“Such ‘Ru guanyao’ wares–known for their intense blue-green glaze and “ice-crackle” pattern–are extremely rare because the kiln in China’s central Henan province had a brief production run of only around two decades,” stated a Reuters report on the sale. After a 20 minute bidding battle, the small vessel brought the equivalent of $37.68 million in a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. This broke the previous record held by the famed “chicken” cup set in 2014. The rug was described by Sotheby’s as follows: a Sickle-Leaf, vine scroll and palmette ‘Vase’-technique carpet, probably Kirman, Southeast Persia. Condition and rarity played a part in bringing this record-breaking sum. The pocket watch sold for $24 million at auction in 2014, breaking its previous record of $11 million set in 1999 as the most valuable timepiece in auction history. Given all that this grand piece of jewelry has going for it, it’s no surprise that Christie’s reported that it set two auction records: one for a historic pearl and another for a pearl jewel–bringing $11,842,500 at auction. Robby the Robot, from the classic science fiction film Forbidden Planet released in 1956, sold for $5.375 million through Bonhams in New York. This shattered the previous record for a non-automotive movie prop formerly held by the Maltese Falcon that sold for $4 million in 2013, also by Bonhams. This example sold for $3.12 million in 2016, breaking the previous record of $2.8 million set with a different Wagner card in 2007. Note that there are many reproductions on the market due to the high value. “The poster surpassed the previous auction record of $478,000, which was also set (twice) by Heritage Auctions. Heritage had just sold the only known surviving Italian issue movie poster from 1946 for Casablanca in July 2017, which matched their own previous world record from November 2014 for an only-known 1927 copy of the poster for London After Midnight,” according to a Heritage Auctions press release. The elaborately-carved Chippendale-style desk made of walnut was built for Capt. John Cowan by an unknown maker. It sold for $498,750–the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of Kentucky furniture and second-highest for a piece of Southern furniture, according to a report in the Lexington Herald-Leader. According to Theriault’s, a leader in doll auction sales, this Rochard example “symbolizes the golden age of French dolls.” It also appeals to scholars of photography and French culture and history since the breastplate of the doll was decorated with an elaborately painted necklace. Hidden inside 24 of the tiny jewels are micro-photographs depicting historic scenes in France, such as Fontainebleau, the Louvre, and the Hotel de Ville of Paris, among others. When held closely to the eye, each image is magnified 160 times. In the same sale, a number of other decoys broke records for their makers, 19 in all, including a John English pintail drake and Charles E. “Shang” Wheeler Canada goose, selling for $246,000 and $198,000 respectively.
