Leonardo da Vinci manuscript for sale
By William Sposato
NEW YORK (Reuter): A collector with $10 million will have a chance to buy immortality, Christie's auction house announced last Thursday, saying it plans to sell at auction the only scientific manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci ever expected to be offered.
The 72-page collection of drawings and scientific writings by the Italian Renaissance genius reveals discoveries on hydraulics, astronomy and the invention of the submarine that were centuries ahead of their time.
The manuscript is currently called the Codex Hammer, named after the late oil magnate Armand Hammer who purchased it in 1980 for $5.6 million and named it after himself.
It is being sold by the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Westwood.
Christie's, which will auction the manuscript Nov. 11, said it is expected to sell for more than $10 million. Experts note that works by Leonardo, who did just 12 paintings during his life, rarely come up for sale.
It is also rare in the art world for a museum to sell any of its major holdings such as a Leonardo.
"This sale represents the last chance for collectors to purchase a Leonardo manuscript," Stephen Massey, director of the Books and Manuscripts department, said at a news conference.
Before Hammer owned it, the manuscript was called the Codex Leicester, for the British family that held it for 263 years. "A future buyer will have the opportunity to affix his or her name to the manuscript," Massey said.
The manuscript was handwritten by Leonardo between 1506 and 1510 using a mirror to help disguise its contents, a common way to ensure secrecy at the time.
Among the subjects discussed are explanations of why the sky is blue, why the moon is illuminated and why fossil shells can be found on mountain tops.
Leonardo produced 30 other notebooks on specific subjects during his life. All are in various European museums with 19 held by the French Institute in Paris.
The 1980 sale raised complaints in Britain that it represented a major loss of an art treasure. It had been the property of the family since 1717.
The Hammer museum, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Westwood, opened in November 1990 to house his vast art collection. Hammer died just two weeks after the opening at the age of 92.
Controversy
It has been beset by controversy. Hammer provided an endowment of just $35 million, compared with the $3.4 billion at the nearby Getty Museum, and no money was left for the purchase of new works.
The gallery said in a statement that the sale of one of its most prized possessions was made "in order to honor legal agreements" between the museum and the University of California at Los Angeles, with which it is merging. But officials would provide no details.
There have been legal battles between the museum and Hammer's relatives who want a share of the holdings.
Stockholders in Occidential Petroleum have also filed suit, alleging that some of the artworks were purchased using company money.