GENEVA – Despite vigorous criticism about the Nazi-era origins of Mrs Heidi Horten’s wealth, an auction of the late Austrian billionaire’s jewellery became the most expensive public sale in history.
Spread over the course of two live auctions in Geneva on May 10 and 12 and an online sale which ended on May 15, this treasure trove of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and tiaras carried an overall presale estimate of US$163 million (S$218 million).
The first auction totalled 138 million Swiss francs (S$206 million), already setting a world record for a single-owner jewellery sale.
The second, which contained fewer big-ticket lots, brought in 37.8 million francs (S$56.4 million), while the online sale added an additional 3.8 million francs (S$5.7 million) to the total.
(The previous record was set in 2011, when a series of auctions of the late actress Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels made about US$137 million at Christie’s.)
Nazi history
Mrs Horten died last year at the age of 81, shortly after opening an eponymous museum in Vienna.
She derived her wealth from her late husband, Mr Helmut, who made his fortune in part by buying department stores at deeply discounted prices from Jews who sold under duress during the Third Reich.
“This auction is doubly indecent: the funds that made it possible to acquire these jewels are partly the result of the Aryanisation of Jewish property carried out by Nazi Germany,” Mr Yonathan Arfi, the chairman of Crif (the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions), wrote in a statement posted on the organisation’s website. “In addition, this sale will contribute to a foundation whose mission it is to ensure the name of a former Nazi for posterity!”
Christie’s, for its part, acknowledges the origins of Mrs Horten’s wealth.
A statement from Anthea Peers, the president of Christie’s EMEA, notes that all of the objects up for auction were purchased beginning in the 1970s and that “all of the Estate’s proceeds from the sale of this jewellery collection will be donated to a foundation that supports philanthropic causes, including medical research, children’s welfare, and access to the arts, pursuant to Mrs. Horten’s wishes”.
Additionally, Ms Peers’s statement continues, “Christie’s has also committed to donate a significant portion of our commission to organisations that contribute to vitally important Holocaust research and education. It will be up to these organisations, if they so wish, to communicate about these donations.”