Fri 15 September 2023:
Following a frantic round of final online bidding, the Sotheby’s auction house has reported that a red sweater worn by a young Princess Diana and displaying a lone black sheep among rows of fuzzy white sheep sold at auction for more than $1.1 million.
The whimsically themed “Black Sheep” sweater, which Diana, then 19, wore at a polo match in June 1981 shortly after she became engaged to then-Prince Charles, became one of the princess-to-be’s most iconic pieces of clothing.
The sweater was sold by Sotheby’s for $1.1m – including fees and commission – after a fierce battle by internet bidders – 10 times more than the initial selling estimate of between $50,000 to $80,000, the auction house said on Thursday.
Sotheby’s extended the sale by several minutes due to an avalanche of offers, with the price rising from $190,000 to $1.1 million in the final 15 minutes.
The winning bidder’s identity was not revealed by the auctioneers.
Online bidding opened on August 31, the 26th anniversary of Diana’s death in a Paris car crash.
Story behind sweater
The outfit was created by then-unknown designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne and their knitting firm Warm and Wonderful, and the company was shot to popularity once Diana wore it.
After Diana was pictured in the top, the designers got a letter in which they were informed that one of the sweater’s sleeves had been damaged and asked if it might be repaired or replaced.
Diana received a new sweater from the designers. They assumed the original had been fixed and delivered to another customer, but Osborne discovered the “Black Sheep” in a small box in her attic in March 2023.
The letter requesting repair was included in the sale, as well as a thank you card from Diana’s private secretary, Oliver Everett.
Highest price
According to Sotheby’s, it is the highest price ever paid at auction for a Princess Diana garment, surpassing her Infanta-style ball gown, which sold in January for $604,000.
It is also the most expensive sweater ever auctioned.
“Unlike most of the items we’ve seen pass through the hands of lucky collectors and museums in the 25-plus years since her death, the sweater came before so much of the turmoil that ultimately defined Diana’s life,” Sotheby’s said on its website introducing the auction.
The Sotheby’s catalogue note stated, “worn by Diana Spencer in 1981 to a polo match of Prince Charles”.
“This lot includes two official letters, written in 1981, from Buckingham Palace to Warm and Wonderful politely explaining the jumper had been damaged and requested either a repair or replacement,” it said.
“Warm and Wonderful sent her a replacement sweater that she wore in 1983 to another polo match,” it added.
“In conjunction with a photo-matched authentication by Sotheby’s, this lost sheep jumper found in an attic is confirmed to be the original sheep jumper worn by Princess Diana over 40 years ago.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
