Business News

Leonardo Da Vinci’s portrait of Christ valued at a towering $450.3 million

Published

3 years ago

November 16, 2017

At a Christie’s auction of postwar and contemporary art in New York yesterday, art dealers were stunned at the $450.3 million price a rediscovered painting of Christ by the iconic Leonardo Da Vinci was going for. Larry Gagosian could not hide his surprise as this painting became the most expensive artwork ever sold. His reaction to this was quite literally,

“Jesus Christ.”

“Salvator Mundi,” was formerly owned by England’s King Charles I in the 17th century, and it disappeared around 1900. In 2005, it was bought at an estate sale and, after six years of research and restoration, attributed to da Vinci, the first such rediscovery in more than 100 years. Before the auction, Christie’s secured an irrevocable bid by an anonymous investor, meaning it was sure to sell.

A 19-minute bid for this painting saw offers as high as $200 million, $300 million and $350 million fall short. After a duel for the painting, Alex Rotter, the auction house’s co-chairman of postwar and contemporary art in the Americas, placed the winning bid on behalf of an unidentified client.

This 500-year-old “Christ as Salvator Mundi” which was estimated at $100 million was the highlight of Christie’s evening sale – an unconventional move by the auction house because of its vintage. The previous auction record for an Old Master painting was held by Peter Paul Rubens “The Massacre of the Innocents” which sold for $76.5 million in 2002.

The salesroom full of millionaires and billionaires included Point72 Asset Management’s Steve Cohen; Blackstone Group LP’s Tom Hill, who collects Old Master works and declined to comment; and philanthropist Eli Broad.

Broad could not conceal his reaction as he was overwhelmed also. “It’s Wild,” he said. “Would you believe it? It’s wild.”

Roland Augustine, co-owner of gallery Luhring Augustine said, “The purchase can be thought of as a business decision.

“They’ll put it in a museum and have people lining around the corner to see it.”

Russian dealer Maria Baibakova admitted the record could raise the stakes for future sales. “Someone was willing to go all the way for once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Will we see a $1 billion painting? Until now, I didn’t think it was possible,” she said.

The “Salvator Mundi” piece that stirred up everyone was put up for sale by Russian Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev’s family trust. He acquired it for $127.5 million in 2013 and it’s been at the heart of an international legal battle ever since. Rybolovlev assembled a $2 billion trove with the help of art entrepreneur Yves Bouvier, but in recent years has been selling off works from the collection, often at steep discounts.

The result of this sale obliterated previous world records for an art sale of any kind, including the auction mark of $179.4 million for a Pablo Picasso painting sold in 2015.

Related Topics:$450.3 million Leonardo Da Vinci News Review portrait of Christ

Chacha Wabara

Chacha Wabara-Ogbobine is a Legal practitioner with over 9years post call experience. A research Consultant, professional writer and a blogger at heart,owner of four thriving websites with well over 10years of experience. Totally in love with keeping fit and coaching weight loss enthusiasts. I love my quiet time, being with my kids, watching TV series for hours on end.

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Coronavirus

COVID-19 Update in Nigeria

On the 8th of July 2020, 460 new confirmed cases and 15 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.

Published

6 hours ago

July 9, 2020

Samuel Oyekanmi

The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continue to record significant increase as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 30,249 confirmed cases.

On the 8th of July 2020, 460 new confirmed cases and 15 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total test of 169,629 samples across the country.

To date, 30,249 cases have been confirmed, 12,373 cases have been discharged and 684 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 169,629 tests have been carried out as of July 6th, 2020 compared to 152,952 tests a day earlier.

COVID-19 Case Updates- 8th July 2020,

Total Number of Cases – 30,249
Total Number Discharged – 12,373
Total Deaths – 684
Total Tests Carried out – 169,629

According to the NCDC, the 460 new cases were reported from 21 states- Lagos (150), Rivers (49), Oyo (43), Delta (38), FCT (26), Anambra (20), Kano (20), Plateau (18), Edo (14), Bayelsa (13), Enugu (13), Osun (12), Kwara (10), Borno (8), Ogun (7), Kaduna (6), Imo (4), Bauchi (3), Gombe (3), Niger (2), Adamawa (1).

Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 11,670, followed by Abuja (2,348), Oyo (1,573), Edo (1,503), Delta (1,323), Kano (1,291), Rivers (1,284), Ogun (1,057), Kaduna (889), Katsina (628), Borno (563), Ondo (550), Gombe (524), Bauchi (519), Ebonyi (503), Plateau (478), Enugu (431), Abia (400), Imo (356), Jigawa (318).

Kwara state has recorded 307 cases, Bayelsa (282), Nasarawa (234), Osun (210), Sokoto (153), Niger (124), Benue (121), Akwa Ibom (112), Adamawa (100), Anambra (93), Kebbi (86), Zamfara (76), Yobe (61), Ekiti (45), Taraba (27), while Kogi and Cross River state have recorded 5 cases each.

Lock Down and Curfew

In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.

The movement restriction, which was extended by another two-weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.

On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020.

Date	Confirmed case	New cases	Total deaths	New deaths	Total recovery	Active cases	Critical cases
July 8, 2020	30249	460	684	15	12373	17192	7
July 7, 2020	29789	503	669	15	12108	17012	7
July 6, 2020	29286	575	654	9	11828	16804	7
July 5, 2020	28711	544	645	11	11665	16401	7
July 4, 2020	28167	603	634	6	11462	16071	7
July 3, 2020	27564	454	628	12	11069	15867	7
July 2, 2020	27110	626	616	13	10801	15693	7
July 1, 2020	26484	790	603	13	10152	15729	7
June 30, 2020	25694	561	590	17	9746	15358	7
June 29, 2020	25133	566	573	8	9402	15158	7
June 28, 2020	24867	490	565	7	9007	14995	7
June 27, 2020	24077	779	558	4	8625	14894	7
June 26, 2020	23298	684	554	5	8253	14491	7
June 25, 2020	22614	594	549	7	7822	14243	7
June 24, 2020	22020	649	542	9	7613	13865	7
June 23, 2020	21371	452	533	8	7338	13500	7
June 22, 2020	20919	675	525	7	7109	13285	7
June 21, 2020	20242	436	518	12	6879	12847	7
June 20, 2020	19808	661	506	19	6718	12584	7
June 19, 2020	19147	667	487	12	6581	12079	7
June 18, 2020	18480	745	475	6	6307	11698	7
June 17, 2020	17735	587	469	14	5967	11299	7
June 16, 2020	17148	490	455	31	5623	11070	7
June 15, 2020	16658	573	424	4	5349	10885	7
June 14, 2020	16085	403	420	13	5220	10445	7
June 13, 2020	15682	501	407	8	5101	10174	7
June 12, 2020	15181	627	399	12	4891	9891	7
June 11, 2020	14554	681	387	5	4494	9673	7
June 10, 2020	13873	409	382	17	4351	9140	7
June 9, 2020	13464	663	365	4	4206	8893	7
June 8, 2020	12801	315	361	7	4040	8400	7
June 7, 2020	12486	260	354	12	3959	8173	7
June 6, 2020	12233	389	342	9	3826	8065	7
June 5, 2020	11844	328	333	10	3696	7815	7
June 4, 2020	11516	350	323	8	3535	7646	7
June 3, 2020	11166	348	315	1	3329	7522	7
June 2, 2020	10819	241	314	15	3239	7266	7
June 1, 2020	10578	416	299	12	3122	7157	9
May 31, 2020	10162	307	287	14	3007	6868	7
May 30, 2020	9855	553	273	12	2856	6726	7
May 29, 2020	9302	387	261	2	2697	6344	7
May 28, 2020	8915	182	259	5	2592	6064	7
May 27, 2020	8733	389	254	5	2501	5978	7
May 26, 2020	8344	276	249	16	2385	5710	7
May 25, 2020	8068	229	233	7	2311	5524	7
May 24, 2020	7839	313	226	5	2263	5360	7
May 23, 2020	7526	265	221	0	2174	5131	7
May 22, 2020	7261	245	221	10	2007	5033	7
May 21, 2020	7016	339	211	11	1907	4898	7
May 20, 2020	6677	284	200	8	1840	4637	7
May 19, 2020	6401	226	192	1	1734	4475	7
May 18, 2020	6175	216	191	9	1644	4340	7
