Freddie Mercury’s World – Part 8 – Little Things

Two photos side by side. On the left is a sapphire and diamond brooch, and a silver Victorian clock decorated with small cherubs and foliage. On the right is a selection of small objects in a glass case, including colourfully decorated crockery and vases.

Here’s the next part of my in-depth series about my visit to the exhibition Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own at Sotheby’s in 2023. And we’re continuing on from my previous post about the Crazy Little Things gallery.

This time I’m going to show you a wide selection of mostly smaller items that were sold in the first and second Crazy auctions, and occasionally some of the other auctions, from jewellery to various random objects.

As always, to enlarge the images you can click on them, and to read more about each item you can click on its name. Enjoy!

Contents

Precious Little Things

This section of the gallery was devoted to Freddie’s dressing room, and specifically the pretty jewellery and other beautiful trinkets he liked to keep there. Items by Cartier were very popular with him, and he loved buying gifts from them. They even accepted his request to visit the store after-hours to browse the place by himself.

Cabinet & Mirror

There are a couple of nice furnishings to mention first though, that were also on display:

A cabinet with painted decorations of flowering branches and birds.
The top of a cabinet with painted decorations of flowering branches and birds.
A large mirror with an ornate gold frame, the top section of which is carved with cherubs and flowers.
Close-up of the ornate gold carvings at the top of a mirror, with cherubs and flowers.

Jewellery & Trinkets

Now we move on to the small items, and in this first case we have:

Top down view of a glass case containing a silver bangle designed like a snake, a silver choker, a pair of aviator sunglasses, and a red digital watch.
Front view of a glass case containing a silver bangle designed like a snake, a silver choker, a pair of aviator sunglasses, an a red digital watch.

In the next 2 images we have:

A small white stone desk seal, decorated in a blue Japanese design. This is next to a Cartier clock, consisting of a white clock face surrounded by a blue enamel border with small red diamond shapes marking each hour, all set into a rectangular green box with raised red squares near each corner, and a small cutout at the bottom for a pen to be laid in.
A deep blue enamel heart-shaped pendant, set with rose-cut diamonds in the shape of a crown.

The next case then contained the following items:

A long pearl and diamond necklace, with a section shaped a bit like a buckle and strap that hangs vertically at the bottom.
A small, square Cartier timepiece, with a white square dial inside a dark-coloured frame with black Roman numerals on it. Next to this is a tiny dictionary by Tiffany and co with a reflective silver cover surrounding an inner blue cover enclosing white pages.
A ruby, emerald, sapphire and diamond bracelet, along with a ruby and diamond ring. Next to these is a Fabergé clock, where the numbers on the dial are black Roman numerals on a white background, but the centre of the dial is a translucent pink colour. There is a gold frame around the dial, and a wider green frame around the whole clock.

There are several items of jewellery and a couple of other items in the next case:

A glass case containing two Cartier timepieces, each consisting of a white face in a gold frame, along with an onyx and diamond ring, an onyx bracelet, a set of gold cufflinks, a black resin cross pendant, and a silver cigar case containing a hand written note and typed spiritual advice cards.
A silver cigar case containing a set of typed spiritual advice cards. It also has a handwritten note from Dave Clark that says Dear Freddie, the enclosed Para-grams are very special. To be shared with a very special friend. Love Dave.

And then the following case contains:

A glass case containing a variety of items including a jewellery case, aviator sunglasses, a pendant with a letter F on it, A sapphire and diamond brooch, a silver Victorian clock decorated with small cherubs and foliage, a silver moustache comb, a ruby, sapphire, emerald, onyx and diamond fob watch, a diamond brooch in the shape of a feather, a silver card case with a triangle design, and an octagonal-shaped silver and enamel box with an image of a lion against a blue background.
A sapphire and diamond brooch, and a silver Victorian clock decorated with small cherubs and foliage.
A ruby, sapphire, emerald, onyx and diamond fob watch, a diamond brooch in the shape of a feather, a silver card case with a triangle design, and an octagonal-shaped silver and enamel box with an image of a lion against a blue background.

Other Little Things

The Crazy Little Things gallery lived up to its name from the get-go, with several collections of small ornaments, glassware and other items. These included sets of exclusively Japanese items, which I’ve already shared in my second post about Japan, and cat-related pieces, which I’ve already mentioned in my previous post. But there were many more items beyond that.

Naturally it wasn’t possible to get close and take photos of every individual piece, or to play about with the best camera angles. So I just took the best shots I could, and I know it’s difficult to appreciate some of the objects from overhead. But I’ll list as many items in each collection as I can, and the item pages that I’ve linked to show everything more clearly.

Collection 1

The case below includes:

A selection of small objects in a glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition. Items include a crystal glass mantel clock, a brass inkstand, a paperweight in the shape of a heart, a model of a pair of doves, decorated boxes, ashtrays and silver teapots.
A selection of small objects in a glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition.

