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2 025 has been a thrilling year for us here at Sotheby’s: a year of smashing records, nail-biting bidding battles, and extraordinary pieces of art, history, jewels and more. Though we always hope to see excitement for our auctions, ever we are surprised when, say, a bidding battle lasts for longer than an hour and a half, or a playful piece of 1970s design sells for three times its pre-sale high estimate.
Below, we’re recounting 10 of the best record-setting moments of the year.
There’s really no beating it, the sale of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (from the Leonard Lauder Collection), was a gang-buster of an auction. Standing at 71 by 51 ⅜ in (180.4 by 130.5 cm), this grand private commission is considered one of the artist’s finest works. This year, in New York at Sotheby’s new Breuer location, the work commanded $236.4 million – a record price for any piece of art sold at Sotheby’s and 2nd highest price for any piece of art sold ever.
We cannot fault the new owner of this gloriously utilitarian hippopotamus. She would be a welcome addition in our homes any day. Designed by François-Xavier Lalanne for the philanthropist and art patron Anne Schlumberger, the life-sized bar is the only one of it's kind crafted from copper. The pre-sale estimate was $7-10 million. At auction, she was purchased for $31.4 million, the highest price paid not only for the artist but for any piece of design sold at auction.
At more than 700 years old, this scroll made by the Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Rao Jie is the elder statesman of our record-breakers (if you don’t count the gems). It’s also, well, the longest record breaker in more ways than one. Inscribed with two Chinese literary classics, the scroll measures 10 meters long. The ensuing bidding battle rose to the challenge, lasting 97 energetic minutes – making it the longest battle ever. The hammer finally came down at $32 million, the most for an ancient scroll.
Back at the Breuer, Frida Kahlo’s emotional and haunting self-portrait entitled El Sueño sold for $54.7m (it had previously been sold by Sotheby’s in 1980 for $51,000). It was a record-breaker not only for Kahlo herself – whose last highest selling piece went for $34.9m in 2021 – but for woman artists across the board. The former title holder for most expensive work by a woman artist was Georgia O’Keeffe whose piece, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 we sold in 2014 for $44m.
In 1981, Jane Birkin, the French actress, singer and enduring style icon, told the then artistic director of Hermès that she was struggling to find a stylish yet practical carryall. The original Birkin bag – the actual prototype – arose from that conversation. This summer, the bag in question came to auction in our Paris office commanding $10.1m – the most ever for a handbag or fashion item. It was a fitting tribute to one of the most, if not the most well-known bag style in the world.
Countless gems and jewels work their way through our doors every year – many of which are significant in one way or another. This year, our most expensive jewel was beautiful, unusual and enormous. The Mediterranean Blue Diamond is a 10.03 carat Fancy Vivid cushion cut gem which was cut from a 31.93 carat rough diamond. The colour is rare – only 0.3% of all diamonds display a blue hue. At auction, it was sold for $21.5m, making it our most valuable jewel sold all year.
In the 90s, the gentlemen at McLaren F1 decided to make a road car (long a dream of Bruce McLaren himself). The resulting machine, aptly named the McLaren F1, was produced in small numbers and snapped up by driving enthusiasts the world over. This particular model, the 14th ever made, was originally owned by a member of the Brunei Royal Family. When it came up for auction in December in Abu Dhabi it sold for a record-setting price of $25.3m, the most for any road car, ever.
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, a woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai, might be one of the most recognizable pieces of art from the Japanese islands. Created in 1831, it depicts a monumental wave cresting over a boat with a view of Mount Fuji in the distance. In November, Sotheby’s Hong Kong brought the piece to auction where it commanded $2.8m – almost three times its high pre-sale estimate and the most for a woodblock print by the artist at auction.
“Grosse Pièce” translates literally to the “large piece,” an apt moniker for this historical timepiece by Audemars Piguet. Crafted in yellow gold, the piece has two faces and 19 complications including a chart for the night sky over London (it is one of the earlier known watches to include such a celestial sky chart). This year, it came back to the market after being held privately (and therefore seldom seen) for many decades. It was purchased for $7.7m, the most ever for an AP at auction, by the brand itself, which brought the exquisite timepiece back in house after nearly 200 years.
Last but not least, we sold the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth this year. Weighing in at 54 pounds (roughly the size of an average eight-year-old child), this meteorite was discovered in 2023. The rock is believed to be a fragment the broke loose from Mars when an asteroid hit the planet 5 million years ago. At auction this year, it was purchased for $5.3m, setting a new record for meteorite sales.
