Groundbreakers: Icons of our Time

Sale Overview

Christie’s is excited to present Groundbreakers: Icons of our Time, a special new auction celebrating major cultural figures and achievements of the 20th–21st centuries.

Spanning natural history, cinema, music, literature, fashion, sport and technology, Groundbreakers spotlights the very best of the modern era.

Led by the remarkable new discovery of ‘Spike’ the dinosaur, highlights range from J.R.R. Tolkien’s desk from his office at Merton College to early autograph letters by Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. Standout pieces in the field of technology include the earliest Mario Bros. cartridge ever to come to auction and artefacts from the early formation of Apple.

From the world of film, we are delighted to offer the Batpod from Christopher Nolan’s iconic The Dark Knight Trilogy and the remarkable Rama camera which captured special effects in George Lucas’s genre-defining Star Wars Trilogy.

From standout fashion by Westwood, Galliano and McQueen to musical instruments played by legends such as the Rolling Stones and Jeff Beck, to the iconic original cover artwork for Hotel California and the first edition of Warhammer, this sale showcases the best of modern culture.

Auction times

11 Dec 04:00 PM (GMT) Lots 1-31

Our specialist’s selection

Brought to you by

Thais Hitchins

Junior Specialist | Science & Natural History

James Hyslop

Head of Department, Science & Natural History | Science & Natural History

James has been Christie’s specialist for Science & Natural History since 2007, and head of Department since 2012.

His first auction at Christie’s was the highly successful pair of Blaeu globes sold in Amsterdam in 2008 for a world record price (€793,850). Other early highlights include the silver armillary sphere in the Yves Saint Laurent sale (€781,000) and the silver simple microscope by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in 2009 (£313,250). James’ strong personal interest in Geology has resulted in the growth of Natural History sales over the years culminating in the world record price for a Dinosaur with STAN in October 2020 ($31,847,500). With the advent of online sales, he was the first to launch dedicated history of science and technology sales, in June 2013 an Apple-1 personal computer sold for $387,750 in the sale First Bytes: Iconic Technology from the Twentieth Century, followed by a world record price for an enigma machine in November 2014 Code Breakers: Enigmas and Other Cipher Machines for $365,000. Recent sales of note include a record price for a meteorite at auction (£525,000) in the Exceptional sale 8 July 2021 and a world record for a dinosaur skull (£500,000) in 12-26 October 2021 online auction.

A graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge, James speaks English and French; he previously worked for a UK science museum and has sat on the committee of the Scientific Instrument Society.