LEONARD, issue 119, December 2025-January 2026

yet it is precisely this physicality, its undeniable three-dimensionality, that defines sculpture’s nature and distinguishes it so profoundly from painting and is what makes it so powerful and unique.

When most people think of art, they imagine a painting. The Mona Lisa’s half-smile, Van Gogh’s swirling stars - images that have shaped our collective art imagination. Painting has long dominated how most of us think about art. Paintings frame our interiors and often become the face of art history itself. Yet, standing quietly (or sometimes monumentally) beside it is sculpture, the often-underrated sibling that asks us not only to look, but to move, touch, and feel.

At auction, paintings tend to dominate. This becomes most evident when we look at significant international auction results for both media. Louise Bourgeois’s Spider stretching over three metres high is an elegant and unsettling monumental symbol of maternal strength and protection. In May 2023, one of these Spider sculptures sold at Sotheby’s New York for US $32.1 million, marking the third time the work has held the record for the most expensive sculpture by a female artist. The overall record for a sculpture is Alberto Giacometti’s L’Homme au doigt, sold for US $141.3 million at Christie’s New York in 2015. Both results are significantly lower than the price achieved for the commercially most valuable painting ever sold, the US $450.3 million achieved by Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi two years later. All three are important artworks, but these results indicate how we value art that can hang neatly on a wall versus art that demands space.

Sculpture occupies our space, shares our air, and can be experienced from every angle. It can be monumental, like Michelangelo’s David; it can envelop the senses, as Ernesto Neto’s Just Like Drops in Time, Nothing or it can challenge everything we thought we knew about art, like Duchamp’s infamous Fountain. Sculpture is an invitation to engage with art through our bodies.

One of the reasons I love sculpture is its diversity of material and processes. From the permanence of bronze to the warmth of carved wood, from welded steel to found objects and recycled plastics, it is an artform that defies uniformity. In contemporary practice, this openness has only expanded. Artists such as Fiona Hall use a multitude of materials, as seen in Dead in the water - a beautifully crafted commentary on the fragility of our oceans - using polyvinyl chloride, glass beads, silver wire, glass, wood and transparent synthetic polymer resin. Or the late Inge King, whose elegant abstractions in steel helped define modern Australian sculpture. Their works, though vastly different, remind us that sculpture is as much about presence as it is about form.

I often think about how sculpture alters our relationship with art. Unlike a painting, which offers a single vantage point, sculpture invites us to circle it, to discover shifting shadows, changing perspectives, new meanings. It is an art form that resists passivity.

Since Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain challenged the very definition of art, sculpture has become a space of radical experimentation where the conceptual and the tactile meet to create new form.

Where painting can be admired, sculpture demands encounter. Both painting and sculpture shape how we see and understand art, but sculpture asks something deeper of us: to see with our senses, not just our eyes.

Visionary, obsessive and endlessly inventive, Yayoi Kusama has transformed repetition into revelation.

by hannah ryan, senior art specialist, manager of speciality auctions

5 Things to Know About Yayoi Kusama

her world of dots, mirrors and infinite reflection continues to draw audiences into one of the most recognisable and enduring aesthetics in contemporary art.

1. Her art is rooted in hallucination and healing

Kusama began painting as a child in Matsumoto, Japan, to make sense of the vivid hallucinations that filled her world with fields of dots and flowers. Rather than reject these experiences, she learned to channel them into art. Repetition became her way of finding order in chaos, turning fear into focus and anxiety into pattern. Each dot, she says, is “a symbol of my life, one of the millions of dots that make up the universe.”

2. She built worlds the viewer could step into

Kusama changed how audiences experience art. Long before immersive installations became common, she was creating environments that surrounded and absorbed the viewer. From mirrored rooms to fields of soft-sculpted forms, her works invite people to engage rather than simply observe. In doing so, she turned the act of viewing into something participatory, something you step inside rather than stand apart from.

3. The polka dot as universal language

Of all her motifs, the polka dot remains the most recognisable. It appears everywhere, on canvases, sculptures, clothing and entire rooms, linking the microscopic and the cosmic. As Kusama once explained, “A single dot can become movement.” In her hands, that simple shape becomes a language of connection, repetition and unity, one that feels both intimate and infinite.

4. She lives voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital and still works every day

Since the 1970s, Kusama has chosen to live in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo, across the street from her studio. Every morning, she walks to work, painting and sculpting with unwavering focus. Now in her nineties, she continues to create with remarkable discipline, her studio filled with the rhythm of dots, colour and repetition. Her daily practice is both devotion and survival, proof that creativity, for her, has always been a way of life.

5. She seamlessly blends art and design

Kusama has long blurred the line between fine art and pop culture. Her collaborations with leading fashion houses and global brands have brought her signature dots into every day, transforming objects, architecture, and clothing into part of her artistic world. Rather than dilute her vision, these collaborations extend it, a reminder of her belief that art belongs everywhere, not just in galleries.

