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Sale of Versace's villa treasures set to outstrip £2million target
Terry Kirby18 Mar 2009
THE sale at Sotheby's today of more than 500 items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa looks set to substantially exceed its estimate of £2million.
Only half of the chairs in the auction room were occupied, but the telephones were red hot, with most bidders for the fashion designer's art and furniture being wealthy overseas buyers.
The highest price of the morning was £360,000 for a pair of 10ft wrestlers in plaster, Creugas and Damoxenos, a copy of a work by Antonio Canova, the Italian sculptor. Their estimated price was £20,000 to £40,000.
A 19th-century mahogany table attributed to the furniture maker Bernard Molitor, estimated at between £10,000 and £20,000, went for £58,000 and another 19th-century rosewood and gilt table estimated at £6,000 to £10,000 sold for £42,000.
Other furnishings such as paintings and faux 19th-century classical reliefs consistently sold for up to double their estimates. A model of a sculpture by Charles Crozatier, Minerva and Ceres estimated at between £1,500 and £2,500 sold for £6,500.
The prices amazed bidders. Lana Chichina, who deals in furniture in the King's Road, said: "I'm Russian and I know that most of the bidders here are Russians who are just crazy for the Versace name.
"They are pushing prizes up beyond the worth of many of these items because they are just crazy for his name. And they are the only people left with any money."
Even the strongest Versace devoteed were left struggling. Chicago property developer Charles Ivas, 59, like his wife Diana wearing Versace clothes, said: "You've got to keep a tight hold on your wallet here. Believe me the prices are outrageous. I've come to get some paintings and furniture. I like his taste. But I don't know whether I can afford these because of the prices being paid."
He said he became a fan of Versace many years ago, had met the designer when he opened his boutique in Chicago, and was himself furnishing a similar 19th century-style villa on the outskirts of Chicago.
The house once owned by Versace, Villa Fontanelle, on the shores of Lake Como, was fitted out by the designer almost entirely in the style of the 19th century which was when the house was built by Lord Charles Currie.