May 17, 2020	5959	388	182	6	1594	4183	7
May 16, 2020	5621	176	176	5	1472	3973	7
May 15, 2020	5445	288	171	3	1320	3954	4
May 14, 2020	5162	193	168	3	1180	3815	4
May 13, 2020	4971	184	164	6	1070	3737	4
May 12, 2020	4787	146	158	6	959	3670	4
May 11, 2020	4641	242	152	10	902	3589	4
May 10, 2020	4399	248	142	17	778	3479	4
May 9, 2020	4151	239	127	11	745	3278	4
May 8, 2020	3912	386	118	10	679	3115	4
May 7, 2020	3526	381	108	4	601	2818	4
May 6, 2020	3145	195	104	5	534	2507	1
May 5, 2020	2950	148	99	5	481	2370	4
May 4, 2020	2802	245	94	6	417	2291	2
May 3, 2020	2558	170	88	2	400	2070	2
May 2, 2020	2388	220	86	17	351	1952	2
May 1, 2020	2170	238	69	10	351	1751	2
April 30, 2020	1932	204	59	7	317	1556	2
April 29, 2020	1728	196	52	7	307	1369	2
April 28, 2020	1532	195	45	4	255	1232	2
April 27, 2020	1337	64	41	0	255	994	2
April 26, 2020	1273	91	41	5	239	994	2
April 25, 2020	1182	87	36	3	222	925	2
April 24, 2020	1095	114	33	1	208	855	2
April 23, 2020	981	108	32	3	197	753	2
April 22, 2020	873	91	29	3	197	648	2
April 21, 2020	782	117	26	3	197	560	2
April 20, 2020	665	38	23	1	188	466	2
April 19, 2020	627	86	22	2	170	436	2
April 18, 2020	541	48	20	2	166	356	2
April 17, 2020	493	51	18	4	159	317	2
April 16, 2020	442	35	13	1	152	277	2
April 15, 2020	407	34	12	1	128	267	2
April 14, 2020	373	30	11	1	99	263	2
April 13, 2020	343	20	10	0	91	242	2
April 12, 2020	323	5	10	0	85	228	2
April 11, 2020	318	13	10	3	70	238	2
April 10, 2020	305	17	7	0	58	240	2
April 9, 2020	288	14	7	1	51	230	2
April 8, 2020	274	22	6	0	44	226	2
April 7, 2020	254	16	6	1	44	204	2
April 6, 2020	238	6	5	0	35	198	2
April 5, 2020	232	18	5	1	33	194	2
April 4, 2020	214	5	4	0	25	185	0
April 3, 2020	209	25	4	2	25	180	0
April 2, 2020	184	10	2	0	20	162	0
April 1, 2020	174	35	2	0	9	163	0
March 31, 2020	139	8	2	0	9	128	0
March 30, 2020	131	20	2	1	8	121	0
March 29, 2020	111	22	1	0	3	107	0
March 28, 2020	89	19	1	0	3	85	0
March 27, 2020	70	5	1	0	3	66	0
March 26, 2020	65	14	1	0	2	62	0
March 25, 2020	51	7	1	0	2	48	0
March 24, 2020	44	4	1	0	2	41	0
March 23, 2020	40	10	1	1	2	37	0
March 22, 2020	30	8	0	0	2	28	0
March 21, 2020	22	10	0	0	1	21	0
March 20, 2020	12	4	0	0	1	11	0
March 19, 2020	8	0	0	0	1	7	0
March 18, 2020	8	5	0	0	1	7	0
March 17, 2020	3	1	0	0	0	3	0
March 16, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 15, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 14, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 13, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 12, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 11, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 10, 2020	2	0	0	0	0	2	0
March 9, 2020	2	1	0	0	0	2	0
March 8, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 7, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 6, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 5, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 4, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 3, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 2, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
March 1, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
February 29, 2020	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
February 28, 2020	1	1	0	0	0	1	0

