Criticism from historians and Jewish groups has done little to slow sales at Christie’s of gems purchased with fortunes built on some of the profits from the Aryanization of Jewish businesses during the Holocaust. did not become.
Online and in-person tenders in Geneva raised $202 million for the sale of jewelery from the legacy of Austrian philanthropist Heidi Horten, making it the most successful jewelery sale in history.
About 400 lots sold more than the $137 million spent on Elizabeth Taylor’s collection in 2011. The auction house said 98 percent of Horten’s parcels were sold, with a major sale of about 300 parcels from the collection scheduled for November.
Christie’s has come under considerable criticism over the sale due to Mr. Horten’s husband, German businessman and billionaire Helmut Horten, who sold the company during the Holocaust due to circumstances and decrees. He began to make his fortune by purchasing Jewish businesses at discounted prices.
“At a time when we are witnessing a resurgence of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism around the world, it is particularly frightening that a world-renowned auction house has made such a sale,” said Yoram Dvash, president of the World Federation of Diamond Exchanges. writes. A recent letter to François Curiel, Chairman of the Auction House Europe and Asia.
Officials at Christie’s said they chose to go ahead with the sale despite criticism because proceeds will go to the Heidi Horten Foundation, which supports medical research, and the museum that houses her art collection. The auction house also pledged to donate a portion of the proceeds to Holocaust research and education.
David Scheckter, president of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, which represents American victims’ families support groups, called the sale “appalling” and described it as a “disgraceful pattern of cheating the Holocaust profiteers.” said to have persisted.
Anthea Pierce, president of Christie’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, responded to Scheckter in an email. of those who have become tragic victims. He declined to say which groups would receive the funding, saying it was up to them to identify themselves.
When Helmut Horten died in 1987, his wife inherited nearly $1 billion, making her one of Austria’s richest women. She died last year, just days after Vienna’s private museum opened.
In 2020, she commissioned historian Peter Horace to prepare a report to explore the nature of her late husband’s estate. Mr. Horace described his report as a mixed take on Mr. Horten, in which the businessman undoubtedly profited from Jewish duress but ultimately fell out with the Nazi rebels. He says he found that he was motivated not by Judaism but by opportunistic business sense. .
The debate did little to delay last week’s bid. On Wednesday, half of the properties sold for more than $1 million, including a Bvlgari ring with a large pink diamond that fetched a record close to $10 million, including buyer’s fees. A day later, it surpassed Christie’s expectations of $150 million in sales, with an additional $42 million raised in a follow-up bid on Friday.
Christie’s auction marketing 700 gems explained It has been described as “one-of-a-kind” and “a true embodiment of Mrs Horten’s timeless elegance, charm and collecting tastes”. Promotional materials posted on the auction house’s website initially made no mention of Helmut Holten’s ties to the Nazis, but later added wording referring to his acquisition of a Jewish company, leading to the auction. House announced plans to donate a portion of the commission.
Two lawyers wrote to Christie’s last week expressing concern that the sale could violate the reparations rights of Holocaust victims’ heirs. One, Washington resident Steven Liebermann, said he represented the heir to a business that Helmut Houten had taken over.
Nitsana Darshan Leitner, a second lawyer who heads an Israeli law center called Shrat Haddin, told the auction house, “Anyone who might buy these items should know that the Horten family holds the Jewish property.” They should be made aware of their involvement in coercion and theft,” he told the auction house. Holocaust. “
Auctioneer officials said none of the 700 jewels for sale were purchased or confiscated from Jews during the Holocaust. Critics, however, still expressed concern about the source of some of the wealth that made it possible to purchase these products.
