From costumes and working drafts of “Bohemian Rhapsody” to art peices, hundreds of items belong to Queen frontman Freddie on show in Britain on Friday before being sold next month.
The free exhibition brings together Mercury’s private and public worlds, from his gold and platinum discs and lavish stage costumes to personal Polaroid photographs, hip flasks and a travel Scrabble board that accompanied the star on tour.
Sotheby’s has transformed its central London gallery to resemble the Queen frontman’s former home in the U.K. capital for the month-long exhibition, ahead of its six-stage sale of the more than 1,400 lots. Mercury had collected Japanese decorative arts, glass, graphic arts, ceramics and other objects originating from the country during his life.
The singer-songwriter, who died in 1991, had assembled an array of “treasures” which had been left largely untouched at his one-time west London house in the three decades since, according to the auctioneers.
They include a treasured Yamaha baby grand piano, revealed to be among the lots by Sotheby’s Thursday, which Mercury composed numerous hits on. It is estimated to fetch up to 3 million pounds (3.8 million).
