Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
A sketch of a bear’s head by Leonardo da Vinci is anticipated to fetch up to £12 million (US$16.7 million) at a Christie’s auction this July.
Head of a Bear is a silverpoint drawing on a pink-beige piece of paper, measuring about three inches square. While it may be small, 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,” says Christie’s.
This artwork will be the highlight of Christie’s
Exceptional Sale on July 8, with the piece expected to go for an estimated £8 million to £12 million (US$11.4 million to US$16.7 million).
It is slated to beat Da Vinci’s
Horse and Rider, which currently holds the record for the artist’s most expensive drawing at more than £8 million (US$11.2 million), as per
Reuters.
The artwork will be on display at Christie’s in New York before heading to Hong Kong later this month, before going on show in London in June.
[via
Reuters, cover image via
Wikimedia Commons (public domain)]