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Global bidders pay £1.8m for piece of Savoy
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent21 Dec 2007
The great Savoy hotel sell-off brought in more than £1.8 million - almost twice the expected total.
Auctioneers reported a total of £1,857,096 was spent during the threeday sale of 3,000 lots by buyers wanting a piece of memorabilia.
The hotel's furniture was sold off piecemeal in advance of a £100million refurbishment which will see the hotel close for 16 months.
More than 3,500 people from across the world bid during the auction, Bonhams said, while 5,000 people paid £30 just to browse the sale catalogue.
Famous faces from the worlds of sport, film, theatre and music were dotted around the auction room.
Bids flooded in from as far away as South America, the Far East and Australia, while buyers ranged from private individuals to hoteliers, interior designers and party-planners.
Furniture specialist Harvey Cammell, and Bonhams director of the Savoy sale, said: "We always knew this sale was going to be special and different, but frankly we have been astonished by the response to the auction. The regular applause says it all. The world has a love affair with the Savoy. That much is evident."
One of the highlights of the auction was the sale of a white grand piano once played by Frank Sinatra, which sparked frantic bidding. It eventually sold for £11,400 - after an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000.
Mr Cammell added: "The sale has been helped in no small measure by the media interest from around the world, which for the past three months has filled column inches, radio and TV air-time from countries as far apart as Brazil and China.
"We have had hotel groups bidding for collections of chairs and tables alongside individuals who are decorating their homes.
"The effect of the Savoy name was highlighted by the sale of lot 223, a Rosewood serving counter from the hotel's fitness gallery, emblazoned with the name Savoy in chromiumplated letters. Bidding for this particular lot were as many as 12 people in the room chasing the £300-500 estimate to an incredible £9,000."
Items consistently sold for many times their pre-sale estimates, with the first lot - a large garden urn from outside the main entrance of the hotel - selling for £2,460, despite an expected price of £400-£600.
Other major lots included Lot 68 - a pair of mid-20th century chandeliers that sold for £19,200 after an estimate of £10,000-£15,000. A David Linley walnut bookcase sold for £18,000 after an estimate of £2,000-£3,000.
Ten Bonhams auctioneers worked in rotation to spare their voices as they got through the 3,000 lots over three 12-hour days which ended last night.
