Erotic Valentine’s auction at Sotheby’s offering a penis table, orgy necklace and saucy sketches
Art-lovers searching for that perfect gift could find it among the dozens of naughty items going under the hammer
EROTIC artworks are going on show in a titillating exhibition in London opening just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Art-lovers searching for that perfect gift could find it among the dozens of rare naughty paintworks and sculptures going under the hammer at prestigious auction house Sotheby’s.
The saucy artworks range from sketches by famous artists including Pablo Picasso and Lucian Freud to sensual furniture and retro advertising prints.
But the most bizarre item is an obscene bedside table made out of giant penises and breasts – a replica of one owned by Russia’s Catherine the Great.
The original burnt down in a fire but luckily photographs of it were taken in 1941 by Wehrmacht soldiers, so a replica could be created.
Another notable sculpture is Siren, showing supermodel Kate Moss in a naked yoga pose.
More than 100 extraordinary items will feature in the exhibition The Erotic: Passion and Desire, which opens on February 11 at Sotheby’s New Bond Street Galleries ahead of an auction on February 16.
And the raunchy pictures and sculptures are expected to sell for tens of thousands to kinky art collectors from all over the world.
On its website, Sotheby’s said the exhibition would “encompass representations of love and sex from antiquity to the present day”.
It said: “Across the centuries, art has always been intrinsically linked to expressions of passion and sensuality.
“The sale explores themes from the beauty of desire to representations of the male nude to the carnal act itself.”
Sotheby’s head of sales Constantine Frangos said: “Art has always existed to tell a human story, and sex has always been a part of that story – whether it is there to compel, to shock or to seduce.
“Indeed, Eroticism in art has appeared in whatever form art has taken, and our exhibition will take the viewer on a journey through the centuries.
“This sale creates a stage on which we are able to bring together a fascinating array of artworks and objects across many disciplines – charting a history whilst also presenting stunning works by artists as eclectic as Picasso, Man Ray, Ettore Sottsass and Marc Quinn.”
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