That Bunny Mellon REALLY had an eye for the finer things in life. She had truckloads of cash so, she could afford them too, but she really bought THE best stuff. The auction of her fine art collection that hauled in $158,737,250 at Sotheby’s had everyone’s jaw hanging open –and the final two auctions of her jewelry and furniture was equally jaw-dropping. Over two-thirds of the $45 million taken in by her jewelry collection was from just one stone. Her love of the color blue was famous and it paid off. The flawless blue diamond, above, brought in $32 million ALONE. Many of the other lots were double, triple, five and even ten or twenty times the high estimate. Bidders wanted these pieces because of their quality but, it stands to reason, that multiple bidders drove the price through Sotheby’s roof because Mrs. Mellon had owned it.
The same happened when the over 1200 lots of her furniture and decorative items from her five flawless houses went on the block a few nights later. Like, this Cecil Beaton sketch –not good enough for the fine art auction– it was estimated at $1500 but ended up selling for over $40,000. Think of it like this, it was a like having a yard sale and taking in $15 million, Oh, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny… you bought and enjoyed some of the best stuff while you were on the planet and now it’s all found new happy, owners elsewhere. Check out the other jewelry lots here and more furniture lots here. Proceeds from the auctions went to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation.
18 KT GOLD & SAPPHIRE COMPACT, SCHLUMBERGER FOR TIFFANY & CO. Est. $15,000 — 20,000; Sold $43,750
GOLD & DIAMOND RIVIÈRE, CARTIER, Est. $1,250,000 — 1,500,000; Sold $2,797,000
CECIL BEATON COSTUME STUDY FOR A FLOWER SELLER IN “MY FAIR LADY” Est. $1,000 — 1,500; Sold $40,625
A GROUP OF COOKBOOKS AND BOOKS ON ENTERTAINING Est. $600 — 800; Sold $17,500
A CHELSEA CARP TUREEN AND COVER CIRCA 1755, Est. $8,000 — 12,000; Sold $40,000
A LOUIS XV PROVINCIAL GREEN-PAINTED BUREAU MID-18TH CENTURY Est. $5,000 — 8,000; Sold $93,750