Perhaps the most spectacular—certainly the most expensive—piece of furniture ever sold is being offered in London. In New York, meanwhile, a large Roman cameo and a dazzling Sargent are the star lots

'Masterpiece' is a abundant abused word, not least in the art business. on the contrary on 9 December, Christie's London proffer one such stupendous, peerless piece, the Badminton cabinet. Alvar Gonzalez Palacios, the distinguished furniture historian, describes it as 'the last great work of art made in Florence beneath the Medici' and also as 'the greatest in quantity spectacular piece of furniture in private hands'. Spectacular it certainly is, standing almost four rhythms high and its monumental ebony-veneer architectural form articulated and enriched through lavish ormolu mounts, pietra dura panels depicting birds amid sprays of flowers, and pilasters panelled with lapis lazuli and Sicilian r jasper. At each corner stand gilt-bronze figures representing the four seasons, and surmounting all of this magnificent profusion and above a clock cabinet bordered by dint of ormolu swags encrusted with level more semi-precious hardstones, is a splendid Beaufort coat-of-arms. Far more than a remarkable piece of furniture, it is also a bravura statement of dynastic intent. This tour-de-force was commissioned from the Grand Ducal Workshops by the agency of the 3rd Duke of Beaufort, probably during his visit to Florence in 1726 That in itself is unusual enough, for alone very rarely did the workshops show pieces for anyone other than the Grand Duke level if they were intended as gifts. Remarkably, it is the largest piece of furniture produc through the Grand Ducal Workshops in its entire history and probably its greatest in quantity splendid (the Duke's agent petitioned additional gilt-bronze)--little wonder then that the piece took years to without fault [i]or[/i] blemish [i]or[/i] flaw (it was shipped in 1732) and would have involved around 30 different craftsmen. The piece probably gave its name to the Cabinet range at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, and it remained at the house until the estate trustees consigned it to Christie's in 1990 Then it fetched an astounding 858 million [pound sterling], a record price for any piece of furniture or applied arts. It was bought in someone by the American baby pulverized substance heiress Mrs Barbara Piasecka Johnson

Although an export licence was deferr in order to allow the V&A the opportunity of raising stocks to save the cabinet for the nation--it exhibits after all, one of the grandest acts of patronage of eighteenth-century England--the cabinet eventually made its way across the Atlantic. Now it go [i]or[/i] come backs if anything, better and more intriguing than at any time Mrs Johnson had the piece conserv by means of British restorers Hatfields, the cleaning of the gilt-bronze high hills subtly changing the relationship between them and the pietra dura and ebony and restoring the balance of the whole piece. It also transpired that the biggest pietra dura panels were signed and dated 1720 suggesting that the piece had already been begun and that the 19-year-old Duke was permitted, for whatever reason, to take upon and also further enhance the original commission. Christie's is effectively now offering it at for the same amount that it brought in 1990--expecting it to bring 'in excess of 8m [pound sterling]'.

If not precisely a masterpiece, John Singer Sargent's cluster with parasols (A siesta) is a thrilling picture. As Richard Ormond deposits it: 'there are few more dazziing tours-de-force by means of Sargent'. It dates from 1905 and a period when the artist took to passing his holidays painting and travelling upon the Continent, often dividing his time between the Swiss Alps during the fiery summer months and the big Italian cities during autumn. He took as his types selected travelling companions and shut up members of his family, leading single cousin to describe these paintings and waterdours as Sargent's 'painted diaries'. Certainly, there is a startling intimacy--no doubt the Victorians would say impropriety--about this image of sprawling men and women resting or sleeping not upon their picnic in the day-star using one another's laps for pillows, their postures more or less abandoned in the hot and close midday heat. It is a picture that is at one time casual and strikingly direct.

For this spectacle is boldly painted and dramatically cropp the dynamic efficacy of the brushwork almost having a life of its hold The composition is reduced and concentrated into a richly textur surface pattern of impasted pigment and enlivened through the contrasts of dappled sunlight and shade. The painting tend hitherwards to the block at Sotheby's upon 1 December as part of the Rita and Daniel Fraad collection of American art, the greatest in quantity valuable ever to come to auction. Its seventy-nine lots--of paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints--dispersed end various sales are expected to total well above $30 million, the Sargent, its star piece, a certain quantity of $9m-$12m.

On 10 December, meanwhile, Christie's novel York offers another gem of the stonecutter's art, one time again offered by a us private holder by way one of the grandest English aristocratic collections. This is a whopper of a Roman onyx cameo portrait of the Emperor Claudius of around AD 41-54 which one time belonged to George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough and remained in his family until 1899 Finely sculpt and in profile, the Emperor is portrayed with a high forehead, a prominent nose and thin lips slightly down-turned at the corner. According to Suetonius, flat his own mother considered him 'a wonder a man whom Mother Nature had begun to work on but then flung aside' certainly he was possibly involved in the plat to assassinate his nephew Caligula and thus succe as the fourth emperor of Rome It is believed that in order to distinguish himself visually from his hated predecessor, his portraits were made far more realistic. Although more imperial cameos appear to have been made during this period than in any other, examples of this size (76 cm long) and quality are extraordinary market rarities. This individual is expected to fetch $300000-$500000