{"id":48337,"date":"2023-09-07T20:48:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/?p=48337"},"modified":"2023-09-07T20:48:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:48:23","slug":"a-queens-ransom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2023\/09\/a-queens-ransom\/","title":{"rendered":"A Queen’s Ransom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freddy Mercury<\/a> was\u00a0a rock legend who sang his heart out in “Somebody to Love” as if he was composing a personal ad for love. However, he probably didn’t realize that while searching for someone to love, countless somebodies were already swooning over him. And that, my friends, was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt at the first of several auctions this week celebrating Mercury’s incredible life, work, and pure artistry. Most pieces sold for a Queen’s Ransom.<\/p>\n

Mercury’s stash of over 1,400 personal treasures, neatly tucked away in his London home for three decades, is finally up for grabs at Sotheby’s. His ex-fianc\u00e9 and confidant, Mary Austin, decided it was time to bid farewell to these gems.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>

Garden Lodge Door<\/p><\/div>\n

The first of six auctions started on Wednesday with the crowd belting out “We Will Rock You,” followed by a 20-minute brawl (well, not literal fisticuffs, but you get the idea) for the first item: the graffiti-covered door of Mercury’s home. When the hammer finally came down, a phone bidder dropped half a million dollars on that doodled door! Remember, it was supposed to fetch a modest \u00a315-25K, but it said, “Nah, I’m worth more!” and sold for \u00a3325K (\u00a3413K w\/p – $521K).<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Yamaha Grand Piano<\/p><\/div>\n

The real rockstar of the show was Mercury’s trusty Yamaha baby grand piano, which helped create Queen’s greatest hits, including the timeless “Bohemian Rhapsody<\/a>.” It ended up bringing in a cool \u00a31.4M (\u00a31.74M w\/p – $2.2M), just a tad short of the estimated \u00a32-3M, but still, that’s one heck of a piano.<\/p>\n

\"Lyrics<\/a>

Bohemian Rhapsody<\/p><\/div>\n

Speaking of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (fun fact: it was once called “Mongolian Rhapsody”), Mercury’s handwritten lyrics made a princely sum of \u00a31.1M (\u00a31.38M w\/p- $1.8M) on an estimate of \u00a3800K-1.2M. “We Are the Champions” lyrics grabbed \u00a3250K (\u00a3317.5M w\/p – $401K), and the autographed draft lyrics to “Somebody to Love” won someone’s heart and emptied their pockets at \u00a3190K (\u00a3241K w\/p – $305K).<\/p>\n

And if that wasn’t enough, Mercury’s art collection turned heads too. A Picasso print snagged \u00a3150K (\u00a3190.5K w\/p -$240k), which is way more than the estimate of \u00a350-70K.\u00a0 A Joan Mir\u00f3 piece flew past its \u00a315-20K estimate and sold for \u00a370K (\u00a389K w\/p -$112K).<\/p>\n

\"red<\/a>

Cloak and Crown<\/p><\/div>\n

But wait, there’s more! The man’s iconic stage costumes were a hit as well. Mercury’s crown and cloak ensemble ended up selling for \u00a3500K (\u00a3635K w\/p -$801,500). His rainbow jacket from the “Hot Space” tour earned a dazzling \u00a3160K (\u00a3203K w\/p -$256K), way over its estimated worth of \u00a310-15K.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>

Freddy’s Silver Snake Bangle<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, here’s the real shocker: a silver snake bangle from the “Bohemian Rhapsody” video went for nearly 100 times its estimated value of \u00a37-9K, raking in a jaw-dropping \u00a3550K (\u00a3698.5K w\/p – $882K). Sorry, John Lennon, you’ve been dethroned as the jewelry champ!<\/p>\n

\"Wurlitzer<\/a>

Wurlitzer Jukebox<\/p><\/div>\n

Lastly, a vintage Wurlitzer<\/a> jukebox that still grooves like it’s the ’80s was estimated at \u00a315-25K. It ended up fetching an astonishing \u00a3320K (\u00a3406.4K w\/p -$513,000). It’s got all of Mercury’s favorite tunes, including classics by Ray Charles and Little Richard. So, in the end, Freddie’s stuff rocked the auction world like only he could.<\/p>\n

And to cap it all off, the final tally blew all expectations out of the water. Sotheby’s specialists predicted the entire six-sale series to bring in a maximum of \u00a37.2M ($9M). But the first night’s sale alone hauled in a staggering \u00a312.2M ($15.4M). So, I am sure when the grand finale takes place, we can confidently say that Freddy Mercury really hit some high notes, and the world is still singing along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freddy Mercury was\u00a0a rock legend who sang his heart out in “Somebody to Love” as if he was composing a personal ad for love. However, he probably didn’t realize that while searching for someone to love, countless somebodies were already … More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[207,134,586,120,125,836],"class_list":["post-48337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rehs-galleries","category-rehs-contemporary","tag-auction-news","tag-auction-records","tag-jewelry","tag-modern-art","tag-music","tag-rock-and-roll"],"yoast_head":"\nA Queen's Ransom - Rehs Galleries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The auction of Freddy Mercury's treasures celebrated his incredible life and work; most pieces sold for a Queen's Ransom.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2023\/09\/a-queens-ransom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Queen's Ransom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The auction of Freddy Mercury's treasures celebrated his incredible life and work; 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