Mozart gets some tuft love

26 May 2015 - 02:02 By Staff reporter

Who is the greater composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven? Should we really split hairs? Apparently, yes.According to a report on The Daily Telegraph's website, a lock of Mozart's hair is expected to fetch £10000 (about R185000) at a Sotheby's auction whereas a lock of Beethoven's is expected to fetch £2000.The snip of Mozart's mane was owned by his widow, Contanze, before falling under the ownership of a descendant of the English composer Arthur Sommervell.Locks of hair were frequently taken from the bodies of the recently deceased as keepsakes.The Daily Telegraph noted that in 2002 a lock of Mozart's hair - which one of Mozart's sons gave to a mistress - sold for £38240, double the pre-sale estimate, at a Sotheby's auction.The public can see the two tufts at Sotheby's galleries in London, until Wednesday. ..

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