More than 200 items belonging to the late Joan Rivers are set to be sold at auction.
According to E! News , a number of Joan Rivers’ “most prized possessions” will be auctioned off via online auction site Christie’s in June in order to raise money for God’s Love We Deliver and Guide Dogs for the Blind, two of Joan’s favorite charities.
The site is reporting that the lots have been set up by Joan’s daughter, Melissa Rivers, and will feature hundreds of items that previously belonged to Joan that have been recovered from her lavish Manhattan penthouse following Rivers’ September, 2014, death.
Christie’s revealed this week that the Joan Rivers auction will consist of 80 individual lots in the online auction, where items worth between $500 and a staggering $200,000 will be sold to the highest bidder.
Christie’s said that the sale, which will consist of both an online portion and live auction taking place in Joan’s hometown of New York, “will encompass the breadth of the late entertainer’s exceptional and eclectic taste” through the sale of a slew of Joan’s personal items that include pieces of art, glamorous costumes, and even jewelry from designers including Cartier and Harry Winston.
Some of the more lavish items expected to be up for grabs in Rivers’ auction include a painting by Edouard Vuillard, a jeweled nephrite study of a Lily of the Valley leaf by Fabergé, and even a silver Tiffany & Co. water bowl that belonged to Joan’s dog, Spike.
In a statement obtained by E! News , Melissa Rivers revealed that the auction will give fans of the late comedian a “through the keyhole” look at Joan’s stunningly extravagant items, and added that the auction is set to celebrate Rivers’ “elegance and collecting style.”
“My mother’s legacy as a much loved comedienne and philanthropist will be commemorated in this collaboration with Christie’s,” Melissa continued in the statement, adding that Rivers’ “generosity to charitable causes is something [she] will continue in her honor.”
The news of the Joan Rivers auction comes just days after Melissa revealed that she felt her late mother, who passed away from complications from throat surgery in September, 2014, received more love after her death than she did when she was alive.
“I was so beyond grateful for the love and support I received from the public at large and from people within this industry,” Melissa told the Huffington Post last month, before admitting that the outpouring of love actually began to make her “angry” because Rivers didn’t get to see the love the public showed for her while she was alive.
“I hit a point where I was very angry because that kind of love and respect was rarely shown to my mother while she was alive,” Melissa said. “It’s very hard to… get past that something that she always said came true, which was, ‘Just wait, when I die, they’re all gonna love me again.’ ”
Melissa then admitted that the love the public showed for her mother after her 2014 death was “better late than never,” before admitting to the site, “isn’t this fabulous that [Joan] made such an impact in this world?”
Rivers continues to reminisce about her late mother on social media, most recently posting a black and white photo of her mother, and father Edgar Rosenberg, who passed away in 1987, on her Instagram page.
“#TBT 1966, the happy newlyweds!,” Rivers captioned the photo, “This is one of my favorites of my mom and dad. #MelRivers #JoanRivers”
The Joan Rivers live auction is set to take place in New York on June 22, while the online auction will be live between June 16 and 23 at Christies.com .
Will you be bidding on any items in the Joan Rivers auction?
[Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images for Michigan Avenue Magazine]