Freddie Mercury’s World – Part 4 – More Furniture

Two photos side by side. The left image shows a section of the Freddie Mercury exhibition set out like his conservatory, with a painted backdrop of the garden at Garden Lodge filling the back wall, in front of which are two yellowy-green wicker armchairs with decorative cushions and a glass table holding a few ornaments. The image on the right shows a large ground walking around a large maple and mahogany dining table with chairs. The table is filled with white plates, and glasses in clear and blue designs, along with a couple of candlestick holders and other items.

Hello again. Yesterday I presented many items of furniture and accessories from Freddie Mercury’s home at Garden Lodge, which I saw at Sotheby’s in the exhibition A World Of His Own in August 2023.

But there were so many things to see on that theme alone that I had to split them up. So here’s another batch of beautiful and interesting items, where you can click on the names to read more about them and on the photos to zoom in. Enjoy!

Contents

Conservatory

We start this post with a mock-up of Freddie’s purpose-built conservatory, with a beautifully painted backdrop of the garden to set the scene. The main item here was a lovely suite of colourful wicker seats that fetched £12,065, with cushion covers that Freddie got in Ibiza.

In between the chairs was a metal and glass table with a decorative carp on each corner (one of a pair that sold for £11,430), because Freddie loved his koi carp and had some in the garden pond. The most important object on the table was a special Lalique ‘Tanega’ vase that Marie-Claude Lalique presented to Freddie in 1988, and it went in this auction for £69,850.

A section of the Freddie Mercury exhibition set out like his conservatory. The back wall is filled with a painted backdrop of the garden at Garden Lodge, with lots of greenery in front of the brick wall and windows of the building. In front of these are two wicker armchairs, in a yellowy-green colour and each furnished with a seat cushion and two back cushions, which are white with a colourful pattern on them. In between these two chairs, which are facing each other, is a glass table holding a few ornaments.
Two wicker armchairs, in a yellowy-green colour and each furnished with a seat cushion and two back cushions, which are white with a colourful pattern on them. In between these two chairs, which are facing other, is a glass table holding a few ornaments.
A wicker armchair in a yellowy-green colour, furnished with a seat cushion and two back cushions, which are white with a colourful pattern on them.
A table with a glass surface and metal frame, the corners of which have decorative carp fish on them. The table holds a large glass vase with a rippled design swirling around it, along with a few small white ornaments designed to look like swans.
A wicker armchair in a yellowy-green colour, furnished with a seat cushion and two back cushions, which are white with a colourful pattern on them. In front of the chair is a matching foot stool, with a yellowy-green wicker base and a cushion ton the top.
A large painted backdrop of the garden at Garden Lodge, with lots of greenery in front of the brick wall and windows of the building.

Vases

Speaking of Lalique vases, of which Freddie was clearly a huge fan, there were also a lot of vases by René Lalique showcased in a neoclassical gilt-bronze mounted mahogany chiffonier (which itself sold for £7,620), including:

And in amongst the vases was a pewter and enamel mantel timepiece (£21,590).

A tall chest with a cupboard beneath a counter at the bottom, 2 shelves above, and a ledge at the top. The cabinet is furnished with ornately sculptured vases, one of which has zebras on it, plus there's a mantel clock of the top shelf.
Ornately sculptured vases by René Lalique and a mantel clock with a blue clock face on a carved silver block.
Ornately sculptured vases by René Lalique, one of which is black with a design of zebras around its centre, while another is clear and holding a bunch of pink flowers.

Montreux Suite

Another beautiful suite was the Montreux Suite (£12,065) with its pink silk upholstery, its name related to the fact that Freddie got it for his apartment on Rue de Bon-Port in Montreux. The table in front of it holds a Marcel-André Bouraine table light (£9,525).

A suite of 2 tub style armchairs with rounded backs and a 3-seater sofa, covered in a pink silk fabric with a snakeskin style floral pattern.
A 3-seater sofa covered in a pink silk fabric with a snakeskin style floral pattern.
A tub style armchair with a rounded back, covered in a pink silk fabric with a snakeskin style floral pattern.
A table light. The black base resembles the figure of a person who is sat on the ground, with their legs bent in front of them so their feet are flat on the ground, while their arms are resting behind them to support them as they lean back. A large, ornately decorated glass ball, for the light, is balanced on the figure's bent knees.

