From his pairs of glasses to a Banksy triptych, a collection of more than 900 Elton John memorabilia and works of art brought in $20.5 million in eight sales held at Christie's headquarters in New York and on the Internet , the auction house announced this Friday.
The vast majority of these objects came from a luxurious residence in Atlanta, in the southern United States, sold by the legendary British singer for more than $7 million at the end of 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A house which served as a base for his tours on the American continent.
In these 900 objects, a beautiful collection of art photographs, some of which are signed by Robert Mapplethorpe or Richard Avedon, collected by the singer and her husband David Furnish.
But obviously, for fans of the singer of “Rocket Man”, “I'm Still Standing” or “Sacrifice”, who said goodbye to the stage in 2023, these are the pieces of his wardrobe with several costumes of concert, like the ivory and gold ensemble from the 1970s designed by the designer Annie Reavey which caused panic in the bidding.
This suit went for $12,600.
Suit, boots, glasses…
Silver boots marked with an E and J worn in concert also went for $94,500 when they were estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000.
A pair of glasses, thick white frames and smoked and colored lenses, emblematic of the British singer's eccentric look, found a buyer for $22,680, ten times more than the initial estimate.
Silver boots marked with an E and J went for $94,500.
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It was a triptych depicting the famous “Flower Thrower” by the artist Banksy which sold for the highest price for $1.9 million.
As with sports legends like Michael Jordan or Diego Maradona, sales of collectibles belonging to pop stars are increasingly becoming a playground for major auction houses who see it as an opportunity to diversify their clientele. .
Last September, a series of sales of thousands of objects that belonged to the leader of the group Queen, Freddie Mercury, reached 40 million pounds sterling (46.5 million euros), including a Yamaha quarter grand piano on which the artist had composed almost all of his works.