A Christie's staff member poses with the 1889 painting by Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh entitled Vue de l'Asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy, which fetched £10.1m at auction in London.
A Christie's staff member poses with the 1889 painting by Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh entitled Vue de l'Asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy, which fetched £10.1m at auction in London.

Europe

Elizabeth Taylor auction lots sell for $183m at Christie's

Paintings, jewelry and fashions belonging to the late Elizabeth Taylor have sold for more than US$183 million, with all of the more than 1,800 items on offer snapped up.

Associated Press

February 09, 2012

LONDON // Paintings, jewelry and fashions belonging to the late Elizabeth Taylor have sold for more than US$183 million (Dh672.1m), with all of the more than 1,800 items on offer snapped up, according to Christie's auction house.

Christie's said 1,817 lots were sold at a series of auctions in New York and London, some at 50 times their pre-sale estimates.

The most expensive was Vincent van Gogh's landscape Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Remy, which once hung in the living room of Taylor's Bel Air home in California. It sold for £10.1 million (Dh58.7m), including the buyer's premium.

The daughter of a London art dealer, Taylor amassed a substantial collection of 19th and 20th century art, including works by Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir.

The legendary Hollywood actress, whose films included Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, died in March aged 79, and Christie's has been selling her belongings on behalf of the Elizabeth Taylor Trust.

New York sales of jewellery, fashion and memorabilia in December raised more than $156m, with a buyer paying $8.8m for a 33.19-carat diamond ring given to Taylor by actor Richard Burton, whom she married twice.

A sale of 38 paintings in London on Tuesday and yesterday raised an additional £15.6m.

"The global outpouring of affection and admiration for Elizabeth Taylor from fans and collectors alike has been amazing for us to witness," said Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas.

Sukuk explained

Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.

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