This article contains adult content.
Hold on to your wallets, horndogs: Sotheby’s is hosting its first-ever erotic art auction just in time for Valentine’s Day. With more than 100 works in its catalogue, the Erotic: Passion & Desire auction surveys artistic representations of sexuality and seduction from antiquity to present day. In addition to works by artists like Picasso and Antony Gormley, the auction will feature erotic paintings made in India during the 18th century, decorative French furniture, and 2nd century marble sculptures of Pan. Writes Sotheby’s head of sale, Constantine Frangos, “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.” Some of the featured items from the show include Marc Quinn’s golden statue of Kate Moss putting her foot behind her head, Pavel Tchelitchew’s Bathers painting, and a pink penis vase by Ettore Sottsass. Check out some more of the artworks up for sale below:
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Pavel Tchelitchew, Bathers
Robert Mapplethorpe, Bow and Arrow
Marc Quinn, Siren
An exceptional carved mahogany bed, French, second half 19th-century
A Couple Making Acrobatic Love on a Lake, Mewar, North India, circa 18th-century
Ettore Sottsass, Shiva Vase
Pablo Picasso, Nu couché
Antony Gormley, Pole II
You can preview the works at the auction house’s New Bond Street gallery space in London from February 11th to auction day, February 16th. To learn more, head over to the Sotheby’s website.
Update: Sothebys sold $6,612,775 worth of erotic art.
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