The collectible will be offered on Jun. 11, as part of Sotheby’s Important Manuscripts, Continental Books and Music sale.
The lock of brown and grey hair, contained in an oval frame, was cut off by the German composer and given to the pianist Anton Halm in 1826.
The anecdote behind the collectible was documented by Beethoven’s biographer A.W. Thayer, who included it in his monumental biography of the composer.
Halm, who wanted to give Beethoven’s hair as a gift to his wife, first asked his mutual friend and violinist Karl Holz to retrieve the lock of hair.
“The lock of hair arrived a few days later, supposedly Beethoven’s, but in fact cut from a goat. When he had finished his arrangement of the fugue, Halm brought it and the hair to Beethoven. The composer was furious that his friend had been deceived, and promptly snipped off some hair and gave it to him, declaring it to be genuine,” said Sotheby’s of the item.
The lock of hair is expected to fetch between £12,000 and £15,000 (around P793,000 and P990,000). As CNN noted, this is not the first time that Beethoven’s hair hits the auction block.
Sotheby’s sold another lock of hair, cut the day the composer died, to two Beethoven enthusiasts in 1994. They later conducted forensic tests to determine why the musician suffered from poor health.
The lock of Beethoven’s hair will be auctioned off on Jun. 11 during Sotheby’s Important Manuscripts, Continental Book and Music sale.
Other highlights include a calligraphic autographed letter by Mao Zedong, estimated to sell for between £300,000 and £400,000 (around P19,800,000 and P26,400,000), and a first edition copy of Descartes’ “Discours de la méthode”, estimated to go for between £50,000 and £70,000 (around P3,300,000 and P4,600,000). HM/JB
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