Freddie Mercury’s eternal confidante and “love of his life”, Mary Austin, is auctioning off the Queen frontman’s estate with auction house Sotheby’s. It’s called “Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own – The Evening Sale”. auction event, which will take place from June to September 2023 on different dates and in several world cities: from June 1st to 8th in New York, in Los Angeles from June 14th to 18th, Hong Kong from June 26th to 30th and from June 4th to August to 5 September in London. September 5 would have been Mercury’s 77th birthday.
Like Mary Austin in Sotheby’s According to the press release, Mercury “loved going to auctions and furnishing his house with objects of applied art or print art. Freddie was a wonderful and intelligent collector who showed us that there is beauty, fun and entertainment in everything.”
Here is the video of the auction:
The Garden Lodge estate: The value of 1500 objects
Mary Austin inherited the musician’s estate after his death in November 1991. She separates from it because she wants to close a chapter, as quoted by the auction house. The legacy thus includes everything that was in Mercury’s London villa, the Garden Lodge: 1500 objects and objects, including his crown, his artwork, furniture, costumes, song manuscripts and more.
His Bakelite rotary type telephone is said to have an estimated price of 2000 to 4500 euros. There is also a small silver mustache comb with an estimate of 400 to 700 euros. This is reported by the “Handelsblatt”.
The royal crown, made by costume designer Diana Moseley and worn by Mercury in the 1986 finale of God Save The Queen, is expected to fetch between €67,000 and €90,000.
His military-style jacket has an estimate of £10,000-15,000, a gold brocade long-sleeve kimono is estimated at £5,000-£9,000 and Mercury’s favorite waistcoat, which portrays six of his cats, is estimated at £5,000-7,000.
Sotheby’s states on its website: “The highlight of our auction series, the ‘Evening Sale’, pays homage to Freddie Mercury’s inimitable life, work and art. The auction includes several categories. Containing an exquisite selection of artworks, objects, costumes and texts, it tells the story of one man’s extraordinary vision, artistry and exquisite taste.”
More about Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury, real name Farrokh Bulsara, died on November 24, 1991 at the age of 45 as a result of pneumonia. A few years earlier, he contracted the HIV virus and subsequently suffered from AIDS. The exact time of his infection is unknown to this day.