Following the 2023 sale of their Atlanta residence for $7.2 million, pop icon Elton John and his spouse, David Furnish, are set to auction the home’s contents. Christie’s New York will host eight distinct sales, showcasing approximately 900 lots with a total estimated value exceeding $10 million.
The singer’s treasures will go under the hammer in a series of auctions from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23, both in person and online. The lots range from his iconic silver platform boots from the 1970s (estimate: $5,000 to $10,000) to his 1990 Bentley two-door convertible ($25,000 to $35,000).
“He wanted to showcase the things that he cherished in his life,” says Darius Himes, the international head of photographs at Christie’s. “It’s also connected to selling his house.”
Highlights The sale features many stunning personal items from the singer’s collection, such as an 18-karat gold, diamond and orange sapphire Rolex Daytona with a leopard-print dial and strap, estimated at $40,000 to $60,000; John’s Yamaha piano, which was in his living room, estimated at $30,000 to $50,000; and various items that reflect the singer’s dazzling style, such as a pair of sunglasses from around 1975, estimated at $2,000 to $3,000, and a blue wool “Captain Fantastic” suit adorned with rhinestones, $6,000 to $10,000.
The singer’s collection also features a lot of Versace items, both for wearing and decorating. In fact, there will be a separate online auction dedicated to Versace, with more than 70 lots.
Among them are a huge red, black and gold Versace “Medusa Red” tableware set estimated at $4,000 to $6,000, and a wardrobe of Versace shirts that Himes calls “a year’s worth.” (One lot, with six silk Versace shirts from 1993, is estimated at $4,000 to $6,000.) Himes points out that the prices do not reflect the Elton John premium.
“He says there’s a well-known strategy for celebrity memorabilia sales. “It’s all about giving a modest estimate, and then letting the fans and buyers decide the market value.”
The John auctions follow closely after the hugely popular sales of Freddie Mercury’s estate at Sotheby’s in London, inviting inevitable comparisons between the two.
But Himes warns that although the two pop stars’ knickknacks, memorabilia and fine art have some similarities, the two sales are very different.
“The main difference is that [Mercury] was a deceased artist’s estate sale,” Himes says. “It was a final tribute to a great person. The John auctions, on the other hand, are about “assisting him with a project of selling a house, and emptying the house of its contents,” Himes says.
Still, it’s almost certain that the millions of Elton John fans around the world will find something to love.
“The best way to describe this is as a glimpse of what Elton has lived with, and cared for, for the past 30 years,” Himes says.
“It’s like opening the door and getting to look inside his world.”
