September 16th 2023.
Freddie Mercury's personal collection, comprising of 1406 items, sold for an incredible £40 million at Sotheby's auction in London. An array of unique items belonging to the late Queen superstar enticed over 41,800 bids, with the highest sum achieved for Freddie's 1973 Yamaha grand piano at £1.7 million - a record for a composer's piano.
The second highest amount was made for Freddie's Bohemian Rhapsody draft lyrics, featuring an alternative title and alternative lines, which sold for £1.4 million. A number of Freddie's quirkier items proved to be more popular than expected, with his Tiffany & Co silver moustache comb making £152,000 - far exceeding the initial estimate of £400.
David MacDonald, head of single owner sales at Sotheby’s London, described the auction as full of ‘magical moments and so many magical objects’. He noted that the most enchanting item of the auction was undoubtedly Freddie's moustache comb as he muses 'how else to tend the most famous moustache in the world? It had to be silver, and it had to be Tiffany. And for one determined buyer, it had to be theirs'.
Other items that sold for higher than expected sums include a collection of 29 feline ornaments with an estimate of £300-£500 but sold for £30,480, a school book with an estimate of £800-£1,200 that fetched £69,850 and a silver snake bangle from the Bohemian Rhapsody video in 1975 that made £698,500.
The auction drew in fans from across the world who had the opportunity to view Freddie's items during the month-long 'Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own' exhibition in London. One buyer from Japan commented that it was a dream come true to bring home 'two of Freddie Mercury's precious items', while Sotheby’s Europe chairman, Olivia Barker, noted that the auction had captivated hearts and minds of the public, both old and new.
The proceeds of the Freddie Mercury auction follow Sotheby's upcoming auction of a collection belonging to the late philanthropist Emily Fisher Landau. The highlight of this collection is a Pablo Picasso painting, Femme à la montre from 1932, estimated to sell for almost £100 million.
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