The Winter Egg, a rare Fabergé creation valued at over £20 million, is set to be auctioned at Christie’s London. Commissioned by Czar Nicholas II in 1913, the egg is crafted from rock crystal, platinum, and 4500 diamonds, containing a removable basket of jeweled quartz flowers. This piece is one of only seven Imperial Fabergé eggs in private hands and was created by female designer Alma Pihl. Having a history of sales, the egg is expected to break the record for a Fabergé egg sold at auction.
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In response to complaints from Holocaust survivors, Poland’s foreign minister announced the cancellation of an auction of Holocaust artifacts in Germany, after speaking with his German counterpart. The auction, which included letters from concentration camp prisoners and Gestapo documents, was scheduled to be held by the Felzmann auction house. A Holocaust survivors group had called for the auction’s cancellation, criticizing it as a commercial exploitation of victims’ suffering. The auction house’s website listing the items was unavailable on Sunday afternoon.
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AP News reports that a diamond brooch lost by Napoleon during the Battle of Waterloo sold for over 3.5 million Swiss francs at a Geneva auction. The brooch, featuring a 13-carat oval diamond, significantly exceeded its pre-sale estimate. This sale price was boosted by a “private collector,” as well as the recent theft of Napoleonic jewels at the Louvre museum in Paris. A green beryl also worn by Napoleon sold for nearly 1 million Swiss francs.
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To support struggling public television stations, thirty paintings by Bob Ross will be auctioned off. The sale will benefit stations facing funding cuts due to reduced federal support, and the proceeds will assist with licensing fees for popular programming. Ross, a beloved figure on public television, dedicated his life to making art accessible, and this auction aims to continue that legacy by supporting the medium that showcased his work. Bonhams will host auctions in multiple cities, with the estimated total value of the paintings ranging from $850,000 to $1.4 million.
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A record-breaking Martian meteorite, NWA 16788, weighing 54 pounds, is set to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York with an estimated value of $2-$4 million. This remarkable find, the largest piece of Mars discovered on Earth, was likely ejected from the planet by an asteroid impact and traveled millions of miles before landing in the Sahara. The meteorite, identified as an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” is 70% larger than the next largest Martian piece and represents nearly 7% of all Martian material on Earth. Along with the meteorite, the auction also features a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton.
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A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” are being auctioned, nearly two decades after they were stolen by a thief who believed them to be adorned with real jewels. Bidding has reached over $812,000, with the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, among the contenders for the iconic footwear. The slippers, one of only four remaining pairs worn during filming, were recovered by the FBI in 2018 after being stolen in 2005. The thief, Terry Jon Martin, was sentenced to time served for the crime, admitting to using a hammer to break into the museum in an attempt to “pull off one last score.”
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Imagine stumbling upon an auction for a supercomputer. Initially, it might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it actually happened. Recently, the Cheyenne supercomputer was up for grabs, and the winning bid came in at a jaw-dropping $480,085. So, what exactly does one do with a supercomputer equipped with 8,064 Intel Xeon Broadwell CPUs and 313TB DDR4-2400 ECC RAM?
Firstly, the sheer power and capabilities of this supercomputer are mind-blowing. With specifications like these, one could run complex simulations, scientific calculations, weather forecasting, or even indulge in some high-performance gaming – the possibilities are endless. However, it’s important to note that operating the Cheyenne supercomputer requires a whopping 45MW of power, which is no small feat.… Continue reading
John Q. Hosedrinker