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The American auction house Christie’s has sold a series of personal belongings of British pop star Elton John for almost 8 million dollars (7.4 million euros). For example, a grand piano was auctioned for more than 200,000 dollars and a triptych by the British graffiti artist Banksy fetched just under 2 million dollars.
The safekeeping of several collector’s items from the pop star took place on Tuesday at the Rockefeller Center in the American city of New York. For example, silver boots with the letters ‘E’ and ‘J’ fetched $94,500. That amount was much higher than the previously estimated $5,000 to $10,000. An iconic pair of glasses found a buyer at $22,680, ten times more than expected.
The auction house is organizing both public and online auctions until February 28, where it will put hundreds of Elton John’s items for sale, including concert outfits. Most of the items come from his recently sold home in Atlanta, which was the base for his American tours. The auctioned items also include works by contemporary artists such as Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe and Richard Avedon.
The pianist, who ended his musical career in 2023, was not only known for hits such as ‘Your song’, ‘Rocket man’, ‘I’m still standing’ and ‘Sacrifice’, but also for his remarkable costumes and his fight against AIDS. He also struggled for a time with alcohol and drug addiction.
Auction houses often sell collections of pop stars. In September, a collection of the late Freddie Mercury, former frontman of Queen, was auctioned for a total of 46.5 million euros.
© REUTERS
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© REUTERS