Dining Room

Moving on to Freddie’s dining room, and he had it furnished with a whole suite of items in maple and mahogany, commissioned from interior designer Robin Moore Ede. On most of the pages for these items linked below, you can see photos of them at Garden Lodge if you scroll to the bottom. The page about the dining table also explains the close partnership Freddie had with the designer, who he worked with for a decade on refurbishing Garden Lodge to his exact requirements. Plus there were lots of other things accompanying these pieces of furniture in the exhibition as well.

The suite includes:

People in the Freddie Mercury exhibition walking past a large maple and mahogany dining table surrounded by chairs. The table is filled with white plates, and glasses in clear and blue designs, along with a couple of candlestick holders and other items.
Mahogany and maple dining chair designed by Robin Moore Ede, with a lattice style back, on which is a motif of 3 red diamonds on a yellow background going down the centre.
Middle section of a large maple and mahogany dining table, filled with crockery and glasses and other items. The most distinctive wine glasses and goblets have a deep blue colour with stars or Egyptian style elements.
Right hand section of a large maple and mahogany dining table, filled with crockery and glasses, plus an ornate candle stick holder and other items. The most distinctive wine glasses and goblets have a deep blue colour with stars or Egyptian style elements.
Left hand section of a large maple and mahogany dining table, filled with crockery and glasses, plus an ornate candle stick holder and other items. The most distinctive wine glasses and goblets have a deep blue colour with stars or Egyptian style elements.
Maple and mahogany display cabinet designed by Robin Moore Ede, with two glazed panel doors, behind which are two glass shelves filled with glassware. There is also a cupboard at the bottom of the cabinet.
A selection of ornate glassware seen through the glazed doors of a maple and mahogany display cabinet.
Maple, satinwood and mahogany side cabinet with 4 drawers above 4 cupboards. On top of the cabinet is an ornate mantel clock with decorative vases and bowls on each side. To the left and right of the cabinet are lamps with shades in the form of inverted green cones on top of tall brass stems with a circular base on the floor.
An ornate mantel clock with a gold frame, designed to look like a pagoda and decorated with figures amongst colourful flowering branches. The grey body has white patches with black Roman numerals forming the clock face.
Maple, satinwood and mahogany side cabinet with 4 drawers above 4 cupboards. On top of the cabinet is an ornate mantel clock with decorative vases and bowls on each side.
A wide mirror with an upper section across its width featuring gold sculpted figures in a scene depicting a lion-drawn chariot, an angel and classically-dressed maidens. This is on the wall above a maple, satinwood and mahogany chest, with 3 columns of 5 drawers each, the bottom row being twice the height of the others, and the middle of that bottom row is a 2-door cupboard rather than a drawer. On top of the chest are flowers in a clear vase and an ornate golden mantel clock.
A very ornate golden mantel clock, with 2 classical features either side of the clock and one on top, while the background of the clock faces shows an image of three naked cherubs.
A wide mirror with an upper section across its width featuring gold sculpted figures in a scene depicting a lion-drawn chariot, an angel and classically-dressed maidens. On top of a chest beneath it are flowers in a clear vase and an ornate golden mantel clock.

There were also a couple of dinner services set out, even including a place name as if reserving a seat for Freddie:

A dinner service featuring white plates painted with sprays of flowers within a blue and gilt-edged border. The plate has a wavy edge to it rather than being round. Also on the table are some cut glass Champagne glasses engraved with flowers.
A dinner service with white plates and cups covered in artwork that uses shades of blue to create scenes of garden spaces, foliage and birds. Also on the table are some cut glass sherry glasses and a silver toast rack.

A more unusual food-related item comes in the form of a flyer and menu for the Infirma les Douches Charity Event, which sold for £13,970 (with proceeds from the sale going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation). What’s really interesting to learn about this from the Sotheby’s notes is that Sharon Cavendish, whose name is prominent at the top of the flyer, is actually Elton John’s drag name, and Freddie’s drag name is revealed to be Melina Mercouri, named after a Greek actress and singer, which I’d never known before. Suits him perfectly though!

