg" alt="Auction Bids" width="768" height="397" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Daytona3_p_rgb-e1678677248536.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Daytona3_p_rgb-e1678677248536-200x103.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Daytona3_p_rgb-e1678677248536-600x310.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />
To the surprise of many, a 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona muscle car – typically a two-door sports coupé designed for high-performance driving &#8211; sold for a highly commendable US$1.43 million at Mecum Kissimmee, a specialist automobile auction event held recently in Florida. Perhaps adding to its value, the vehicle was previously owned by Kevin Greene, a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and David Spade, the well-known US TV and movie star. Boasting a 4-speed manual transmission, power steering and a 426/425 HP Hemi engine, its eventual sale price far outstripped that commanded by a similar model that went under the gavel in 2022. This may be at least partly because it is believed to be the lowest-mile, original engine four-speed Hemi Daytona still in existence. Remarkably, it has retained its value even though its first owner removed the original interior and arranged for all its body panels to be custom re-painted, while its factory wheels and tyres were put into storage. Although this Daytona model was only in production for one year, it is viewed as one of the most iconic vehicles in automotive history.
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(Text: Neil Dolby)

Applauding Creations From Different Centuries – Auction Bids to Note

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36353 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt.jpg" alt="British Royal Family" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-British_Royal_family_opt-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
Amid the bunting, badinage and backslapping that greeted the recent arrival of Louis Arthur Charles Windsor, the third child of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, there might have been one or two royal recesses where the welcome may have been a little more muted. After all, even as the tiny prince was revealed to the world’s press, many of his regal relatives would only be too aware that they had just, once again, shuffled further down the line of succession, with their own ascension to the British throne never less likely.
Not that there’s any likelihood of a current vacancy, however. Despite the sixty-sixth anniversary of her accession to the throne having passed earlier this year, Louis’ great grandmother – or Queen Elizabeth II as she is more normally known – shows no sign of standing down or imminently demising. Given that her own mother lived to be 101, there is every chance that Her Majesty could add another 10 years to her already record-breaking reign. When, as will surely happen in the fullness of time, the British throne does fall unoccupied, though, just who will succeed the country’s longest-serving monarch?
Well, first in line, of course, is Prince Charles who has been the heir apparent since his mother’s 1952 coronation. Given the unprecedented length of her reign, it is perhaps not all that surprising that Charles himself is also the holder of a royal record – at 64 years and counting, he has served as heir apparent for longer than any of his predecessors.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36354 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt.jpg" alt="Prince Charles " width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Charles_opt-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
As the eldest son of Prince Charles – the issue of his first marriage back in the days of his apparent fairytale pairing with Diana, Princess of Hearts – Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge is second in line and set to one day succeed his father. With 69-year-old Charles set to be at least 75 or so before he ascends to the throne, it is most unlikely that 35-year-old William will have to spend the same 70-plus years waiting in the wings before the top job falls to him.
In 2013, William and Kate, as she is affectionately known by the public, welcomed their first child – Prince George. Barely had the umbilical cord been cut before the young princeling nosed ahead of Prince Harry – his uncle and William’s younger brother &#8211; to become third in line to the throne.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36355 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt.jpg" alt="Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte " width="466" height="700" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt.jpg 466w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt-186x280.jpg 186w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt-120x180.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/466x700-Prince-William-family-photo_opt-400x601.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px" />
Two years later, the order of succession changed again with the arrival of Princess Charlotte, William and Kate’s second child. This, however, did mark something of a change to royal protocol.&nbsp; Following the 2013 enactment of the Succession to the Crown Act, Charlotte gets to retain her position as fourth in line to the throne even if – as actually happened – another male heir is born in to the family. Just a year or two before, the previously prevailing 1701 Succession Act would have seen Prince Louis leapfrog his sibling and shuffle her down to fifth place in the accession stakes.
Given the abundance of heirs delivered by the union of William and Kate, it seems unlikely – natural disasters and plagues aside – that Prince Harry, now sixth in line to the throne, will ever advance any higher in the monarchy stakes.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36356 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt.jpg" alt="Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-020_898498210_opt-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
Even further back in the list is Prince Andrew, the current Queen’s second son, who has dropped to his relatively lowly seventh ranking. In fact, such is his disposability that he is now no longer regarded as a “core” member of the royal family.
Anne, the Queen’s second child, currently languishes in the largely uncoveted number 13 spot, behind not only her two younger brothers, but also their four children
The highest ranked of these, at number eight, is Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Andrew and his permanently-exiled from royal circles ex-wife, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, the Duchess of York. Trailing her in ninth position is Princess Eugenie, her younger sister and the second child of Andy and Fergie as they are familiarly known.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36358 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt.jpg" alt="Prince Andrew and Princess Eugenie" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/700x466-Prince_Andrew_and_Princess_Eugenie_opt-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
&nbsp;Taking the line of accession into double figures is Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, in the number 10 slot, again placed ahead of his elder sister by a royal tradition that clearly pre-dated any feminist dialogue.
Should some wholly unanticipated cataclysm wipe out the whole of this top 10, however, even then the throne would not go unoccupied. The top 100 extends to various branches of the Yugoslavian and Romanian royal families, with the superiorperks offered to members of the British monarchy sure to lure them out of even the finest palace Bucharest has to offer.
The British royal family, then, is clearly a robust institution, with countless candidates for the top job no matter how great a cataclysm may afflict the realm. With her reign inevitably entering its final phase, however, it will be down to the successors to her title to ensure the role retains its relevance throughout the remainder of the 21st century and beyond.
The full version of this feature appears on Gafencu Magazine’s June 2018 print issue as “Crown Succession”&nbsp;by&nbsp;Hira Desai. You can download the <a href="//www.gafencushop.com/gafencu-luxury-lifestyle-magazine-app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free app&nbsp;</a>for digital editions of the magazine.

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Applauding Creations From Different Centuries – Auction Bids to Note

How did the birth of Prince Louis affect the royal line of succession?