Sotheby’s has an Alberto Burri work last seen at the Guggenheim retrospective of the artist’s work and is one of the largest examples of Burri’s work in existence. Sotheby’s has a placeholder estimate of “upon request” right now as they wait to see the results of this week’s Italian sales. But the top price for a Burri was set at Sotheby’s last year for a little more than $13m. This sale will surely use that price as a reference point:

Sotheby’s New York Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 16 November will feature Alberto Burri’s revolutionary Nero Plastica L.A. Hailing from the artist’s sought-after Nero Plastica series and highlighted at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s acclaimed 2016 retrospective, Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting, this monumental work is one of the most important plastic reliefs to appear at auction.

Rarity and scale enhance the coveted status of Nero Plastica. The sale of the present work, Nero Plastica L.A., not only marks its auction debut, but also the unveiling of the largest work from the series ever to come to market. There exist only six other examples of comparably large-scale examples of Nero Plastica, with all but one either in or promised to renowned international museums – Galleria Nazionale d’Arte, Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini collezione Burri, Collezione dei Premi Marzotto and the Museum of Modern Art – making the offering of Nero Plastica L.A. this November an undeniably rare and extraordinary opportunity for collectors.