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Measuring 7 cm (just under 3 inches) squared, "Head of a
Bear" is a silverpoint drawing on a pink-beige paper. The
auction house says it is "one of less than eight surviving
drawings by Leonardo still in private hands outside of the
British Royal Collection and the Devonshire Collections at
Chatsworth".
It will lead Christie's "Exceptional Sale" on July 8 in London
with a price estimate of 8 million to 12 million pounds ($11.14
million - $16.71 million).
That could beat the 2001 sale for Da Vinci's "Horse and Rider"
for more than 8 million pounds, a record for a drawing by the
Italian Renaissance master, according to Christie's.
"I have every reason to believe we will achieve a new record in
July for 'Head of a Bear', one of the last drawings by Leonardo
that can be expected to come onto the market," Stijn Alsteens,
International Head of Department, Old Masters Group, Christie’s
Paris, said in a statement.
The drawing's ownership can be traced to British painter Thomas
Lawrence and upon his death in 1830, it was passed to his dealer
Samuel Woodburn. He sold it to Christie’s in 1860 for 2.50
pounds ($3.50), according to the auction house.
Its current owner has had it since 2008, it said.
"Head of a Bear" will go on display at Christie's in New York on
Saturday, then in Hong Kong later in the month before going on
show in London in June. ($1 = 0.7182 pounds)
($1 = 0.7145 pounds)
(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Philippa
Fletcher)
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