Boundaries between auction house departments have become more porous with the outbreak of Covid-19, but even by new standards for cross-border sales, “The One” auction at Sotheby’s New York on Friday January 27 has was a stunning mashup. It opened with the Miami Heat jersey worn by basketball great Lebron James in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, followed by a set adorned with Edo era armor from 19th century Japan. , and later included a pair of 15th-century icon paintings, a 6th-century BCE Egyptian bust, and a ticket to the Madison Square Garden celebration for then-US President John F. Kennedy , during which Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”.

George Wachter, co-president of Sotheby’s of Old Master paintings Worldwide, wrote in the sale’s catalog that he felt the company had “missed an opportunity” by not holding a sale in New York similar to its sale in “Treasures” cross-category auction held in London. , an oversight he strove to correct during this week’s Old Masters flagship sales. “I wanted to try and create a sale to go along with these other auctions that would showcase anything and everything but paintings.”

This ‘anything and everything’ approach was reflected in the auction of 19 lots – a 20th lot, a 16th century marble sculpture of Christ the Redeemer by Simone Bianco and her studio, was removed before the sale . The bundles have been grouped into themed categories, including “Divine”, “Status Symbols”, and “Dress: Clothing as Armor and Beyond”. In total, the sale grossed a total of $6.7 million ($8.4 million with fees), well below its pre-sale estimate range of 7.6-9.8 million. of dollars. Four lots were not sold, representing a sale rate of 79% per lot. James’ jersey had the highest expectations of the sale and quickly hammered its low estimate of $3 million ($3.6 million with fees).

The Edo armor drew similarly low bids, selling below its low estimate of $200,000 for a hammer price of $120,000 ($151,200 with fees), although the buyer may be exactly the kind of eclectic collector Wachter had in mind for this type of sale. The same customer then won a Los Angeles Lakers uniform worn by Kobe Bryant in a famous game of 2015 when, after the right-handed player injured his right shoulder, he played the rest of the match left-handed. It sold for $180,000 ($226,800 with fees) against a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. The same bidder returned for the penultimate lot in the sale, an ornate rococo table that cabinetmaker Pietro Piffetti created for the Marquess of Ormea in the 1730s, bringing it home with a bid of 175,000 $ ($214,200 with fees).

The biggest lot in the sale after the James jersey was a Bronze Age disc with ornate abstract designs from Denmark, dated between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE, which came from the estate of collector Robin Bradley Martin . Fierce bidding in the York Avenue auction house, online and by customers calling in drove him to more than double his high estimate of $300,000. An online bidder eventually snagged it for $650,000 ($819,000 with fees).

Several bidders lost their heads for a sandstone sculpture of an apostle’s head from the Haut-Rhin region, near Strasbourg, dated to the beginning of the 13th century. A bidding war quickly pushed it toward its high estimate of $600,000 and it sold to a telephone bidder for $580,000 ($730,800 including fees).

Two lots later, an elegant dark purple silk velvet strapless dress designed by Victor Edelstein and worn by Princess Diana sparked another fiery contest and sent it well beyond its high estimate of $100,000. A customer bidding online ultimately prevailed, winning the dress with a bid of $480,000 ($604,800 with fees) – a record result for a Diana dress at auction. Time will tell if the bidder was Kim Kardashian, who recently bought an amethyst cross of the same hue worn by Diana during an online sale at Sotheby’s, although her treatment of historic dresses caused an uproar in the past.

The sale, perhaps due to its jarring mix of offers, was a recurring affair, with momentum building around a few lots and then abruptly dying out. Interest eased noticeably after the Diana dress, and half of the last six lots went unsold, suggesting there are still improvements to be made to the ‘anything and everything’ approach of Sotheby’s for these multi-category auctions.