The item, enclosed in a locket, was sold by Sotheby’s in London

Mozart_Hair

A lock of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s hair has far exceeded its estimated value to sell for £35,000 at auction. The curl, dating from 1791, was valued by Sotheby’s in London at between £10,000 and £12,000. Enclosed in a gilt locket, the item was passed from the composer's widow Constanze to German conductor Karl Anschutz, before being given to English composer Arthur Sommervell.

A small lock of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair and a printed invitation to the composer’s funeral in 1827 were also sold in the same Sotheby’s lot for £8,124, exceeding the estimate of £2,000.

In 2002, a lock of Mozart’s hair was sold for £38,240 by Sotheby’s – double the pre-sale estimate, while in November 2014 a rare portrait miniature of the composer at the age of 21 was sold by the auction house for £218,500.

Photo: Sotheby’s

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