We are pleased to present a selection of important prints by Yayoi Kusama in our forthcoming Prints & Multiples auction on Wednesday 3 December in Melbourne. For viewing times and to see the full catalogue please visit our website.

previous page:

Yayoi Kusama

(Japanese, born 1929)

Pumpkin (YY) 1996 (detail)

22.5 x 29.5cm

$30,000-40,000

opposite:

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama stands in front of one of her paintings in her studio, Tokyo, Japan/ Alamy

left:

Yayoi Kusama

(Japanese, born 1929)

Pumpkin (G) 1992

15.5 x 22.5cm

$22,000-30,000

Beyond Imitation: Glass in Jewellery Design

by bethany mcgougan, head of fine jewels & timepieces, melbourne

glass has long occupied a marginal position in the hierarchy of jewellery materials, often dismissed as a mere substitute for precious gemstones. Such a view overlooks its historical significance, technical sophistication, and aesthetic value. From the refined craftsmanship of 18th-century Georgian jewellery to its continued use in modern design, glass has served as a versatile medium through which makers experiment with colour, light, and form.

Improvements in glassmaking in the 17th century allowed artisans to create highly refractive, colourless glass called paste, that could convincingly echo the sparkle of diamonds. Quickly becoming popular, by the 18th century, paste had an extraordinary level of refinement under jewellers such as Georges Frédéric Strass, whose name became synonymous with superior imitation stones. Strass’s foiled pastes, admired for their brilliance and precision, were mounted in carefully wrought silver and gold settings that reflected the same attention to detail found in fine jewellery.

The popularity of paste jewellery in the eighteenth century was also shaped by social and economic contexts. Diamonds remained scarce and expensive, and sumptuary laws in certain European courts limited who could wear them. Paste provided a means for a wider clientele namely the rising middle classes, to participate in jewellery adornment. Even members of the aristocracy wore paste, often for travel or in situations where displaying great wealth would be impractical or unsafe, making paste jewellery a practical alternative.

In the 19th century, glass began to occupy an increasingly important place in jewellery design. Advances in glassmaking during the Industrial Revolution made it possible to produce coloured and colourless glass of remarkable clarity and consistency, which coincided with the expansion of a consumer market eager for fashionable adornments at different price points. While glass imitations of emeralds, sapphires, and rubies were pop-

ular among the growing middle classes, even high-end jewellers recognised glass’s potential. French houses such as Bapst and later Maison Falize incorporated enamelled and pâte de verre elements into their designs. By the late nineteenth century, glass became closely associated with the flourishing of the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. Jewellers such as René Lalique elevated glass to an entirely new status with a revolutionary use of moulded and enamelled glass which achieved ethereal effects that gemstones could not replicate. Lalique’s dragonflies, orchids, and nymphs, often rendered in opalescent or coloured glass, shifted emphasis away from the intrinsic value of materials toward design, craftsmanship, and symbolism.

Glass continued to play a prominent role in the 20th century, particularly as designers sought to redefine jewellery in response to modernism and changing fashions. During the Art Deco period, jewellers experimented with bold contrasts, pairing rock crystal and frosted glass with diamonds and onyx to create striking geometric compositions. Chanel and other fashion houses popularised costume jewellery that embraced glass elements unapologetically, with ateliers such as Maison Gripoix producing exquisite poured-glass jewels that remain iconic today. These pieces democratized jewellery, making bold design accessible to a wider audience while also influencing high fashion.

From the shimmering pastes of the Georgian era to the experimental forms of contemporary art jewellery, glass has continually bridged imitation and innovation. Its history is one of reinvention, reflecting the evolution of materials and techniques and the cultural desire to express beauty, identity, and imagination through adornment. Far from a secondary medium, glass has proven itself essential to the story of jewellery itself.

As someone who lives and breathes jewellery, I am very fortunate to handle remarkable pieces on a regular basis. But every so often, a jewel comes along that makes even the most seasoned specialist pause, the kind of creation that stirs the imagination and reminds you why you fell in love with this world in the first place.

by lauren boustridge, head of fine jewels & timepieces, sydney

If Money Was No Object: A Collector’s Fantasy

so, if money were no object and I could travel back in time to any auction, anywhere in the world, raising my paddle (or opening my wallet) without restraint, this is the ultimate jewellery box I would amass, one brimming with history, glamour, and a dash of noble provenance.

The Bracelet

The very first piece I would purchase would have to be Wallis Simpson’s Cartier Panthère bracelet. This would be my dream acquisition. I still remember watching a clip of it go under the hammer while I was at university. I already knew I wanted to work in auctions, but seeing the energy of the auction room, the competitive bidding, the remarkable provenance, and the sheer beauty of this piece only cemented that this was the perfect career for me. And as a young twenty-something, the story of the king who gave up his throne for the love of his life felt utterly romantic, adding a layer of legend and intrigue to the bracelet that has stayed with me ever since.