Collection 2 (Vases)

These vases were on display in the glass case shown below:

A glass case showing 2 metal and 2 glass vases of different sizes with ornate designs.
Corner view of a glass case showing 2 metal and 2 glass vases of different sizes with ornate designs.

Collection 3 (Smoking)

This is a collection of smoking-related items for the most part, mainly consisting of ashtrays. The majority of it is a single lot that sold for £13,970, described as smoking ephemera, but there’s also a separate set of 10 glass ashtrays (£10,160).

To fill out the glass case, however, there’s also a set of 6 Villeroy & Boch ‘Design 1900’ pattern plates (£6,096) and a fine bone china Staffordshire ‘Rangoon’ hexagonal vase with a pair of Chinese vases in the same lot (£4,826).

A large collection of ashtrays with varied designs, along with a few cigarette boxes and lighters, in the Freddie Mercury exhibition.
Part of a large collection of ashtrays with varied designs, along with a few cigarette boxes and lighters, in the Freddie Mercury exhibition.
Ten glass ashtrays in a variety of designs, plus a stack of plates and a set of three vases that have colourful designs on them.

Collection 4

There’s a mixture of objects here, most of which are in groups, and some of which are Japanese, including:

A glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition with various items, including lidded boxes along with figures of deer and fish.
A glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition with various items, including paperweights and hip flasks.
A glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition with various items, including Japanese crockery and glass dishes, and a small statue of a Chinese boy.

Collection 5 (Asian)

This next collection mainly features a variety of Japanese and Chinese items, including:

A glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition with various items, including Japanese ashtrays, porcelain items and figurines.
A glass case in the Freddie Mercury exhibition with various items, including vases, Chinese figurines and enamel wares, and Japanese dishes.

Collection 6

This small case includes:

A glass case containing a red vanity mirror, a small white vase in the shape of a sneaker, a black model of a high heeled shoe, and a gold painted metal figure of a woman sitting down and reading a book.

Collection 7 (Games & Puzzles)

This fun collection of games sold as a single lot for £16,510, and includes:

  • Standard and travel versions of Scrabble, and it’s fun to read about Freddie’s obsession with the game in the description of this lot. I also like the fact they’ve spelt out the word “Freddie” with the tiles in the display case, along with “Bo Rap” (for Bohemian Rhapsody) on the tile holder.
  • 2 board games, particularly Monopoly that everyone knows, but also a game called Can You Survive Your Mid-Life Crisis that I’d never heard of before
  • 2 jigsaw puzzles, the most notable one featuring Richard Dadd’s painting The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, which inspired the song of the same name on Queen II. The other puzzle is a 1000-piece jigsaw called München, apparently unopened.
  • The Allied Entertainments’ Game, framed.
  • A rainbow canvas duffel bag containing a ping pong bat, two skipping ropes, and a backstage pass for Queen’s Australian tour in 1985.
A collection of games and puzzles belonging to Freddie Mercury, including standard and travel versions of Scrabble, the Monopoly board game, a board game about surviving a mid-life crisis, two jigsaw puzzles, and a rainbow canvas duffel bag with a ping pong bat, two skipping ropes and a backstage pass for Queen's Australian tour in 1985.

Collection 8 (Statuette & Radio)

This case features a couple of very different items. On the left is a novelty microphone-shaped radio (£8,255). On the right is another of the Freddie statuettes by Irena Sedlecká, numbered VII/X (£44,450), VIII/X (£50,800) or IX/X (£53,340). I’m assuming it’s the first, as it’s listed in the Crazy Little Things section of the website, but I don’t know for sure.

A novelty radio in the shape of a large old-style radio microphone, and a bronze statuette of Freddie Mercury in his trademark pose, standing with legs apart and looking own, his right arm raised high in the air triumphantly.

Collection 9 (Fantastic Four)

Next there’s a collection of superhero comic books (£10,795), most of which are the Fantastic Four, but there are also a few X-Men titles and a Booster Gold mixed in.

A selection of Fantastic Four superhero comics.

Collection 10 (Memberships)

In one of two Japanese paper wallets we get a glimpse into some of the venues Freddie had privileged access to, with a selection of membership cards (£35,560) for La Valbonne Club, Pan Am Clipper Club, The Embassy Club (a gay nightclub in the West End) and Maunkberry’s.

Two wallets with colourful Japanese designs, and membership cards for La Valbonne Club, Pan Am Clipper Club, The Embassy Club and Maunkberry's.
A white membership card with a red signature strip for La Valbonne Club, next to a gold card for Pan Am Clipper Club.

Conclusion

And that’s it for this part, I hope you enjoyed looking through that miscellany of little things. Next week we’ll end the month with the final 2 posts in this series, taking a close look at Freddie’s performing and songwriting. 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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