The highlight of sales from May 11 to 19 in one of the world capitals of the arts, Sotheby's will sell the oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible, dating from the tenth century, which should leave on May 17 for an astronomical price between 30 and 50 million dollars.

Already presented in New York in February and March in Tel Aviv, the Sassoon Codex, named after its best-known owner, David Solomon Sassoon (died 1942), dates from the year 900 CE and represents one of the most expensive manuscripts on the antiquarian book market.

This work, in an exceptional state of conservation and missing only a few pages, connects 24 books of the Hebrew Bible.

The painting "Insel am Attersee" by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt presented at Sotheby's before an auction, May 8, 2023 in New York © Ed JONES / AFP

In a market of auctions of works of art still in insolent health -- despite the succession of international crises --, Sotheby's will also offer on May 16 the painting "Insel am Attersee" (1901-1902) by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.

"Exceedingly rare"

This is the first time that this masterpiece, "exceedingly rare", according to the house owned by French-Israeli media and telecoms magnate Patrick Drahi, has been offered for auction after decades of conservation by private owners.

It could be sold for $45 million.

At rival Christie's, controlled by French billionaire François Pinault's Artemis holding, sales begin on May 11 with an expected record for "Les Flamants" (1910) by French post-impressionist painter Henri (Douanier) Rousseau.

"The Flamingos", an oil on canvas by French post-impressionist painter Henri Rousseau, presented at Christie's before an auction, on May 2, 2023 in New York © Ed JONES / AFP / Archives

"You can go your whole life without ever seeing a painting like that ... probably one of the rarest we will see at Christie's," said Max Carter, the auction company's vice president for twentieth- and twenty-first-century arts.

The painting "The Flamingos" could leave for $ 30 million Thursday, while 30 years ago the record for a Customs Rousseau was $ 4.4 million.

2022, a record year

Sotheby's will also offer an exceptional "Now's the Time" by the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat who died in 1988 at the age of 27, which could reach more than 30 million dollars.

Finally, the French sculptor and visual artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) will be honored with her "Spider" three meters high and which could be bought for 30 to 40 million dollars, a record.

The work "Now's the Time" by American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat presented at Sotheby's before an auction, May 8, 2023 in New York © Ed JONES / AFP

However, these spring sales are unlikely to surpass the peaks reached at the fall and spring sales in 2022, one of the most successful years in the history of the art market.

At Christie's, the art collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died in 2018, had surpassed the historic billion dollar mark in November (nearly 1.5 billion in total) with a rain of records for works by Van Gogh, Cézanne or Gauguin.

Last May, a portrait of Marilyn Monroe, "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" by Andy Warhol, went for $195 million.

The monumental sculpture "Mother of All" by French woman Louise Bourgeois presented at Sotheby's before an auction, May 8, 2023 in New York © Ed JONES / AFP

At Sotheby's, also a year ago, the Macklowe collection, named after a wealthy New York couple, had reached $ 922 million.

© 2023 AFP