Freddie Mercury’s World – Part 2 – Other Japanese Items

Two photos side by side. On the left is an edition of the Japanese magazine Music Life from 4 April 1981. The cover shows an image of the band Queen. Freddie Mercury is standing at the back with his hands on his hips, his leather jacket opened to reveal the Flash logo from Flash Gordon on his white t-shirt. Fellow band members Brian, John and Roger are posing together lower down in front of him. On the right, meanwhile, is a large Japanese vase with ornately designed panels all the way around it. The one facing us depicts a samurai and a young retainer seated beneath pine and maple trees. A group of 4 fish are swimming by beneath the panel.

Yesterday I began sharing photos from my visit to the Sotheby’s exhibition Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own back in 2023, which was a wonderful experience and a great privilege. It’s taken all this time to go through my pictures, figure out what most of the items are and what they sold for, and then organise it all here, but I managed it in the end and I’m excited to share it with you. You can click on the photos to enlarge them, and on the item names to see their full descriptions on the Sotheby’s website.

In the first part we looked at Freddie’s love of Japanese art and fashion, so now I’m going to share a myriad of other items from that fine country that he owned and treasured, including vases, tea sets, ewers, incense burners, presentation boxes, books, dolls and more.

Most of the items were sold in the auction In Love With Japan, but some were included in the other auctions as well. In any case, they further demonstrate just how deep Freddie’s fascination went. And you can’t blame him. So I hope you enjoy this wide selection.

Contents

In Love With Japan Gallery

The vases in the gallery came in various shapes and sizes, and had some really beautiful and ornate designs, with a few even selling for over £50,000. The examples shown below include:

On the left is a large bulbous Japanese porcelain vase, decorated in various shades of underglaze blue and aubergine with mountains in mist, the shoulder applied with gold depicting a sunrise. On the right is a two-tiered box called a jubako, in the form of two overlapping blossoms with carrying frame, decorated in inlays of gold and silver foil on a black lacquer ground with scattered cherry blossoms.
A large, bulbous Japanese vase with a very short neck, decorated in various coloured enamels and gilt, with birds among plum blossom, flowers and grasses.
A tall oviform Japanese vase, with a foot and neck that's much smaller than the body, decorated in various coloured enamels and gilt on a royal blue ground, with a peacock among peonies and plum blossoms beside a stream.
A large vase, consisting of a bulbous body with a large spout sticking up from the centre. The case is black, and the body is painted in gold to show birds in branches of plum, pine and bamboo trees.

There were also smaller vases shown amongst collections of other items. For example, below you can see:

Two shelves with various Japanese items. On the top shelf is an enamel oviform vase with short neck, decorated in coloured enamels with carp swimming in still waters. Then there is a pair of silver ewers with tapering bodies, spout and woven sedge grass and silver wire loop handles. Next to those are four porcelain ewers in various sizes, decorated in blue, green and red enamels with gilt edges, each with a split woven bamboo loop handle. Then on the bottom shape is a rounded rectangular tray on four feet, decorated in gold and silver with fans, flowers and leaves.

Then the shelving unit below includes:

4 shelves of Japanese items. On the long top shelf is a white glazed spiral vase with a high neck. Below this to the left is a tall shelf, at the bottom of which is a selection of Japanese books. To the right are 2 shelves, the top one holding an enamel ewer decorated to show a snowy scene with stalactites The bottom shelf of the two has a round bowl with gold decoration.
Japanese art books. Titles include Japanese and Chinese Prints: The Walter Amstutz Collection, Japanese Prints, Decorative Arts of Japan, A Collection of Nagasaki Colour Prints and Paintings, Traditional Japanese Furniture, National Parks of Japan, The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period 1600-1868, Japanese Gardens for Today, and Harunobu.
Japanese art books, including a trilogy of books by Jack Hillier, plus books with the titles Utamaro, Japanese Lacquer Art, The Japanese Print: Its Evolution and Essence, and Images from the Floating World.

You’ll have noticed that ewers (a type of jug or pitcher for liquids) are mentioned regularly as well, and there are even more in this next display:

A Japanese tea set consisting of a silver ewer, five rectangular silver saucers that curve upwards at each end, and five cups decorated in coloured enamels on underglaze blue. To the left of the set is a pair of engraved silver ewers, inlaid in gold and silver with a central oval panel to the sides with chrysanthemums and bamboo. To the right of the tea set is a rectangular silver presentation box raised on four tall tapering feet, engraved to the rim with a band of stylised florets.

There were also a lot of cute little boxes dotted around too. I don’t have the name of every single one on the shelf below, but a couple I am certain about are:

You can also see a kushi (comb), Taisho period (£6,096) here as well.

