Editor’s Note
This article previews a unique auction of iconic costumes and props from *Downton Abbey*, offering fans a chance to own a piece of the beloved series. The sale highlights the show’s celebrated production design and enduring cultural appeal.
To coincide with the release of the latest Downton Abbey film in September, Bonhams is organizing an exceptional sale of 280 costumes, accessories, and set pieces from the cult series. Highlights include the wedding dresses of the Crawley sisters (€3,500-5,800), Lady Sybil’s “controversial” harem pants (€3,500-5,800), the iconic bell panel (€5,800-8,100), and a Sunbeam 20/60hp Saloon (€29,000-40,000). These items showcase the meticulous attention to historical detail that contributed to the success of this series, followed by 120 million viewers worldwide.
Wedding dress worn by Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary (Season 3, Episode 1), estimate: €3,500 to €5,800.
Auction by Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London, from August 18 to September 16.
British collector and patron Pauline Karpidas is auctioning a collection of modern and surrealist art estimated at over €69 million at Sotheby’s London. The sale includes 250 works by Picasso, Warhol, Dali, Magritte, Lalanne, and de Chirico. The highlight of the sale is Magritte’s La Statue volante (The Flying Statue), estimated between €10.3 and €18.4 million. The sale, which also features design prominently, includes over 60 creations by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, many of which were specially designed for the collector.
Auction by Sotheby’s London, September 17 and 18.
On September 18, the Rouillac auction house will disperse exceptional archives in Vendôme, including a previously unseen collection of drawings from Parisian jewelry workshops (Gibert/Martial-Bernard, later acquired by Mellerio). Among more than 700 jewelry drawings and 300 silverware drawings is the design for the imperial sword of Napoleon I (1812), detailing the diamonds, which was dismantled during the Hundred Days. Estimate for the entire set of drawings: €20,000. The event also includes manuscripts from Sade to the Paris Commune.
Auction by Rouillac, Hôtel des ventes de Vendôme, 2, rue Albert Einstein, 41100 Vendôme, September 18.
The setting is an 18th-century “malouinière” (Breton manor house), likely built by architect Jean-Baptiste Bullet de Chamblain. The gem is a fine classic collection being dispersed by Artcurial.
This is the reason for the sale of an Allegory of Poetry by Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (€80,000-120,000), a portrait of a Young Mischief by François-Hubert Drouais (€100,000-150,000), a bust of the Virgin by Sassoferrato (€60,000-80,000), and a pair of monumental Louis XVI-era chandeliers (€20,000-30,000). Matthieu Fournier also notes a fine set of English mahogany furniture, including a George III-era mechanical architect’s desk attributed to Gillows (€4,000-6,000).
Auction by Artcurial, 7, rond-point des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, September 23.
The sale echoes the exhibition dedicated to the same movement at the Grand Palais until September 21.
Auction by Piasa, 118, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, September 24.
On September 26, 2025, Heritage Auctions will organize an exceptional sale of part of the private collection of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, master of the modern fairy tale and creator of iconic monsters. Del Toro, director of films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, is offering a selection of his macabre and fantastic curiosities, including original drawings, sculptures, and props. Some Bernie Wrightson illustrations that directly inspired the film Frankenstein will also be offered at auction.