Edited by Carly Timpson
Records in arts, antiques, sport and more were broken at auction houses across the world in 2025. While the highlights are as diverse as they are numerous, works by women and those with historical relevance stood out. The record for a work by a living woman artist was broken in the first half of the year with the $13.6 million sale of Marlene Dumas’ “Miss January.” And, as the year came to a close, the record for a work by a woman was set by Frida Kahlo’s “El sueño (La cama)” at $54.7 million. Items linked to historical events, such as the Titanic or the Moon landing, or to royalty, such as French kings or Russian emperors, also found favor with bidders this year. Rounding up some of the year’s most notable results, Antiques and The Arts Weekly presents:
Most Expensive Handbag & Most Expensive Fashion Item Sold In Europe
What: Jane Birkin’s Original Hermès Bag
Where: Sotheby’s, Paris
When: July 10
How Much: €8.6 million ($10.1 million)
Why: The Birkin is perhaps one of the most legendary handbags in fashion history. This one, the original Le Birkin in black leather, crafted by Hermès in 1985 for actress and singer Jane Birkin, came to auction for the first time in 25 years. “It is a startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance, to own its origin. The Birkin prototype is exactly that, the starting point of an extraordinary story that has given us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the most coveted handbag in the world,” said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion.
Most Expensive Work Of Comic Or Fantasy Artwork
What: Frank Frazetta’s “Man Ape” painting for the paperback cover of Conan by Robert E. Howard (Lancer/ Ape, 1967)
Where: Heritage Auctions
When: September 12
How Much: $13.5 million
Why: Frank Frazetta’s 1966 oil on canvas painting of Conan the Barbarian, which fans identify as “Man Ape,” was used as the cover image for a paperback edition featuring seven “Conan” short stories. “This is one of the most important paintings in the history of fantasy art ever to come to auction,” says Todd Hignite, Heritage’s executive vice president. “Frazetta didn’t just illustrate Conan — he transformed him into an icon. This result is a testament to the power and permanence of his vision and to the unmatched reverence collectors have for his work.”
Most Expensive Peanuts Animation Cel
What: A three-cel sequence from A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Where: Heritage Auctions
When: December 12
How Much: $102,000
Why: The 60th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas was celebrated in style with the sale of this three cel pan master setup of one of the film’s key scenes — when Charlie Brown takes his little Christmas tree outside to decorate it, inspired by Linus’s “true meaning of Christmas.” The hand-painted, multi-cel configuration set against a hand-painted pan production background with matching overlay cel, attributed to Dean Spille, measured 38 inches long in total.
Most Expensive Work Of Modern Art
What: Gustav Klimt’s “Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer)”
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: November 18
How Much: $236.4 million
Why: The vibrant 1914-16 painting of Elisabeth Lederer, the daughter of Klimt’s most important patrons, Serena and August Lederer, was seized by Nazis and deposited at Kirchner & Co, Vienna, in 1939, surviving to be restituted to Elisabeth’s brother Erich Lederer in 1948. After 20 minutes of bidding, the auction closed with this portrait becoming “the most valuable work by Klimt ever sold, the most valuable work of art ever sold by Sotheby’s and the second most valuable work of art ever sold at auction.”
Most Expensive Sports Card
What: 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant
Where: Heritage Auctions
When: August 23
How Much: $12.932 million
Why: Featuring the autographs and NBA uniform logos from two of basketball’s greats, this card is “a dazzling showpiece with aesthetics worthy of the subject matter,” according to the catalog note. Graded EX-MT 6 by PSA, the one-of-one card became the second-most expensive sports collectible ever, with only a Babe Ruth jersey topping it.
Most Expensive Titanic Artifact
What: Jules Jurgensen pocket watch belonging to Isidor Straus
Where: Henry Aldridge and Son
When: November 22
How Much: £1.78 million ($2.3 million)
Why: This 18K gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch was given to Isidor Straus, owner of Macy’s department store in New York, by his wife, Ida, in 1888. When recovered, it was returned to the family, where it descended until this auction. “Pocket watches are incredibly personal items,” said managing director Andrew Aldridge. “Every man, woman and child passenger or crew had a story to tell, and they are told 113 years later through the objects that they owned. Items like this keep the story alive and bring us closer to the memory of one of the biggest tragedies of the Twentieth Century.”
Most Expensive Work By Frank Lloyd Wright & Most Expensive Lamp
What: The Dana House Double- Pedestal Lamp
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: May 13
How Much: $7.5 million
Why: This Double-Pedestal Lamp was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, Springfield, Ill., in 1903. Made of iridized and opalescent glass, brass-plated “colonial” zinc came and bronze, the lamp was executed by the Linden Glass Company, Chicago, circa 1904 and measured 23½ inches high by 32¼ inches wide by 19¼ inches deep. Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman and co-worldwide head of Twentieth Century Design, said: “This record-breaking sale of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Double-Pedestal Lamp celebrates not only a remarkable piece of American design but a landmark moment in the legacy of one of the most visionary architects in history. […] the lamp stands as a beacon of the American pursuit of design, innovation and progress that reflects Wright’s lasting influence on American architecture and culture.”