Two shelves of Japanese items. One item is a rectangular lacquer accessory box with rounded corners and overhanding cover, decorated in gold, silver, black and red with red fruiting vine. 
There are also 4 rectangular incense boxes with flush-fitting covers, one decorated in gold and black depicting young pine, tree peony and oak leaf crests, another showing two court dancers beside a large drum, along with other musical instruments, a third decorated in gold, silver, black and red depicting a villa veranda beside a tree and grass fence, with butterflies among the foliage, and the 4th box shows blossoms and foliage, while the interior cover has maple leaves in autumnal colours. There's also a small comb decorated in gold, silver, black and red with a Dragon King mask among scattered maple leaves.

There are then a couple of larger items in these next two images:

A Japanese silver tea set with a ewer for hot water, a ewer for pouring with ivory handle, an incense burner, a tea caddy and a tea scoop. The set is accompanied by a wooden storage box, with Japanese writing in black down the centre.
A large wooden Japanese chest of drawers on 4 levels. The top 3 levels have long drawers that span the width of the cabinet. But the bottom level is split, with a three-quarter length drawer on the left, and another compartment in the remaining space to its right. The wooden construction has a deep red tinge to it, and has ornate iron fittings, with 2 drop handles on the left and right of each drawer and an ornate decoration in the centre.

Freddie also loved keeping and feeding koi carp in the garden at Garden Lodge, so naturally there are a few items reflecting his passion for those lovely fish. They went under the hammer in the Evening Sale, so they fetched a lot of money and there’s quite a bit of information about them on the item pages.

A black lacquer screen showing 3 colourful carp swimming in swirling water.
A large white enamel vase, featuring a couple of carp swimming together on the outside.
A large Japanese vase with ornately designed panels all the way around it. The one facing us depicts a samurai and a young retainer seated beneath pine and maple trees. A group of 4 fish are swimming by beneath the panel.

Crazy Little Japanese Things

Meanwhile, over in the Crazy Little Things gallery, there were lots of… well… little things. Many were still sold in the Japan auction, but some were in the first Crazy auction instead.

To begin with, there are these objects in the glass case shown below:

A collection of colourful off-cuts from Japanese kimonos, including an orange comb in the shape of a whale.
A selection of small Japanese objects in a glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition, including vases, tea bowls and cups.
A selection of small Japanese objects in a glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition, including vases, bowls, and salt and pepper pots.

And then this next glass case includes:

A selection of small objects in a glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition, including bowls, plates and vases.
Crazy Little Things exhibition case with multiple Japanese items

There was a pretty collection of Hakata dolls as well, including:

A collection of 5 Japanese Hakata clay dolls, depicting Japanese ladies in colourful robes, two of whom are holding fans while another holds an unopened umbrella.

Plus there were Japanese biscuit porcelain figures from the Showa period:

A small white figurine of a Japanese boy crouching down as he holds up a sabre-like sword called a tachi behind his head, as if preparing to strike with it.
A small white figurine of a Japanese actor, wearing a colourful red, white and gold outfit decorated with peonies and stylised butterflies. His arms are outstretched to the sides, and the heavy black lines emphasising his eyes and eyebrows gives him a fierce-looking expression.

Finally, there’s a collection of Japanese fan magazines and other items that sold for £3,556. Two issues of Music Life from that lot are shown below, a publication that looked at Western musicians. One has a nice photo of Queen on the cover, with the Japanese text saying that they have an “exclusive” about Queen’s “glorious return”. The other edition shows Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame.

An edition of the Japanese magazine Music Life from 4 April 1981. The cover shows an image of the band Queen. Freddie Mercury is standing at the back with his hands on his hips, his leather jacket opened to reveal the Flash logo from Flash Gordon on his white t-shirt. Fellow band members Brian, John and Roger are posing together lower down in front of him.
An edition of the Japanese magazine Music Life from 7 July 1985. It has a head and shoulders photo of Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple and Rainbow on the cover, his black shirt open revealing part of his upper chest.

Conclusion

And that’s it from the Japanese side of things. But while there are lots of beautiful items there, we’re only just getting warmed up. Because next week I’m going to take you on a tour of the many items Freddie used to furnish his home at Garden Lodge, and there’s a lot of incredible pieces there. So I’ll see you then!

Unknown's avatar

Author: Glen

Love London, love a laugh, love life. Visually impaired blogger, culture vulture & accessibility advocate, with aniridia & nystagmus, posting about my experiences & adventures.

Like what you see? Leave a comment!