So inspired was I by this bracelet that I even went on to purchase a Cartier Panthère ring to celebrate my 30th birthday, a personal nod to one of the first pieces that sparked my passion for jewellery and the auction world.

The Ring

For the centrepiece of my jewellery box, without hesitation, it would have to be The Oppenheimer Blue. An emerald cut - my favourite diamond cut - in the most perfect shade of my favourite colour, blue, this extraordinary gem sold at Christie’s Geneva in 2016 for over US$50 million. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s one of the most incredible diamonds in the world. Just imagine it catching the light, commanding attention, and completely stealing the show - a ring that’s bold, brilliant, and truly unforgettable.

The Necklace

I would choose the Napoléon Diamond Necklace, a piece steeped in history, romance, and grandeur. Originally a gift from Emperor Napoleon to his second wife, Marie-Louise, to celebrate the birth of their son in 1811, this show-stopping gold necklace was designed by Etienne Nitôt and Sons of Paris and features astonishing diamonds, including pendeloques, briolettes, and old mine-cut stones from India and Brazil, with a total weight estimated at 263 carats.

The story behind the necklace makes it even more captivating. Following Napoleon’s fall, Marie-Louise returned to her Habsburg family in Vienna, taking the necklace with her. It eventually passed through generations of European royalty before being acquired by Harry Winston. Today, it resides at the Smithsonian Institution, a historical icon displayed alongside other legendary jewels. To me, this necklace is more than just a collection of diamonds, it’s a piece of living history.

The Tiara

Every dream jewellery box deserves a tiara, and mine would undoubtedly feature the Bourbon-Parma Tiara by Chaumet. Crafted in 1919 by the renowned jeweller Joseph Chaumet, this Belle Époque masterpiece was originally a wedding gift from the Duchess of Doudeauville to her daughter, Princess Hedwige de La Rochefoucauld, upon her marriage to Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma.

To me, the Bourbon-Parma Tiara embodies the perfect balance of romance, history, and sophistication. It’s a piece that whispers tales of aristocratic weddings and royal soirées, making it an essential addition to any dream jewellery box.

Every piece in this jewellery box tells its own story. Together, they form a collection that is not just about diamonds and gold, but one of history, of great love and a touch of magic. If money were truly no object, this is the jewellery box I would assemble - one filled with dreams, legends, and a touch of royal sparkle, each piece reminding me why I fell in love with this world in the first place.

The Fine Jewels & Timepieces Sydney auction will take place Tuesday 9 December 2025. For viewing times and to see the full catalogue please visit our website.

Curated for Summer: Art Exhibition Highlights

by amanda north, senior fine art specialist

there is no better time to enjoy visiting an art gallery than across the end of year holidays. Over the summer, galleries provide an opportunity to slow down, catch up with friends and family and cool off on the hot days. This summer there is an inspiring line up of exhibitions across Australia, which capture the season’s energy and diversity. From contemporary sculptures and installations to thoughtful retrospectives celebrating women artists, these exhibitions promise something for every art lover. Here are a few highlights to add to your summer itinerary.

NELL: FACE EVERYTHING

Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen 11 October 2025 – 1 March 2026

Face Everything is a major survey exhibition that will transform the Heide Museum with the artist’s humorous, joyful and comical works. Sydney based artist Nell, draws on the history of Heide and its surrounding gardens, embedding her characters and beloved ghost icons into the space, considering the site as a place of shelter, memory and shared experience. The exhibition comprises over eighty-five artworks, fifty of which are new works. The motifs used include birds, snakes, apples, leaves and eggs, which are employed across a variety of mediums such as tapestries, mosaics and sculptures. These works will reflect the desire of John and Sunday Reed, founders of Heide, for the house to be a ‘gallery to be lived in’. In response to this vision, Nell says ‘my extended family of characters and spirits will inhabit Heide Modern. Together, they hold space for celebration and joy, complexity and grief, and everything in between.’

DANGEROUSLY MODERN: AUSTRALIAN WOMEN ARTISTS IN EUROPE 1890-1940

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 11 October 2025 – 15 February 2026

This travelling exhibition was first presented at the Art Gallery of South Australia beginning in May this year and has now moved to Sydney. This exhibition is shining a light on the art and lives of fifty groundbreaking women artists from the twentieth century. It reveals how an unprecedented number of women artists prevailed against social constraints and left Australia to pursue international professional careers, playing an integral and often overlooked, role in modernising Australia. This is the first major exhibition to focus on the essential role of these Australian women in the emergence of international modernism. With over two hundred artworks, the exhibition features both celebrated and rediscovered paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and ceramics and explores modern art movements such as realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, cubism and abstraction.