Black and white flyer for a charity event that reads MCA Presents more chaos already, a Beryl Blunder production in association with Sharon Cavendish in Infirma Les Douches, with undying thanks to St Johns Hospital. In the middle of the text is a large cartoon image of 3 scantily clad ladies dancing along a piano keyboard that one hand is seen to be playing, while a large musical note appears to their right.
Infirma les Douches Charity Event – Presentation Souvenir flyer.
Black and white menu for the Infirma Les Douches charity event. Starters include Sharon's Smoked Delights, Fresh Mixed Joy Without Ansjouie and Cream of Asparagus out of Irma's Pot. Mains include A July Cut of Betty's Prime Meat, Brenda's Veal Chop topped with Chloe's Goose Liver and Beryl's Catch of the Day steamed with Spinach. Dessert is called 33 Surprise Melinda 33. A note at the bottom says from 10:30, dancing and drinks available downstairs.

Banquettes & Bar

Next we come to some more furniture designed by Robin Moore Ede, beginning with a beautiful pair of button-upholstered banquettes, or sofas in other words, which went for £10,795. They’re facing a circular rosewood and Hungarian ash veneered coffee table by Rupert Cavendish (one of a pair sold for £13,970), which has an unusual but cool design with its 4 huge black balls supporting it.

Beside the banquettes are a pair of bird’s eye maple and mahogany ‘capstan’ occasional tables, again attributed to Robin. These are actually from 2 different lots – one from a pair that went for £6,350, and one from a pair that sold for £7,620 (and the other one from that latter pair can be seen in front of the bookcase in the next section). They’re each holding one from a set of four Art Deco style patinated resin figural lamp bases that sold for £15,240, which look really nice with a woman leaning back to hold the light. The second photo below shows a closer view of one of those lamps, on one of the pair of tables that sold for £6,350.

2 long sofas with a very leafy and ornate design on the upholstery. They are set at right angles to each other, facing a wooden circular coffee table, which instead of legs has 4 large black balls decorated with gold stars supporting it underneath, standing on a round wooden base.
A black statuette of a woman leaning back with her arms outstretched together in front of her, forming the base for a lamp, the light of which is held in her outstretched hands. The lamp standing is on a round wooden table.

Robin also designed Freddie’s bar, which sold for an impressive £120,650, along with a pair of bar stools (£15,240), while there was another set of three stools not pictured here that went for £25,400.

A drinks bar made of maple wood panelling with a pink marble top. Two bar stools sit in front of it, while on top of the bar is a telephone, ashtray and a few storage tins of varying sizes. A cardboard cutout of a waiter holding a tray stands behind the bar at the right end. A painting on the wall behind the bar shows a man's face looking towards an apple sitting on a wooden post, with another wooden post pointing downwards close above it.
Two round mahogany-panelled bar stools, with a cushioned seat on top and a metal ring around the bottom for resting feet on.

On the wall behind the bar is a painting by Adilson Santos that Freddie got in Brazil, entitled O Espaço Ocupado Por Um Pensamento Vago (Where Space Is Occupied By A Vacant Thought), which sold for £48,260. Then also standing behind the bar is an Art Deco style dumbwaiter stand (£30,480), which is amusing to see as you can imagine it being Freddie. And among the items on the bar is a red rotary dial telephone (£8,890).

A painting that shows a face with big green eyes in a square, alongside a red apple sitting on a wooden post, with another wooden post pointing downwards close above it.
Adilson Santos, Brazilian, b. 1944, O Espaço Ocupado Por Um Pensamento Vago (Where space is occupied by a vacant thought).
A red telephone with a white rotary dial.
A BT 8746G red-plastic rotary dial telephone, 1980s.

Near the bar there was also a case of drinking accessories including two cocktail glasses (£12,700) and a cube-shaped ice bucket (£19,050).

A selection of drinking glasses, bottles and a cube-shaped ice bucket.

