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Versace's possessions fetch £7M

         London: The late fashion designer Gianni Versace's possessions has raised over 7 million pounds. Items from his Villa Fontanelle home-including huge classical statues of naked wrestlers, furniture and paintings-went under the hammer on March 18. A spokeswoman for Sotheby's in New Bond Street, central London, where the auction was held, said that the pre-sale estimate was only 2.8 million pounds. But many of the items went on to fetch over 10 times their expected price. More than 500 people registered to bid in the auction. "With heated bidding in today's auction extending beyond 12 hours, the day sale turned into an evening sale too," the Telegraph quoted Mario Tavella, deputy chairman of Sotheby's Europe, as saying. "From the recreation of the villa's rooms in Sotheby's galleries to the hugely enthusiastic bidding in the saleroom, this event epitomised the glamour and vision of Gianni Versace and was a fitting way to mark the sale of his most beloved - and until now very private - Lake Como collection. "We are absolutely thrilled with the extraordinary results of today's sale and the high level of lots that achieved prices well above their pre-sale estimates - in some cases tenfold," he added. And the item that went for the highest price was a pair of Italian cherry wood bookcases from Versace's bedroom, which sold for 481,250 pounds and 601,250 pounds respectively.
-Mar 19, 2009

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