Elizabeth Taylor’s personal treasures set for auction block

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NEW YORK, Oct 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Internationally known for her lavish
lifestyle and glam taste, silver screen siren Elizabeth Taylor also boasted a
playful side, and now some of her personal effects that bared it are hitting
the auction block.

Items including a gold vermeil link belt, a sumptuous silk caftan and a
studded black leather Versace biker jacket belonging to the late Hollywood
legend will travel across the Atlantic on the famed Queen Mary 2 ocean liner,
giving guests a first glimpse at Taylor’s treasures.

Following the actress’ death in 2011 at age 79, a week-long Christie’s
auction in New York of her vast collection of luxury dresses, jewels and fine
art saw total sales topping $156 million.

But this time the items anticipated to go for a wide range of price points
show the side of a larger-than-life woman — known for starring roles in
classics like “Cleopatra” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” — her closest friends
and family knew.

“The icon on screen isn’t the grandmother that I would hang out with around
the house,” said her grandson Quinn Tivey, a 33-year-old artist who is an
ambassador for The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

“I don’t really know Elizabeth Taylor the celebrity,” Tivey told AFP aboard
the enormous ocean liner his grandmother frequented, on which he will make
the week-long journey with the preview of her items.

“To me she was just grandma.”

Martin Nolan — the executive director of Julien’s Auctions, which is
hosting the sale — says some items like Taylor’s scarves or costume jewelry
carry pre-sale estimates of $200 to $400, meaning not only institutions and
members of the upper crust will have a chance at taking something home.

“I think people will be surprised that they will be able to actually
acquire and afford to have something from the amazing Elizabeth Taylor,” he
told AFP.

After their voyage across the Atlantic and to the Newbridge Silverware’s
Museum of Style Icons in Ireland, Taylor’s effects will be taken to
California, with bidding December 6-8 online and in person at a Beverly Hills
exhibition.

The gold coin-chain belt from Cartier was a gift Taylor gave to her mother
to match one of her own, which she engraved with the message: “To My ‘Hippy’
Mom All my love Elizabeth.”

The house estimates the belt could go for between $1,000 and $2,000, while
the aforementioned leather jacket — which Taylor wore in 1992 on Johnny
Carson’s iconic talk show — carries an estimated price tag of $4,000 to
$6,000.

Tivey remembers growing up watching movies with his grandmother, her
frequent advice on his love life — and even swiping the jacket from Taylor’s
closet on occasion to give it a try.

He hopes that whoever buys it will “actually wear it” and share her style
with the public.

Fascination with Taylor’s rich legacy persists because “she was true to
herself,” Tivey said.

“She was never one to let fear be the deciding factor,” he said. “She
always followed her heart.”

“She always had the courage to do what she thought was right.