If you鈥檝e ever wanted to own the hair of one of the world鈥檚 greatest musical composers, then this is your chance.
A framed lock of hair that was once attached to the head of Ludwig van Beethoven will be available to purchase in that is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
According to auction organizer Sotheby鈥檚, Beethoven cut off the 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� lock of grey and dark brown hair in 1826 and gave it to his friend, Austrian pianist Anton Halm.
Halm told Beethoven鈥檚 biographer that he had asked a mutual acquaintance for a lock of Beethoven鈥檚 hair for his wife, only for that acquaintance to give him goat hair instead, attempting to pass it off as Beethoven鈥檚. When Halm took his concerns to Beethoven, the composer cut a piece of his hair for Halm on the spot.
鈥淸Beethoven] liked Halm鈥檚 bluff military manner and apparently bore him no ill-will even after Halm鈥檚 wayward piano playing in the Choral Fantasia in 1817 brought the performance to a halt,鈥� reads the auction listing on Sotheby鈥檚 website.
Beethoven was well known for his silver locks. Author Russell Martin described it as 鈥渢he physical thing that most immediately characterized him鈥� in his 2001 book 鈥淏eethoven鈥檚 Hair.鈥�
鈥淚t was a metaphor somehow for his eccentric ebullience, his utter unpredictability, his astonishing artistic power,鈥� Martin wrote.
Sotheby鈥檚 says the hair has an estimated value of between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds, or $20,000 and $25,000 in Canadian figures. As of Sunday afternoon, advance bidding had reached nearly 28,000 pounds, or a little more than $47,000.
The lock of hair is one of Sotheby鈥檚 is listing in a set of rare items. Other featured listings include a document for a grant of land dating back to the 12th century, a leaf from a 13th-century Bible and a postcard signed by Albert Einstein.