Bookcase

Then next we have a huge bookcase made of maple and mahogany with adjustable shelves, also attributed to Robin Moore Ede, and with a nice variety of different-sized shelves, that sold for £8,255.

In front of it is one of the capstan tables mentioned above, on which is a beautiful Nausica table light (£13,970) and a Sony compact CD player (£16,510). And standing by the corner of the bookcase is a nice acoustic guitar dating from the late 60s or early 70s, that sold for £50,800.

A huge bookcase with shelves in a variety of different sizes, filling the corner of the room. It is filled with books and records. In front of the bookcase is a round table with a compact CD player and an ornate table light with a sculpture of a person on it.
A round table holding 3 items. First is a round, red vase with colourful flowers. Next to that is an ornate table light that has a statuette of a woman stepping down from a platform between two plinths that are holding round lightbulbs. Then next to that is a Sony compact CD player.
A small, black Sony compact CD player.
An ornate table light that has a statuette of a woman stepping down from a platform between two plinths that are holding round lightbulbs.
An acoustic guitar, with the head in a natural wood colour, but with a large, curved black shape around one side of the sound hole in the centre.

In the gallery the bookcase was filled with hundreds of publications from Freddie’s personal library, grouped into many different lots when put up for sale, along with several vinyl records and occasional other objects. They were sold in the Crazy Little Things auctions, so I’ll be going through those in a later post.

Bureaus, Chair & Table

Next, here are some nicely decorated items in a Louis XV style:

A wooden Louis XV bureau decorated with a pattern of flowers with thin, winding, leafy stems.
An ornately decorated bureau in rosewood, kingwood and fruitwood, and an ornate armchair with a flower pattern on the seat and back cushions.
An ornately decorated bureau in rosewood, kingwood and fruitwood.
A French gilt-bronze mounted wooden work table, which opens up to reveal colourful fabrics stored inside, and a mirror on the inside of the lid.
Close-up of a variety of colourful fabrics inside a French gilt-bronze mounted wooden work table.

Evening Sale Furniture

Finally, there were some big items in the Evening Sale as well, with detailed information on their lot pages, including:

A large, ornate, French kingwood bookcase. It has a large central door and 2 much narrower side doors, with all doors having a grille effect, slightly obscuring the items inside. White plates of various sizes, with small floral designs on them, having been placed on the 5 shelves inside. The pediment on the top of the bookcase has a golden female mask with 5 curling feather-like structures over her head.
Golden pediment on top of a wooden bookcase, in the form of a golden female mask with 5 curling feather-like structures over her head.
A large wooden sideboard with a 2 door cabinet at the bottom, and a much taller but slightly less wider 2-door cupboard on the top. 2 small shelves also stick out from either side of the tall cupboard, holding small silver vases.
A large black table, colourfully decorated on the top. In the centre is a bouquet of ribbon-tied flowers, including roses, jasmine, pansies, bell flowers and a bunch of grapes, attracting birds, butterflies, a dragon fly and bees. Around the edge of the tabletop is a border of ribbon-tied flowers and fruit, including peaches and grapes.

And there was also this very cool Wurlitzer Model 850 Jukebox with a peacock design, which reached £406,400 after a bidding war between 2 people, one online and one in the room.

A colourful Wurlitzer jukebox, with buttons for 24 records, and a curved panel on the front showing stylised artwork of 2 black peacocks with red edging to their plumage, perched in front of a blue background.
Close-up of the 24 song selections on a colourful Wurlitzer jukebox. Below the buttons is a curved panel showing stylised artwork of 2 black peacocks with red edging to their plumage, perched in front of a blue background.

My photo of the record selection panel doesn’t show the song names clearly, but with some zooming, squinting and logical deduction I can just make out that the options include the following:

It’s a decent mixture, with some real classic tracks in there, and a few I’d never heard before.

Conclusion

So that’s it for the furniture. It really felt like walking through Freddie’s home when passing all of those beautiful and often very ornate items in the galleries.

But of course it wasn’t just furniture that adorned Garden Lodge. There was plenty of art as well, and not just the Japanese prints shown at the start of this series of posts. So next week we’ll look at some of the many gorgeous artworks that Freddie owned. See you then!

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Author: Glen

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

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