The estate of the late Princess Soraya Esfandiari-Bakhtiari, the second wife of the Shah of Iran, goes up for auction in Paris Tuesday, giving collectors and admirers of the former empress a chance to bid on silverware, fine art, furniture, and jewellery – including a 22.37 carat Harry Winston diamond, valued at upwards of half a million euros.
In addition to the massive diamond, other jewels in the lot include a ruby brooch and earrings from Van Cleef & Arpels and a platinum and sapphire necklace from Italian jewellers Bulgari.
One of the most glamorous women of her day, Soraya had specified in her will that her worldly possessions – estimated to be worth around $2.5 million – should be auctioned, with proceeds donated to her favourite charitable causes. The impressive array of luxury goods, to be sold at French auction house Drouot-Montaigne, also consists of designer creations from Ungaro and Louis Feraud, a 1985 Rolls Royce Silver Spur, and personal mementos, including private photographs.
The Iranian-born beauty became Empress of the country in 1951, aged just 16, but was divorced by the Shah seven years later after she was unable to bear him an heir. Known as the “princess with the sad eyes,” she lived as a queen in exile for the last three decades of her life, writing an autobiography in 1991 entitled, Le Palais Des Solitudes, or “The Palace Of Loneliness”.
Princess Soraya died of natural causes in Paris on October 25, 2001, aged 69.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
