Canadian rapper Drake’s acquisition of Tupac Shakur’s custom ring makes it the most valuable hip-hop artifact ever sold. The custom-designed gold, ruby, and diamond ring was acquired last week at a Sotheby’s auction for a little over USD 1 mn. The ring, designed by Shakur himself, was worn by the late rapper during his last public appearance before his murder in 1996. Sotheby’s says that Shakur designed the ring during “a period of monumental transition in his life,” after leaving prison, where he was incarcerated on [redacted] abuse charges.

The ring, which was estimated to sell at USD 200-300k , contains large rubies and diamonds set in a miniature gold crown, which Shakur’s grandmother explains is fashioned after the crowns of medieval European kings “in an act of self-coronation.” Selling at over triple its presale estimate price, the buyer’s identity wasn’t revealed until Drake showed the ring off in an — in our opinion, underwhelming — Instagram story dedicated to Travis Scott’s new album.

This isn’t the first (and probably not the last) lavish Drake purchase. The rapper is known for being a little extravagant with his purchases, which include a USD 185 mn Boeing 767 (which seats 269 passengers), 49 pieces of singer Pharrel Williams’ old jewelry totaling USD 2.6 mn, and a diamond necklace made out of 42 engagement rings the rapper previously bought, one for each time he thought about proposing to a woman. The necklace — which he calls “Previous Engagements” — totals 351.38 carats worth of diamonds mounted on 18k white gold, estimated at the price of USD 12.5 mn.

The woman in the (infrared) painting: The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) uncovered the portrait of a woman under René Magritte’s The Fifth Season, the Guardian reported. The hidden painting is said to feature Georgette, Magritte’s late wife, according to Catherine Defeyt, senior researcher at RMFAB, and RMFAB senior curator Francisca Vandepitte, who made the discovery beneath the 1943 painting, the article notes. The woman’s hair, lips, and face shape are consistent with other portraits the surrealist artist painted of his wife.

The hidden image was discovered with infrared reflectography — or infrared radiation — which is commonly used by art experts. The technology helps reveal layers of paint to better understand artists’ methods and construction process. Much like the stratigraphy conducted by geologists as they study layers of earth, art curators and conservators also study layers of paint to peer into the history and evolution of a painting.

Is it in line with Magritte’s artistic philosophy — or a case of recycling? The artist is famously quoted as saying: “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” This is also consistent with this surrealist style which manifests itself most famously in a painting depicting a pipe with the inscription “This is not a pipe,” which he aptly called ‘The treachery of Images’ to question both the authority of images and the spoken word. While the discovery is exciting, one speculation suggests it is better explained by financial motivations, the Guardian adds. Magritte may have covered up a painting on more than one occasion simply to save the cost of a new canvas.

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