PRUDENCE FLINT AND JOHN BRACK: ALL ANGELS

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square 26 September 2025 – 26 March 2026

This exhibition brings together the work of two celebrated Melbourne artists, Prudence Flint and John Brack. Known for their distinctive artistic styles and painterly precision, these two artists explore the human figure with meticulousness and psychological insight. Focusing on artworks developed through the close observation of models in their studios, the exhibition highlights paintings and works on paper that reflect each artist’s continued engagement with the human figure. In John Brack’s works, the nude was a recurring subject used to challenge traditional notions of the genre and the works on display reveal the distinct aesthetic shifts in his practice overtime. In contrast, Prudence Flint’s approach is informed by traditions of figurative painting and the representation of women throughout art history, with a focus on portraits of women in interior spaces. Shown together, the exhibition offers a compelling conversation across time, connected by their shared dedication to the human figure, the studio practice and the complexities of representing women.

NEW DIRECTIONS - PRINTS BY AUSTRALIAN WOMEN ARTISTS 1960s-2000s

Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong 15 November 2025 – 22 February 2026

New Directions explores the creative responses of Australian women artists to the cultural and sociopolitical shifts that impacted their lives in the second half of the twentieth century. Many of the artists in this exhibition were pivotal to the revival of printmaking during the 1960s which saw the broader participation and acknowledgment of women artists in the production, teaching and promotion of Australian printmaking. These women artists were also at the forefront of new printing techniques and art movements, including screen printing, Abstraction and political art. This exhibition is drawn from prints held in the Geelong Gallery and Colin Holden collections and celebrates the 50th anniversaries of the United Nations International Women’s Year and Australia’s Women’s Art Register.

modernist poolside furniture represents a refined intersection of design, architecture, and leisure culture. Emerging from the early 20th-century modernist movement, it reflects a belief that beauty lies in simplicity, that form should follow function, and that outdoor spaces deserve the same aesthetic care as interiors. As modernist architecture blurred the boundaries between inside and outside, furniture around pools became more than mere accessories, they were extensions of the architectural idea itself.

The origins trace back to the 1920s and 1930s, when designers such as Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer began reimagining how people interacted with space and objects. They replaced ornament with geometry, favoured industrial materials, and embraced mass production. These principles naturally extended to outdoor furniture as modernist villas, particularly in warm climates like Southern California and the south of France, began to include swimming pools as focal points of leisure and display.

By the mid-century, the poolside had become a quintessential symbol of modern living. Architects like Richard Neutra and John Lautner designed glass-walled houses that opened directly onto terraces and pools, seamlessly connecting modern interiors with the natural landscape. Furniture for these spaces had to mirror the architectural clarity and functional precision of the homes themselves. The result was a new visual language of clean lines, lightweight frames, and elegant minimalism.

Early modernist poolside pieces often used tubular steel, a material first popularised by Breuer in his iconic Wassily Chair. Its combination of strength, flexibility, and sleek appearance made it ideal for outdoor use. Over time, aluminium and stainless steel became common choices for frames because they resisted corrosion and weathering. Paired with mesh fabrics or slatted wood surfaces, these materials created a sense of lightness and transparency that complemented the sparkling geometry of the pool.

The 1950s and 1960s saw an explosion of innovation in outdoor furniture design, driven by postwar optimism and new materials. Designers such as Richard Schultz (for Knoll) and Russell Woodard redefined the aesthetics of poolside leisure. Schultz’s 1966 Collection, for example, originally called the Leisure Collection was composed at the request of Florence Knoll who mailed Schultz some rusted bolts illustrating the toll the corrosive Florida ocean air was having on her furniture asking if they could they do better. The collection remains a landmark in modern outdoor design with graceful, geometric, corrosion resistant powder-coated aluminium frames and breathable polyester mesh.

What distinguished modernist poolside furniture from earlier garden styles was its architectural coherence. Victorian and early 20th-century outdoor furnishings were ornate, mimicking indoor styles with wroughtiron curls and heavy wood carvings. Modernism replaced that clutter with honesty of structure. A chaise was not disguised; its frame was celebrated. Materials were not painted to imitate others; steel looked like steel, and teak looked like teak. The modernist belief in truth to materials gave poolside environments a visual integrity that continues to define luxury minimalism today.

Comfort, too, was reimagined. Rather than overstuffed cushions, designers pursued ergonomic shaping—the curve of a sling seat following the human form, or the subtle tilt of a recliner responding to the body’s natural posture. In warm climates, this approach produced furniture that felt as breezy and effortless as the architecture around it. The goal was always to create a tranquil, almost meditative experience: the quiet geometry of a chair mirroring the stillness of the pool’s surface.

Contemporary brands and manufacturers continue to sell and reissue mid-century designs. The clean silhouettes of classic modernism still dominate catalogues and architectural renderings because they embody a timelessness and ability to look both retro and futuristic at once. In 2022 Italian company Exteta reissued Gae Aulenti’s 1960s ‘Locus Solus’ collection. Originally designed for Centro Studi Poltronova in 1964, the collection featured sun lounges, tables and chairs in bold colours, tubular steel and matching prints, and was part of the set for the 1969 movie La Piscine, starring Alain Delon and Jane Birkin.