Most Expensive Card For A Female Athlete
What: Caitlin Clark’s 2024 Rookie Royalty WNBA Flawless Logowoman 1/1 card
Where: Fanatics Collect
When: July 24
How Much: $660,000
Why: As Fanatics Collects wrote, “Caitlin Clark was one of the most important athletes in the hobby in 2024. She was largely responsible for getting the WNBA into a massive mainstream spotlight as collectors were chasing any and all of her rookies.” As Clark has helped build the league, the release of the Panini Rookie Royalty card — with limited editions signed only by Clark and Angel Reese — helped develop its associated collecting hobby. Beneath her signature, Clark wrote, “769 pts and counting,” noting her total points from her rookie season.
Most Expensive Old Master Print
What: “Arnout Tholinx, Inspector” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Where: Christie’s, London
When: December 3
How Much: £3.1 million ($4.13 million)
Why: Rembrandt’s circa 1656 print of “Arnout Tholinx, Inspector” was a personal commission, and this edition was one of four known — the only to still be in private hands, consigned from the Sam Josefowitz collection. As Christie’s wrote in a statement, “Its rarity is such that it has remained little known beyond a small circle of connoisseurs, and was famously described as, ‘once seen, never forgotten.’” Tim Schmelcher, international specialist, prints and multiples, Christie’s, London, said: “These results are a powerful affirmation of the extraordinary strength of the prints market, highlighting both the enduring appeal of Rembrandt’s genius in printmaking and a testament to the late Sam Josefowitz’s unparalleled connoisseurship.”
Most Expensive Katsushika Hokusai Woodblock Print
What: “Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura),” or “The Great Wave”
Where: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
When: November 22
How Much: HK$21.7 million ($2.8 million)
Why: Considered the masterpiece of Katsushika Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)” series published in 1831, other impressions of “The Great Wave” are held by The British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), New York City. As the catalog note stated, “No other Japanese print is more internationally renowned, occupying an iconic place in modern visual culture.” This edition was consigned by the founder of the Okada Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan, where it had been held.
Most Expensive Comic Book
What: Superman No. 1
Where: Heritage Auctions
When: November 20
How Much: $9.12 million
Why: Found nestled within a cardboard box of old newspapers in a Northern California family’s attic last year, this Superman No. 1 reached new heights, becoming the most expensive comic book to sell at auction. Heritage Auctions’ Steve Lansdale wrote, “The record-holding copy is one of only seven known copies with a CGC grade of 6.0 or higher. It tops esteemed pedigreed copies including the Mile High and Davis Crippen copies and is one of fewer than 100 copies of this momentous issue in any grade, including restored examples, that Heritage has ever offered.”
Most Expensive Sèvres Box
What: Sèvres snuff box made for Madame Adélaïde
Where: Bonhams, London
When: December 2
How Much: £190,900 ($254,005)
Why: “Royal snuffboxes of this quality are extremely rare, having often been dismantled to recover their mounts or precious stones, and are therefore highly prized on the market,” commented Nette Megens, Bonhams’ director of decorative arts UK & Europe. This example was made for King Louis XV’s daughter Madame Adélaïde by the King’s jeweler, Charles Ouizille, circa 1785. Notably, it is one of just four Sèvres snuffboxes depicting the royal pets. After 230 years, the box is now returning to the Château de Versailles after being acquired by the Société des Amis de Versailles on the estate’s behalf.
Most Expensive Work By A Living Woman Artist
What: “Miss January” by Marlene Dumas
Where: Christie’s, New York
When: May 14
How Much: $13.6 million
Why: Sara Friedlander, deputy chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art, said, “Through its monumental scale and singular subject matter, ‘Miss January’ is truly the magnum opus of Marlene Dumas. In this painting, Dumas triumphantly demonstrates a formal mastery of the woman’s body while simultaneously freeing it from a tradition of subjection, upending normalized concepts of the female nude through the lens of a male-centric history.” The oil on canvas, executed in 1997, measured 110¼ by 39⅜ inches and was consigned from the Rubell Family Collection, which is among the most distinguished private collections of contemporary art worldwide.
Most Expensive Fabergé Egg
What: The Winter Egg
Where: Christie’s, London
When: December 2
How Much: £22.8 million ($30.2 million)
Why: The Winter Egg was commissioned by Emperor Nicholas II from the firm of Fabergé, and presented to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter Day, 1913. Designed by Alma Pihl, the rock crystal egg was delicately engraved and set with diamond and platinum snowflake motifs on the exterior with a basket of flowers — crafted with platinum, diamond, quartz, nephrite and garnet — suspended inside the egg’s hinged casing.
