VillaFontanelle

Contents of Versace's Villa Fetch High Prices

It wasn't as huge as the Yves Saint Laurent sales but the auction of the contents of Gianni Versace's Italian villa (as comprehensively covered by my colleague Jared Paul Stern in January) adds weight to the idea that the art and antiques curated by a person of famous taste have special value. Sotheby's brought in 7.4 million pounds ($10.4 million) from the London sale of the paintings, furniture and objets d'art from Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como. The number handily beat presale estimates of around 2.5 million pounds and all except nine lots were sold.

Like the Saint Laurent sale, the Versace sale was a chance to pick up pieces personally selected by a man of great taste. The two men had different styles but shared a taste for exquisite furnishings and artwork. Top lots included a pair of Italian cherry wood bookcases by Karl Roos that were commissioned by Princess Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, for the Library at Palazzo Borghese in Rome in 1814 and sold for 481,000 and 601,000 pounds compared to estimates of around 80,000 and 90,000 pounds.

Mario Tavella, an Italy-based Sotheby's deputy chairman told Bloomberg's Scott Reyburn that some of the bidders had known Gianni and that other wanted pieces because of the connection to the designer. The most expensive lots went to European collectors with the more inexpensive pieces being snapped by Russian clients.

One piece, "Portrait of Major George Maule" by German artist Johann Zoffany was pulled before the auction when a direct descendant of Maule contacted the Art Loss Register and was concerned that it had been stolen years before Versace bought it.

This sale was the last of four Versace sales held by Sotheby's that includes the contents of Versace's Miami and New York homes. Total proceeds exceeded 38 million pounds.

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Tags: antiquities, art, auction, borghese, gianni versace, GianniVersace, lake como, LakeComo, sothebys, villa fontanelle, VillaFontanelle, yes saint laurent, YesSaintLaurent

Contents of Versace Villa Up for Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Art

On March 18 Sotheby's in London will auction off $3 million-plus worth of paintings, furniture and works of art from late designer Gianni Versace's amazing Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como, Italy, comprising some 550 lots. In 1977 Versace (in front of the house with his Irish Setters, above) purchased the Villa, which was built in 1776, and restored it to its former neoclassical glory. The Villa itself was sold to a Russian billionaire for $52 million last year, and the Versace family has now decided to deaccession the contents. The designer personally supervised every step of the renovation and carefully selected every item used in its furnishing and decoration, down to the spectacular mosaic floors and paneling.

Versace set out to create his own personal Arcadia at Villa Fontanelle, and spared no expense. It was said to be his favorite residence. Highlights from the sale include a pair of spectacular life-size casts of Antonio Canova's Pugilists in plaster, c.1800, which were displayed in Versace's own bedroom, estimated at about $30,000 - $60,000; an exceptional pair of Italian gilt and patinated bronze-mounted bookcases, originally commissioned by Princess Pauline Boghese for the Library at Palazzo Borghese in Rome, est. about $110,000 - $140,000; and a pair of stunning Sévres Coral-red-ground vases "Etrusques", circa 1795, est. about $11,000 - $17,000.

Among the paintings from Versace's collection on offer is the tempera on canvas Hercules at the Crossroads Between Vice and Virtue attributed to Pelagio Palagi in 1820, est. about $35,000 - $55,000, as well as a very good collection of paintings on glass, miniatures and a vast array of works of art depicting Roman emperors. "It is a great pleasure to orchestrate this one-off sale of such a maverick of style whose taste and influence is epitomized in his Villa Fontanelle collection," says Mario Tavella, Sotheby's European Deputy Chairman responsible for Single-Owner Collections. "This is the last opportunity to enter into Gianni's world and buy something from a collection that is representative of his legacy."

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: Versace Villa Sale