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Sotheby’s is holding a benefit auction, To Beirut with Love, open for bidding from 7 to 15 December 2020, to raise funds for Lebanon following the explosion in the Port of Beirut on 4 August. The sale is run in partnership with Creatives for Lebanon and Art for Beirut, two not-for-profit organisations created by the Lebanese diaspora after the blast.
The sale comprises donated pieces from contemporary artists, fashion designers and jewellery designers. Working with IMPACT Lebanon and LIFE (Lebanese International Finance Executives), the proceeds will be shared among five charities, including Nusaned, Beit El Baraka and Baytna Baytak, which focus on shelter for displaced families and the rehabilitation of homes and local businesses.
Fashion leads the offering. The top lot is a custom long-sleeve beaded chartreuse Elie Saab gown embroidered with guipure and sequins (est. £20,000 to £30,000), last worn by actor Emma Stone on the Oscars red carpet in 2015 and made as part of Saab’s Spring-Summer 2015 collection. Other pieces include a silk haute couture gown worn by Egyptian actress Sherihan in her 1987 Thousand and One Nights Fawazeer show, signed for the auction (est. £18,000 to £25,000), and a sky-blue embellished dress from the collection of Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi (est. £8,000 to £10,000). Archive pieces from Giambattista Valli, Ralph & Russo, Azzedine Alaïa and Prada are also offered.
Music-related lots include Mick Jagger’s jacket from his 2017 European tour, a matador-inspired costume by Lebanese designer Nicolas Jebran for Madonna, a guitar signed by Pete Townshend, and Geri Halliwell’s sequinned outfit from the Spice Girls video for Wannabe (est. £4,000 to £6,000).
The jewellery section is led by a woven yellow gold My Dior cuff (est. £30,000 to £50,000) by Victoire de Castellane, set with diamonds, sapphires, spinels, amethysts, aquamarines and tourmalines. It is joined by a Bulgari rose gold coin necklace mounting an ancient coin (est. £3,000 to £5,000) and Damien Hirst’s gold Pill bracelet with diamond skull (est. £8,000 to £12,000), from an edition of fifty created in 2013.
Photography and design are also represented, with a portrait donated by Naomi Campbell (est. £3,000 to £5,000), a work from Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige’s Wonder Beirut series (est. £4,000 to £6,000), a photograph from Fouad Elkoury’s Suite Egyptienne series (est. £9,000 to £11,000), a painting from Huguette Caland’s Bribes de Corps series (est. £10,000 to £15,000), and Hervé Van der Straeten’s Console Twist from 2015 (est. £12,000 to £18,000).
(Press Release)