Ultimately, modernist poolside furniture is more than a style; it is a philosophy of living. It celebrates restraint over excess, clarity over confusion, and the pleasure of being in tune with one’s surroundings. Whether it is a simple aluminium chaise, a sculptural fiberglass chair, or a teak table that weathers gracefully with time, each piece reflects the enduring modernist dream to create beauty through purpose and simplicity. In the reflection of a calm pool, the purity of that vision remains as compelling today as it was nearly a century ago.

Omega and Its Three Pillars of Power

by patricia kontos, senior timepieces & jewels specialist

it struck me recently, that over the years in my auction journey, one watch brand has dominated my watch valuing time more than any other. Time and time again one watch has been more insistent and consistent in staking its claim on my desk for auction pricing above any other. No prizes for guessing that the watchmaker in question is the Swiss powerhouseOmega.

By the 1950s, Omega was already a well-established Swiss luxury wristwatch maker. During this period, the company was expanding its global reach, making it probable they would have established sales and marketing operations in key international markets. Watch brands are definitely dominant in different geographical regions, and in the case of Australia - being the island continent it is - it appears we have a natural affinity towards the two leading brands that manufacture dive watches: Rolex and Omega. But between the pair, Australia skews towards Omega - taking the place of the number one brand in the region as well as the number one model in the Omega Seamaster.

Putting aside the one watch that eclipses the watchmaker’s catalogue (which is undoubtedly the inter-galactically famous Speedmaster), there are three other pillar collections the watchmaker rests on, each carrying its own chapter of innovation, style and adventure:

Constellation - steered by the stars with observatory precision

The Constellation was born in 1952 and carried forward the technical excellence and luxe finishing of the Centenary but would introduce distinctive design elements that would become iconic Omega motifs. Famously adorned with the Observatory medallion on its caseback the Constellation would deliver chronometer-grade accuracy in their automatic movements. One instantly recognisable design feature was the distinctive faceted convex dial. Known as a ‘pie-pan dial’ as it resembled the upside-down pie pans of the era. Today these striking dials, the star and faceted hour markers, the Dauphine hands, and unique ‘dog leg’ lug-shape are enough for even the most seasoned collector to swoon over.

Seamaster - guided by the mythic hippocampus

Of all the Omega models I see, the Seamaster reigns supreme in popularity, due in large part that, incredibly, it is Omega’s longest continuously running model. Launched in 1948 it pre-dates even the Speedmaster. Many of the Seamasters I see (my father’s included) look nothing like the name implies, rather than resembling a dive watch, it is closer to a simple and classic 34mm dress watch on a leather strap, it is hard to fathom how it could possibly ‘master the sea’. Over the decades, however, the Seamaster evolved to earn fan favourite status, adopted by divers, chosen by the British military and sported on the wrist of 007 whether the spy was detected sipping a shaken martini or soaring the skies under a Union Jack parachute. And therein lies the secret to the Seamaster’s longevity: its versatility. It veers effortlessly from a dress watch one moment to a tool watch the next making it Omega’s most universally revered pillar.

De Ville - if timeless sophistication and technical ingenuity had a baby When I think of a tried-and-true dress watch in the Omega stable I turn to the De Ville, the go to elegant and stylish classic of the family. Initially introduced in the early 1960s as a part of the Seamaster family, the De Ville series veered away from the sporty tool watch the Seamaster would gradually morph into. The dressy De Ville gave off sophisticated and elegant 1960s and 70s vibes. These watches typically feature manual or automatic movements, characterised by slim profiles, minimalist dials, in gold or plated cases and today they are certainly having a neo-vintage moment. But before you dismiss the De Ville as all style and no substance, it may surprise you to learn the first Omega to use a coaxial escapement was the De Ville Co-Axial Escapement Limited Edition in 1999.

Long before the Moonwatch, before the Bond watch, Omega already had a proven track record in versatility, durability and innovation above and below the seas. Perhaps I can add to that storied track record a shape-shifting ability that no other watchmaker can match, and it becomes clear why the recurring watch brand that lands on my desk is, Omega.

Tied to Time: The Enduring Allure of the Hermès Scarf

by julia gueller, luxury specialist

a whisper of silk, a flash of colour, a story folded into a perfect square. For nearly ninety years, the Hermès scarf has served as both artwork and adornment. Here we explore the history and enduring appeal of the carré, and the many ways it continues to be worn, collected, and cherished.

The house of Hermès began not with silk but with saddles. Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a harness workshop in Paris, the brand’s equestrian heritage is woven, quite literally, into every carré. When Robert Dumas, the great-grandson of the founder, introduced the first printed silk square, Jeu des Omnibus et Dames Blanches, it was inspired by a deck of horse-drawn carriages. The 90 × 90 centimetre scarf soon became a canvas for storytelling, each design a miniature work of art celebrating travel, history and the natural world.

