Razor Edge

Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong is shining a spotlight on A Vanitas, an audacious jewellery capsule collection that fuses the 17th-century Dutch vanitas art tradition with modern rebellion. Created by renowned goldsmith Hannah Martin and Coldplay’s bassist-cum-fashion designer Guy Berryman, the pieces feature striking blue sapphires and bold motifs, including reimagined razor blades – symbols of life’s fleeting beauty. Inspired by Martin’s boundary-pushing aesthetic and Berryman’s design vision, they serve as wearable meditations on seizing the moment.

Highlights include a yellow-gold razor necklace, a sleek signet ring and a daring bangle reminiscent of a hospital ID tag, all imbued with contemporary spirit. Presented alongside a selection of the London jeweller’s past creations, the collection challenges conventions and invites conversation about mortality and vitality. Sotheby’s Maison, smartly ensconced within Landmark Chater in Central, elevates the experience with immersive displays and curated retail spaces, offering connoisseurs the chance to own a piece of this rebellious yet refined narrative. It’s a collection that truly says, “Now or never.”

Bag of Gold

In a fashion frenzy, Hermès’ inaugural Birkin fetched a staggering €8.6 million (HK$78.5 million) at the Sotheby’s Paris Fashion Icons auction last month, smashing previous handbag records and sealing its place in luxury legend. Carried daily for a decade by its namesake owner before it was donated to a charity auction, the worn yet iconic prototype ignited a bidding war, starting at €1 million and soaring past €7 million before it was clinched at this elevated price. The winner? A private collector from Japan, whose victory underscores the bag’s global allure.

This historic sale eclipses the previous record held by a diamond-studded Kelly 28, which sold for HK$4 million in 2021. The first Birkin, completed in 1984 after a chance airline encounter between the British-born, French-cinema star Jane Birkin and Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas, was intended as a functional yet stylish tote for a young mother. Now, it’s a priceless piece of fashion history – and a testament to how luxury can truly reach new heights. Who knew a handbag with a late actress’s nail clipper attached to its strap could be worth its weight in gold?

Body of Work

British figurative artist Jenny Saville is once again making waves, this time with her striking charcoal drawing, Mirror (2011-12), which shattered auction records at Sotheby’s London. Measuring more than 1.5 by 2 metres, the monumental work reimagines the reclining nude, fusing multiple intertwined figures into a dense composition that draws inspiration from titans like Titian, Manet and Picasso. Its unparalleled £2.11 million (HK$22.2 million) sale underscores Saville’s evolving mastery of the female form.

Known for her visceral oil paintings that challenge conventional beauty standards, Saville has recently embraced charcoal’s immediacy – a shift influenced by motherhood and a desire for spontaneity. Her current London retrospective,

The Anatomy of Painting, which runs at the National Portrait Gallery until 7 September, is the largest major museum exhibition in the UK dedicated to a leading contemporary painter. Offering a rare glimpse into her ongoing quest to redefine the human body in art, it showcases 45 works spanning the 55-year-old’s career so far. Saville continues to reshape the canvas of figurative art.

Surreal Soar

Animal, vegetable, sculptural – in a world where furniture and art collide, Les Lalanne’s whimsical creations continue to enchant collectors and investors alike. Bronze sheep you can sit on, a cabbage perched atop the legs of a bird, or geese supporting a glass dining table – fantasy blurred into function in the French duo’s surreal universe. Over the decades from first meeting in 1952 to marrying in 1967 to their passing in 2008 and 2019 respectively, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne transformed everyday objects into botanical and animal-inspired masterpieces that challenged perception.

The market buzz of the sculpting couple has skyrocketed recently. At Sotheby’s New York in June, the towering Grand Rhinocrétaire II, a bronze rhinoceros that unfolds into a desk, sold for a whopping US$16.4 million (HK$128.7 million) – more than triple its high estimate and the second-highest Lalanne auction price ever. Just the month before, their Bar aux Autruches (Ostrich Bar) fetched €11.1 million (HK$101.6 million) in Paris. As Les Lalanne’s works continue to command record-breaking figures, their whimsical worlds prove that in art and design, fantasy truly pays off.