Sotheby's to host first all gold auction after demand surges from Asia and Middle East

Sotheby’s is to hold its first ever auction entirely dedicated to gold after a spike in demand for artefacts and furniture made with the precious metal.

The auction was announced following “increasingly strong demand” for gold from clients in markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

The event due to be held later this year will feature a solid gold head of supermodel Kate Moss and a gold chair which once sat in Napoleon's Throne Room.

Senior director and head of sale Constantine Frangos said: “We have seen increasingly strong demand for gold items from our clients so this the the first all gold auction being held by Sotheby’s and every department is contributing so we are going to get a real variety of items.

“Gold has always been a universal symbol of status and has huge historic provenance but we have seen this renewed demand for gold items mainly due to new interest from markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East.”

The auction will take place in London on October 17 with the online sale commencing on the 9th and concluding on the 19th.

The collection will feature sculptures, sacred objects, contemporary art, ancient texts on the craft of goldsmithing; a merging of old and new styles of gilded artmaking through the ages.

Among the items to be sold is a Paul Mak artwork, estimated to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000. “This is my favourite piece so far,” said Mr Frangos.

“It is not one of the most expensive pieces to feature in the auction but the level of detail is quite remarkable.”

Kate Moss in Marc Quinn’s Song of a Siren is also to feature in the sale, with an auction estimate of £300,000 to £400,000.

“The Kate Moss by Marc Quinn is truly something special as it is solid gold and extremely iconic,” he added.

The cast is made from 18 carat solid gold and weighs more than 8000 grams.

Mr Frangos said that it was the status symbol that gold embodies which has made it such a popular metal and that it was often the “unique and historic” nature of the items which really piqued client and collector interest.

He added: “With this being Sotheby’s first all gold auction we are going to see how it goes before considering if we do them elsewhere outside of London, but even at this very early stage we have seen a huge amount of interest which is very exciting.”