Codex Sassoon, 10th century
Sotheby’s, New York, May 17
Estimate: $30-50 million
One of the most comprehensive Hebrew Bibles in existence hits the market later this month with the highest estimate ever for a book or manuscript, rivaling those of the best Impressionist and modern works. The Codex Sassoon is named after Judaica and Hebraica collector David Solomon Sassoon, born in Baghdad in 1880, who during his life attempted to build a comprehensive religious library. He purchased this codex – an ancient manuscript text in book form – in the 1920s. It held pride of place in his collection and is the last entry in Sassoon’s 1932 collection catalog, known as Ohel Dawid. It was handed over by the Swiss investor and film producer Jacqui (Jacob) Eli Safra, under whose ownership the manuscript was certified as coming from the 10th century. It is the oldest surviving example of a single codex containing all the books of the Hebrew Bible with their punctuation, vowels and accents, according to Sotheby’s. K J
Courtesy of Whitford Fine Art
Cissi Kean, have ants (1925)
Eye of the Collector, London, May 17-20
£12,000
The Eye of the Collector fair in London is continuing its mission to ensure that at least half of its floor space is occupied by women – many of whom are historically overlooked – with a small display of paintings by the little-known British artist known as Cissie Kean (1871-1961). Born in London into a wealthy family of German coffee merchants. Kean developed an interest in painting at an early age, but her family discouraged her from pursuing art. Nonetheless, she became a central figure in the London and Paris art scenes and was one of the founding members of the historic London-based Three Arts Club. The flat, semi-abstract and very geometric composition of have ants illustrates Kean’s later and more distinct period, which she developed under the influence of André Lhôte, Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant in Paris. It was consigned from the artist’s estate and is being sold alongside two others for the same price at Whitford Fine Art. K J
Marcel Broodthaers, Sticky Notes (1964)
Marie-Puck Broodthaers Collection Sale, Artcurial, Paris, May 25
Estimate: €4,000 – €10,000
Written in 1964 by Belgian poet, filmmaker and artist Marcel Broodthaers, Sticky Notes was originally a collection of poems. However, faced with the limited success of his work, he decided to cast his last copies in plaster and transform them into sculptures. It was one of the first times Broodthaers was able to enter the art world, allowing him to progress from the status of poet to that of artist. Three copies of Sticky Notesincluding January 1964 (photo on the right), are offered as part of a dedicated sale by Artcurial of the collection of his daughter, gallery owner Marie-Puck Broodthaers. K J
Andy Warhol, OJ Simpson, 1977
20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Phillips, New York, May 16
Estimate: $300,000 to $500,000
American football star OJ Simpson – whose role in the widely publicized 1994 trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson became a defining moment in 20th-century popular culture – is one of many athletes who were captured by Warhol for a series of later photographs and prints. Eleven prints of Simpson kissing a soccer ball exist, including one recently sold at Christie’s in 2021 for $500,000 (with fees); this work was signed Warhol, just like the one proposed at Phillips. “What Warhol could never have imagined was how the image would be seen later and the fact that it would be the subject of so much controversy today,” says Annie Dolan, Co-Head of Sales Contemporary and Twentieth-Century Art from Phillips. “Nearly five decades after its creation, those who see the image of Simpson staring directly at the camera will likely immediately recall the celebrity’s other notorious image: his mugshot.”CJ-N.
