VIVA LA DIVA: With opera coats, vintage and new, floating down the European runways, it’s no wonder Bonhams has picked this moment to unveil one that belonged to Marilyn Monroe, with her initials stitched in red on the inside.
The gold brocade opera coat will be offered as part of the Bonhams Icons of Fashion sale, which will take place on the auctioneer’s website from June 7 to 16.
The mid-length, long-sleeve coat dates to the early 1960s, and features a flower pattern across the brocade and an oversize collar. The initials, M.M., are stitched in red inside, while the label shows the coat is from Mohan’s, a tailor located at 14 Hankow Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
It will be offered with an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000.
Inside Marilyn Monroe‘s gold brocade opera coat.
LA-IA
Marissa Speer, Bonhams head of sale for handbags and fashion, U.S., called the coat a highlight of sale, a personal piece, and “a perfect example of [Monroe’s] enduring style.”
Monroe purchased the opera coat in 1962, two months before she died. She later loaned it to her publicist, Patricia Newcomb, who wore it while accompanying the actress to John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, where Monroe famously sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
Following Monroe’s death, the coat became part of the estate inherited by her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and later managed by his widow, Anna Strasberg. In 1999, Anna Strasberg put it up for sale at The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe, a landmark auction held by Christie’s in New York.
It hasn’t been seen on the market since 1999, according to Bonhams.
Marilyn Monroe’s gold brocade opera coat.
Thann Clark
Monroe isn’t the only diva on Bonhams’ books. On June 11 in London, the auction house will present a Cartier Belle Époque seed pearl and diamond sautoir necklace from the personal collection of the Australian opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba.
The long necklace, from around 1910, has seed pearl linking, which is accented at intervals by scroll and floral spacers. The spacers are millegrain-set with old brilliant, old single and rose-cut diamonds. At the base of the necklace hangs a circular pendant with a radiating floral motif which is also millegrain-set, and with similarly cut diamonds.
The sautoir will be offered with an estimate of 60,000 to 80,000 pounds.
Dame Nellie Melba’s Cartier sautoir necklace.
Jean Ghika, global head of jewelry at Bonhams, said the sautoir “reflects the elegance of the Belle Époque era, a period defined by the revolutionary use of platinum, of which Cartier was an early pioneer. The design of this jewel exemplifies Cartier’s mastery of this precious metal and its innovative designs during an era that was also defined by the more traditional garland style.”
Bonhams said the necklace is being offered at auction for the first time since the opera singer’s ownership of the jewel.