Every Hermès scarf begins as an original artwork that can take years to realise. The house has collaborated with painters, illustrators and graphic designers whose signatures are discreetly hidden in the corners of their compositions. Artists such as Philippe Ledoux, Françoise Faconnet and Robert Dallet are among the most celebrated.

Each design is hand-engraved onto silk-screen frames, with colours printed one layer at a time in the Hermès ateliers in Lyon. The hems, roulotté à la main, are rolled and stitched by hand, a detail unchanged in nearly a century. Each scarf carries the trace of its maker’s hand, the subtle irregularities of a rolled edge or the faint scent of silk dye, reminders that true luxury begins with touch.

The carré has become a visual archive of Hermès itself, reflecting changing eras and artistic influences. Some designs are reissued across decades, others produced only once. A selection of these designs, being offered in our December Luxury auction, such as Coup de Fouet, Carré en Carrés and Cliquetis illustrate this breadth of expression.

The appeal of the Hermès scarf lies as much in its versatility as in its artistry. Over the years, Hermès has published entire manuals exploring the ways to fold and tie the carré, a ritual that encourages creativity and play.

Folded neatly at the neck, tied into hair, looped around a wrist or framed as art, the carré moves effortlessly from utility to ornament. It has dressed travellers, artists and collectors alike, each finding a new rhythm within its square geometry. The silk’s luminous surface and the precision of its print lend themselves to movement and light, transforming fashion into an ever-shifting composition.

Hermès artists work within a strict format yet achieve infinite variation. The discipline of scale and composition gives the scarf a sense of timelessness, while the meticulous craftsmanship invests it with permanence.

To own a Hermès scarf is to hold a fragment of design history, the trace of a draughtsman’s hand, the precision of a Lyon printer, and the quiet discipline of the craftsperson who rolls each edge by hand. These silks carry stories that cross decades and wardrobes, linking atelier to street, archive to everyday life.

As the year draws to a close, the carré feels like a wonderful gift to give or receive -something to be shared, inherited, or chosen for oneself. Whether wrapped, knotted, framed, or simply folded in its orange box, the Hermès scarf remains one of the most enduring objects of modern fashion. It endures not because it resists time, but because it moves with it - folding history, craftsmanship, and imagination into something that feels perpetually new.

The Luxury auction will take place Tuesday 2 December 2025 in Melbourne. For viewing times and to see the full catalogue please visit our website.

THAT HOTEL

by john albrecht, & head of important collections

Along the traffic network leading out of Melbourne, a series of public sculp tures punctuate the journey on the EastLink tollway between Melbourne and Frankston. The one that captures my imagination, my nostalgia every time is the 20-metre tall “hotel”, that by day sits lifeless and by night hints at activity behind the windows. We know it’s a hotel, or meant to look like one, because it is emblazoned with the word in a large and deliberately unremarkable upper-case font. The facade has an equally post-war drab feeling about it. Despite this, its location, its height and its symmetry give it a rather haunting stature. It is neither full-scale, nor is it a model; it is something in between and herein lies the genius of the work. It is mimetic art, and, in this case, it is architecture replicating architecture.

To this day enquiries are still regularly received about how the hotel might be booked, such is its convincing nature and perhaps that unreality reinforced by its appearance on the Violent Femmes 2019 album cover. But it’s not a hotel, it’s the artist Callum Morton’s work of art, of public art. And nostalgia, otherworldliness and abandonment (or perhaps displacement) are precisely some of the emotions that the artist wanted to generate within the viewer. He is quoted as saying: “Motorists will view it from the car as an actual hotel and perhaps over time as a strangely descaled prop that has escaped the theme park or film set.”

It is not the only work by the artist that has me hooked; I’m equally drawn to his drive-in movie theatre screen. As much a detailed model as it is a commentary on another time and place, it has changed the way I see real drive-ins - now, I think more of Callum Morton’s work than of the utility of the actual site.

COCKTAIL WATCHES

by troy mckenzie, head of private collections, Queensland

A Timeless Revival

Once regarded as dainty evening companions, cocktail watches are stepping out of their velvet-lined boxes and into everyday wear. No longer reserved solely for formal soirées, these miniature marvels are enjoying a renaissance as versatile style statements, blurring the line between jewellery and timepiece.

The cocktail watch first gained popularity in the mid-20th century, when women embraced them as delicate adornments that elevated evening attire. With their petite cases, ornate dials, and gem-set bracelets, they carried an air of refinement that felt more jewel than watch. Today, however, their charm lies in versatility.

Luxury brands and fashion houses are reviving the category with designs that celebrate heritage yet fit seamlessly into a modern wardrobe. Whether it’s the intricate artistry of Cartier’s Panthère, the elegance of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso or grandma’s much loved heirloom, cocktail watches are once again proving their place on the wrist - not just at dusk, but all day long.

