Funny how auctions seem to come in cycles. Currently it's South African history. This week Bonham in London auctioned a copy of the Freedom Charter signed by several of those who worded it.
After earlier rumours that the auctioning of the copy had been withdrawn only hours before the start of the auction, it was bought in a private sale by the Liliesleaf Trust.
The SABC quoted the trust's CEO, Nicholas Wolpe, as saying there was a need to tighten up the issue of foreign auctions.
Liliesleaf declined to divulge the auction price of the copy until the transaction was completed. The document will be handed over to the government at a formal ceremony.
Bonham's sale of South African art in February saw Maggie Laubscher's Indian Girl with Poinsettias go for R4-million.
- The Michael James Organisation will auction the historical, nearly 43ha, Ashanti wine estate near Paarl, on site at 11.15am on April 6. It has a 120-seat restaurant overlooking a 16ha dam, and its owners claim it has "a genuine African heritage".
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