Freddie Mercury personal possessions auction breaks records with millions made

Freddie Mercury exhibition opens at Sotheby’s

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, he left a vast chunk of his estate to his former lover Mary Austin.

This included his Garden Lodge Kensington home and its contents from furniture and art to his personal clothes and possessions.

Now she’s decided to sell off the vast majority in an epic Sotheby’s series of auctions.

For the last month, the contents of the Queen singer’s London mansion have been on display to the public with almost 140,000 members of the public visiting the exhibition at Sotheby’s for free.

Last night the first auction took place there with 100 per cent of lots sold and sales totalling £12.2 million.

Read more… Freddie Mercury auction watch live – Brian May says ‘It’s too sad, I can’t look'[FREDDIE AUCTION]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/818l7c8TnpA

Freddie’s Baby Grand Yamaha Piano, on which he composed Bohemian Rhapsody sold for £1.7 million. This was a new record for a composer’s piano.

Meanwhile, his handwritten Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics – a piece of paper with “Mongolian Rhapsody” crossed out – were sold for a whopping £1.379 million.

Another big seller was the Queen star’s costume crown and cloak going for £635,000, which was over 10 times the original estimate of £60,000-80,000.

Another surprise highlight was a silver snake bangle worn in the Bohemian Rhapsody music video by Freddie. Originally estimated at £7000-9000, this sold for £698,500, a record for a piece of jewellery belonging to a rockstar, and almost 100 times its estimate.

After a few hours of bidding, the evening auction concluded with Freddie’s 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox, which he kept in his kitchen, selling for £406,400 up from its estimate of £15,000-25,000.

Don’t miss…
Inside Freddie Mercury’s life in his London home from parties, cats and lovers[GARDEN LODGE]
Freddie Mercury’s most prized possession according to Mary Austin up for auction[MARY AUSTIN]
Freddie Mercury A World of His Own review – Unmissable step inside star’s home[REVIEW]

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Other Freddie Mercury auctions coming up at Sotheby’s are as follows:

“On Stage” Live Auction, 7 September, 10 AM

“At Home” Live Auction, 8 September, Session 1: 10 AM, Session 2: 2 PM

“In Love with Japan” Online Auction, 11 August – 11 September, 10 AM

“Crazy Little Things” Part One Online Auction, 11 August – 12 September, 10 AM

“Crazy Little Things” Part Two Online Auction, 11 August – 13 September, 10 AM

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