Today’s wearers are less concerned with rigid fashion “rules” and more intent on expressing individuality. Stacked alongside bangles, paired with jeans and sneakers, or worn solo as a statement of understated elegance, cocktail watches are so now!

With watch sizes trending smaller across the board, the cocktail watch offers an alternative to oversized sports models - especially for those seeking refinement without sacrificing personality.

What makes the cocktail watch particularly compelling today is its balance of subtlety and power. It’s jewellery that tells time, but also tells a story - of craft, legacy, and self-expression.

The cocktail watch has shed its polite, evening-only associations. Now, it’s about celebrating beauty, versatility, and presence - from cocktail hour to every hour.

FIVE MINUTES WITH ELLA NAIL

In this issue we get to know Sydney

Office Manager & Administrator,

Ella Nail.

favourite artist/designer

Too many to name one! At the moment I am loving the works by Cressida Campbell, Eva Nolan and Zoe Young.

leonard joel staff all seem to have a side project or creative hobby, what’s yours?

Currently combining my various hobbies and designing my own fabric to make dresses for summer.

your ideal day in sydney

A perfect inner-west Sydney day for me includes starting the day with Pilates and a coffee, followed by buying flowers at the Carriagework Markets and then to a wine bar to enjoy the long sunny summer afternoons.

if money were no object, what would be your dream auction purchase?

Artworks by Alphonse Mucha but specifically the jewellery pieces by Fouquet and Mucha. Or a batik by Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

where do you go to feel inspired?

Visiting my favourite antique stores in Sydney - such as Mitchell Road Antiques, The Merchants Warehouse and Glass et Cetera.

by ifaw

Sun Bear Rescued From Illegal Trade Returns to the Wild

Less than 18 months ago, Mano was scared, alone, and about to be shipped far from home, into the hands of illegal traders. Now, she’s taking her first steps back in the wild.

Mano has been in the care of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) partner Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) in Indonesia for most of her life. She was three months old when she was rescued from a car in Jakarta. Acting on a tip-off, JAAN and the Indonesian police intercepted an illegal trade deal that would have seen Mano shipped from Indonesia to Dubai where she could have ended up as a pet or in a private zoo.

Since then, she has been under the watchful eye of her dedicated carers, who take turns looking after her 24/7. When she first arrived, she needed milk every two hours. As she grew, the JAAN team, with IFAW’s support, built a special enclosure for her so she could learn how to climb and find food such as berries, nuts, and termites.

After some time, she graduated to JAAN’s Forest School, where she spent all day exploring the treetops deep in the forest. Her carers re mained close as she walked for nine hours and up to six kilometres every day. It was here that she gained her independence and started to master the crucial skills needed to survive in the wild such as making nests and foraging for insects, forest fruits, and water.

The next step in her journey back to the wild was her relocation to a national park – where it’s hoped she will remain for the rest of her life – free and wild. With support from IFAW, Mano’s carers set up an enclosure deep in the park, where they will remain close by until one day, Mano won’t return to the enclosure – and be fully integrated in the wild.

“One year ago, I could have only dreamt of the moment where we are now with Mano’s rehabilitation,” said JAAN’s co-founder Femke den Haas.

IFAW Wildlife Rescue Program Director Neil Greenwood said the partnership with JAAN ensures rescued wildlife is given a second chance.

“To watch Mano grow from being scared, vulnerable and completely reliant on her carers to climbing treetops, building nests, and foraging for food so independently is remarkable,” Mr Greenwood said.

“Mano’s future was so close to being ripped away, so to be able to release her back into the wild, where she will hopefully be a valuable part of the population, is a conservation success story.”

IFAW has been working with JAAN for more than a decade to disrupt wildlife trafficking networks, train law enforcement teams (including tracking dogs), and ensure animals confiscated from illegal trade receive the best care.

“I am so grateful for all the support from IFAW and the team’s hard work in the field to be able to give Mano a second chance in life. She still has a long life ahead, which she should spend happy, healthy and in freedom.”

Above

On 22 March 2017, the first industry briefing between IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and auctioneers and antique dealers from Australia took place, with the view to ending the auction and antiques trade in rhinoceros horn and ivory. That same year, Leonard Joel introduced a voluntary cessation policy and we are proud to no longer sell these materials. In the 22nd Report, IFAW share the latest news about their conservation projects.