Most Expensive Elizabethan Portrait
What: “Portrait of Thomas Howard, Fourth Duke of Norfolk” by Hans Eworth
Where: Sotheby’s, London
When: December 4
How Much: £3.21 million ($4.25 million)
Why: This 1562 painting of Thomas Howard by Hans Eworth, “the most important artist working in England after Hans Holbein,” was from a Rothschild family collection, formerly on loan to Waddesdon Manor. “Paintings of this sort of quality and this kind of condition, of that age, very rarely appear on the market,” said Julian Gascoigne, senior director of Sotheby’s Old Masters paintings department. “It is spectacularly well preserved and in the most amazing condition, with very minimal, if any, retouching or damage to it, and for a painting that is nearly half a millennium old, it’s pretty impressive.”
Most Expensive Work By A Woman
What: “El sueño (La cama)” by Frida Kahlo
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: November 20
How Much: $54.7 million
Why: “‘El sueño’ stands among Frida Kahlo’s greatest masterworks — a rare and striking example of her most surrealist impulses,” said Anna Di Stasi, Sotheby’s head of Latin American art, in a statement. “Kahlo fuses dream imagery and symbolic precision with unmatched emotional intensity, creating a work that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.” The work was painted in 1940, a year during which her relationship with Diego Rivera and health challenges were especially turbulent. As such, the bed (la cama) became a symbol of her life — her challenges and resilience — providing an intimate setting for many of her self portraits at the time. Situated atop the bed in “El sueño,” a skeleton reminds the subject — and viewer — of mortality and spiritual rituals. This is the first time the work has come to market since it entered into a private collection 45 years ago.
Most Expensive Space-Flown Flag
What: Buzz Aldrin’s American flag which flew to the Moon on Apollo 11
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: July 15
How Much: $445,000
Why: Directly from the personal collection of Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin, the 4-by-6-inch flag was within Aldrin’s Personal Preference Kit for the July 1969 mission where he landed on the Moon. The flag sold with a signed provenance letter from the astronaut that read, “This letter certifies that this Apollo 11 United States Flag was flown to the Moon aboard the command module Columbia…This flag symbolizes our great nation and, as such, I proudly carried it with me to the Moon. I have stamped this flag in black ink with the phrase ‘Flown to the Moon on Apollo XI’ and additionally signed it.”
Most Expensive Toilet
What: “America” by Maurizio Cattelan
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: November 18
How Much: $12.1 million
Why: With a starting price determined by its weight in gold, Maurizio Cattelan’s 18K gold toilet, “America” (2016), was pushed well beyond to achieve $12.1 million, selling to entertainment franchise Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Despite taking the form of a standard Kohler toilet, the 18K gold “America” is considered “Maurizio Cattelan’s tour de force,” said David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, New York. “Holding both a proverbial and literal mirror to the art world, the work confronts the most uncomfortable questions about art, and the belief systems held sacred to the institutions of the market and the museum.”
Most Expensive Work Of Design
What: François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame Bar
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: December 10
How Much: $31.4 million
Why: Oil heiress Anne Schlumberger commissioned this Hippopotame Bar in 1976, making it one of Lalanne’s earliest and most significant explorations of the hippopotamus form, and the only copper edition. The auction catalog note stated, “The Schlumberger Hippopotame Bar stands as a cornerstone in the legacy of Lalanne’s most defining early works, representing the pinnacle of his artistic creations for one of his most notable patrons.”
Most Expensive Audemars Piguet
What: Grosse Pièce pocket watch
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: December 8
How Much: $7.736 million
Why: After a 104-year search, “the most complicated Audemars Piguet pocket watch in private hands” resurfaced at auction, only to be purchased as a historic artifact by the very company that made it. Created for S. Smith & Sons of London in 1921 after seven years of development, the “astronomical pocket watch features 19 complications — including a celestial chart for the night sky over London, perpetual calendar, minute repeater with grande and petite sonnerie, one-minute tourbillon, equation of time, power reserve and sidereal time,” noted Sotheby’s Karyn Orrico. Cased in 18K yellow gold, it is the only AP pocket watch of its era to feature a sky chart.
Most Expensive Meteorite
What: The largest piece of Mars on Earth, NWA 16788
Where: Sotheby’s, New York
When: July 16
How Much: $5.3 million
Why: Identified as “NWA 16788,” this Martian shergottite (olivine microgabbro) was discovered in the Sahara Desert in the Agadez Region (Kefkaf) of Niger in 2023 and, weighing 54 pounds, it is approximately 70 percent larger than any other verified Martian meteorite on Earth. Its deep red hue, glassy crust and immense scale offers rare insights into geological processes that shaped the Martian surface billions of years ago. Later in the sale, a large (4¾ inches in diameter, 5.6 pounds) feldspathic breccia lunar sphere called “Tisserlitine 006” achieved $825,500, which, following the piece of Mars, became the second most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction and the most expensive to come from the Moon.