Coronavirus

Update: FG suspends reopening of schools, students won’t write 2020 WAEC exams

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said that WAEC should suspend exams.

Published

12 hours ago

July 8, 2020

Chike Olisah

The Federal Government has just announced that schools under its control will not be reopening for the forthcoming West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams.

This was disclosed in a tweet post by the aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi from his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

According to Ogunlesi, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said that WAEC should suspend exams and also urges State Governments to toe the line of the Federal Government as this is not the right time to reopen.

According to the tweet post, ‘’Minister of Education has just announced that schools under control of the Federal Government will not be reopening for the forthcoming WAEC exams. Says WAEC should suspend exams and urges State Governments to toe Federal Government line. This is not the right time to reopen,’’

Adamu, while addressing state house correspondents after the virtual Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, said that none of the schools under the control of his ministry will resume until schools are considered safe enough

The Minister appealed to the State Governments that have already announced the resumption of schools to reconsider that as it is not safe and the students should be protected. He said that he would prefer that students lose an academic year than expose them to dangers.

He also debunked an earlier report that claimed that the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, announced that schools will be resuming on August 4, 2020. Adamu said that the Minister of State must have been misquoted as the schools under the supervision of the ministry will not be opening on August 4 or anytime soon.

Going further, Adamu pointed out that WAEC will not determine what Nigeria will do as he will rather have the country lose a school year than exposing the students to danger.

Tech News

Tizeti reinstates Kendall Ananyi as CEO after investigation into alleged sexual misconduct

The investigations into the allegations could not establish a case of sexual harassment, .

Published

13 hours ago

July 8, 2020

Ruth Okwumbu

Tizeti, MainOne extend partnership to expand highspeed WiFi services in Africa, Tizeti reinstates Kendall Ananyi as CEO after investigation into alleged rape

Following the conclusion of the independent special investigation, Tizeti Board of directors have reinstated Kendall Ananyi as Chief Executive Officer.

With this development, the interim Co-CEOs Ifeanyi Okonkwo and Patricia Aiyedun, will return to their respective positions as Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.

According to a statement published on its website, the company stated that investigations into the allegations of sexual harassment could not establish a case of sexual harassment.

The board had on June 7 appointed an Independent Special Investigation Committee of its Board of Directors to investigate allegations of sexual harassment made against Kendall Ananyi, the embattled CEO.

To ensure the independence of the committee, the CEO stepped down and was walled off from communications with the Independent Special Investigation Committee and any matters related to the investigation, the statement read.

After a month of investigations, the committee led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Olumide Sofowora, SAN, C.Arb. of Olumide Sofowora Chambers, stated that no clear case of sexual harassment had been established, and recommended that the CEO be reinstated.

According to the statement, the committee researched “what actions would constitute sexual harassment, gathered relevant information from a number of sources in both Nigeria and Ghana, and conducted a number of interviews, including separately interviewing both the accuser and Mr. Ananyi”.

It was based on this that the independent legal counsel concluded that a clear case of sexual harassment had not been established.

The company promised that a sexual harassment policy would be put in place going forward.

“Tizeti remains fully committed to high ethical standards, gender equality, providing a workplace that is free from sexual harassment and ensuring that its diverse team feels comfortable and safe at all times.

“Tizeti wants to ensure that it has best in class policies and procedures going forward. As a result, Tizeti will be updating its code of conduct and putting in place a sexual harassment policy that is in line with best practices and encourages the reporting of any potential incidents,” it said.