Ceausescu's foreign gifts set for auction
Source: Agencies |
January 27, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHAT did they give the head of state who had everything?
An African leopardskin or a silver dove - a novel offering from the former Shah of Iran - were just two examples of gifts received by Nicolae Ceausescu that were to be auctioned off yesterday, on what would have been the late Romanian leader's 94th birthday.
The auction, which was billed "the Golden Age," is a reference to the final years of Ceausescu's rule, when officials painted a rosy picture of life in Romania, while, in reality, people struggled with food shortages, power outages and the dreaded Securitate secret police which kept tabs on the population of 23 million with an army of 760,000 informers.
Ceausescu, known as "the Genius of the Carpathians," was overthrown during the 1989 uprising and executed with his wife Elena after a summary trial on Christmas Day, 1989.
"This auction is first of its kind gathering together objects from private collections and items that belonged to the family which were sold by the state," said Mihail Stomff, head of private sales at Artmark auction house. "The value is foremost a historical one."
So what were on offer yesterday and at what price?
There was a carpet depicting the family of the former leader that should have had pride of place in the People's Palace, a giant building that now serves as Romania's Parliament and was inspired from a visit to North Korea in 1971, that has a starting price of 800 euros (US$1,035), a swanky pen that was to go under the hammer for at least 2,000 euros which Ceausescu received during a visit to Japan in 1975, and an assortment of furs to be sold for at least 1,200 euros.
Some the more eccentric items are gold-plated silver and enameled doves that Ceausescu got from the Shah of Iran in 1977.
There were old posters, medals, photos and flags, up to 70 years old.
A Time magazine from 1948 has Ana Pauker, a Romanian Communist Party leader, on the front cover.
An African leopardskin or a silver dove - a novel offering from the former Shah of Iran - were just two examples of gifts received by Nicolae Ceausescu that were to be auctioned off yesterday, on what would have been the late Romanian leader's 94th birthday.
The auction, which was billed "the Golden Age," is a reference to the final years of Ceausescu's rule, when officials painted a rosy picture of life in Romania, while, in reality, people struggled with food shortages, power outages and the dreaded Securitate secret police which kept tabs on the population of 23 million with an army of 760,000 informers.
Ceausescu, known as "the Genius of the Carpathians," was overthrown during the 1989 uprising and executed with his wife Elena after a summary trial on Christmas Day, 1989.
"This auction is first of its kind gathering together objects from private collections and items that belonged to the family which were sold by the state," said Mihail Stomff, head of private sales at Artmark auction house. "The value is foremost a historical one."
So what were on offer yesterday and at what price?
There was a carpet depicting the family of the former leader that should have had pride of place in the People's Palace, a giant building that now serves as Romania's Parliament and was inspired from a visit to North Korea in 1971, that has a starting price of 800 euros (US$1,035), a swanky pen that was to go under the hammer for at least 2,000 euros which Ceausescu received during a visit to Japan in 1975, and an assortment of furs to be sold for at least 1,200 euros.
Some the more eccentric items are gold-plated silver and enameled doves that Ceausescu got from the Shah of Iran in 1977.
There were old posters, medals, photos and flags, up to 70 years old.
A Time magazine from 1948 has Ana Pauker, a Romanian Communist Party leader, on the front cover.
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