Are you interested in contemporary art, celebrity memorabilia, modern design or antique books? Catawiki is hosting their "Collector's Fair" auction until March 26, where you can bid on a wide range of items. Here are some of the many highlights not to miss:
No car can unleash the power of summer more than this Fiat 500 Albarella Spiaggina, of which only 20 examples were built in 1968. Of these, only eight remain today, which means this is a real rarity on wheels. The Albarella Spiaggina was built by Carrozzeria Savio on the basis of the Fiat 500 F-bottom and is an absolute eye-catcher with its design and wickerwork interior. The example in question, which has the smallest known chassis number, has had only one previous owner and has been completely and extensively restored.
The Collectors Fair auction "Masterpieces from Corneille to Combas" focuses on works by modern and contemporary artists. One of them is Chéri Samba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who is considered one of the best known contemporary African artists. Chéri Samba divides his time between Paris and the capital of his country, Kinshasa, whose culture has strongly influenced him and his work. In his art he deals with current issues and the search for identity. His background as a cartoonist is incorporated with the addition of words, sentences or short paragraphs. As early as 1979, Chéri Samba's works were exhibited in what was then West Berlin, followed ten years later by an exhibition at the Center Pompidou in Paris. In 2007 he participated in the Venice Biennale and his works are now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
Speaking of MoMA, creations by Japanese designer Toshiyuki Kita can also be found there. And they are also featured at Catawiki in the form of the Dodo convertible armchair, which Toshiyuki Kita designed for the Italian company Cassina in 1998. The armchair is based on three themes: the home office of the computer age, the infinite entertainment found within the four walls of the house today and the rapid development of our society. The armchair serves all three "areas of application" and functions as both an office chair and a comfortable armchair for an evening in front of the television.
The next object takes us to Paris in 1988, where the consigner of this photograph ran a chauffeur service and one of their clients was pop icon Prince. During Prince's Lovesexy Tour, the consigner received this publicity photo with an autograph in purple from Prince. Prince signed autographs only rarely and almost never from the '90s on. This highlight of the Collector's Fair captivates not only due to its rarity, but also due to its interesting provenance.
In the Exclusive Autographs and Manuscripts auction, a magnificent little Book of Hours from around 1450 celebrates the art of handwriting and book illumination, representing an early example of book printing that emerged in the 15th century.
Another highlight is a first edition of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili from 1499, printed by the influential typographer Aldus Manutius in Venice. Aldus Manutius published many ancient texts in Greek and Latin, thus making an important contribution to the Renaissance. He also printed the works of contemporary authors such as Petrarch. The author of the novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is not entirely clear, but the name Francesco Colonna could indicate a Dominican friar from Venice or a nobleman from the outskirts of Rome.
Here is a well-preserved skull of the saber-toothed cat Machairodus, which only had to be supplemented in some places by small reconstructions. The Machairodus lived between 15 and 2 million years ago in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America and, together with the famous saber-toothed tiger (Smilodon), was one of the largest specimens of saber-toothed cat.
Get more information about Catawiki's Collectors Fair auctions here!