Sell Fine Art with Leonard Joel

image Lucien Adrion (France, 1889-1953)

The Pool, Palm Beach, Cannes oil on canvas, 71.5 x 90.5cm

Sold for $10,000

auction enquiries

Wiebke Brix, Head of Art, 03 8825 5624 wiebke.brix@ leonardjoel.com.au

melbourne, australia leonardjoel.com.au

Sell Important Chinese and Asian Art with Leonard Joel

IMAGE

A Fine Chinese Imperial White

Jade Carved Dragon Seal, Kangxi Period (1662-1722)

Sold for $125,000

auction enquiries

Luke Guan, Head of Chinese & Asian Art 0455 891 888 luke.guan@ leonardjoel.com.au

melbourne, australia leonardjoel.com.au

Sell Fine Jewels & Timepieces with Leonard Joel

image

Paspaley, Pair of 18ct Gold, South Sea Pearl and Diamond 'Flutter' Earrings

Sold for $17,500

auction enquiries

Bethany McGougan, Head of Fine Jewels & Timepieces 03 8825 5645 bethany.mcgougan@ leonardjoel.com.au

melbourne, australia leonardjoel.com.au

Sell Decorative Arts with Leonard Joel

IMAGE (detail) A Fine Diamond-framed Portrait Miniature of George, Prince of Wales, Attributed to Richard Cosway

Sold for $15,000

auction enquiries

Chiara Curcio, Head of Decorative Arts, Design & Interior, 03 8825 5635 chiara.curcio@ leonardjoel.com.au

melbourne, australia leonardjoel.com.au

SUZANNE ARCHER, JACK BALL, MERRIC BOYD, CRAIG & KARL, DORRIT BLACK, YUSHI DANGAMI, MAX DUPAIN, KALDOR PUBLIC ART PROJECTS, KIRSHA KAECHELE, BETTY KUNTIWA PUMANI, BENJAMIN MILLEPIED, MAN RAY, JOTARO SAITO, ARCANGELO SASSOLINO, ANN SHELTON, JARROD VAN DER RYKEN, CERITH WYN EVANS & MORE

A LAST LOOK

In this feature, we revisit a handful of beautiful and extraordinary pieces that have passed through our doors since the last issue.

Sold for $28,750 Women Artists, September 2025

The 2019 Everest Trophy by

Sold for $62,500

The Everest 2019 Trophy, October 2025

Sold for

With regular auctions in Fine Art, Jewels & Watches, Decorative Arts, Modern Design, Luxury and more, there’s something to suit every

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VALUE, SELL & BUY

Contact a Leonard Joel Specialist

managing director & head of important collections

John Albrecht 03 8825 5619 john.albrecht@leonardjoel.com.au

Auction Specialists

fine jewels & timepieces

Bethany McGougan

Head of Department, Melbourne 03 8825 5645 bethany.mcgougan@leonardjoel.com.au

Lauren Boustridge

Head of Department, Sydney 02 9362 9045 lauren.boustridge@leonardjoel.com.au

fine art

Wiebke Brix

Head of Department 03 8825 5624 wiebke.brix@leonardjoel.com.au

Amanda North Senior Fine Art Specialist 03 8825 5644 amanda.north@leonardjoel.com.au

decorative arts

Chiara Curcio

Head of Department 03 8825 5635 chiara.curcio@leonardjoel.com.au

asian art

Luke Guan

Head of Department 0455 891 888 luke.guan@leonardjoel.com.au

modern design

Rebecca Stormont Specialist 03 8825 5637 rebecca.stormont@leonardjoel.com.au

luxury

Julia Gueller Specialist 03 8825 5605 luxury@leonardjoel.com.au

prints & multiples

Hannah Ryan Senior Art Specialist, Manager of Specialty Auctions 03 8825 5666 hannah.ryan@leonardjoel.com.au

sydney

Ronan Sulich Senior Adviser 02 9362 9045 ronan.sulich@leonardjoel.com.au

Madeleine Mackenzie

Head of Decorative Arts & Art, Sydney 02 9362 9045 madeleine.mackenzie@leonardjoel.com.au

brisbane

Troy McKenzie

Head of Private Collections, Queensland 0412 997 080 troy.mckenzie@leonardjoel.com.au

adelaide

Anthony Hurl Representative Specialist 0419 838 841 anthony.hurl@leonardjoel.com.au

perth

John Brans Representative Specialist 0412 385 555 john.brans@leonardjoel.com.au

The Auction Salon Specialists

art

Millie Lewis 03 8825 5630 art.manager@leonardjoel.com.au

furniture

Natasha Berlizova 03 8825 5640 furniture.manager@leonardjoel.com.au

jewellery

Phoebe East 03 8825 5618 jewellery.manager@leonardjoel.com.au

objects & collectables

Dominic Kavanagh 03 8825 5655 objects.manager@leonardjoel.com.au

Valuations

David Parsons

Head of Private Estates and Valuations 03 8825 5638 david.parsons@leonardjoel.com.au

Marketing & Communications

Blanka Nemeth

Senior Marketing, Media, and Communications Manager 03 8825 5620 blanka.nemeth@leonardjoel.com.au

Maria Rossi

Graphic Artist

Paolo Cappelli

Senior Photographer & Videographer

Adam Obradovic

Photographer & Videographer

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Leonard Magazine

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Lucy Lewis

graphic design

Maria Rossi

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