Archive · 24 Sep 2026
Flea-Market Necklace Identified as Calder, Sells for ₹2.5 Crore
A woman bought a necklace at a flea market for ₹1,400.
She thought it was simply an unusual old accessory.
Many years later, she saw jewellery made by the artist Alexander Calder.
She noticed that her necklace looked similar to his work.
Experts examined it and confirmed that Calder had made it around 1940.
The necklace was made with silver wire and cord.
Christie’s estimated that it could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At auction in New York, it sold for about ₹2.5 crore.
A necklace bought for ₹1,400 at a flea market was later identified as an original work by Alexander Calder.
The piece was made around 1940 from silver wire and cord and had been treated as a vintage accessory.
The owner recognised similarities after visiting a Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition of Calder’s jewellery.
Christie’s catalogued it as Untitled (Necklace) and estimated its value at $200,000-$300,000.
It sold for $267,750, including the buyer’s premium, at a September 2013 Christie’s auction in New York.
- Who
- The necklace’s owner, experts, Alexander Calder, and Christie’s were involved.
- What
- A flea-market necklace was authenticated as a work by Alexander Calder and sold for $267,750.
- When
- It was made around 1940 and sold in September 2013.
- Where
- The necklace was bought at a flea market and sold at a Christie’s auction in New York; its connection was recognised after an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- Why
- The necklace became valuable because experts authenticated it as Calder’s work and collectors valued his jewellery as wearable art.
- Original purchase price
- ₹1,400
- Artist
- Alexander Calder
- Work title
- Untitled (Necklace)
- Date made
- Around 1940
- Materials
- Silver wire and cord
- Auction estimate
- $200,000-$300,000
- Sale price
- $267,750, including the buyer’s premium
- Sale location and date
- Christie’s, New York, September 2013