Last May, the auction house sold the largest part of Heidi Horten’s collection of 700 jewels, built up from her husband Helmut’s fortune. The collection had been built up during the Second World War, thanks to plundered Jewish assets. In the face of the outcry, Christie’s had to cancel the last sale session scheduled for this autumn.
The final round in the sale of the jewels of Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten, widow of Helmut Horten, will not take place after all.
Shocked reactions from Jewish organizations to the dispersal of a collection made from a fortune born during the Nazi regime finally decided Christie’s Auction House to throw in the towel.
Last Friday, Christie’s Auction House sent an e-mail to AFP, stating that it had “taken the decision not to proceed with any further sales of assets from the estate of Heidi Horten“. In so doing, she confirmed a report in the New York Times.
“The sale of Heidi Horten’s jewelry collection has been the subject of intense attention, and the reactions to it have touched us and many others deeply, and we will continue to reflect on this,” Christie’s added.
Reversal
This is a major turnaround for the auction house.
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Front page photo: Heidi Horten Collection, part 2 © Christie’s
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