It might be the priciest tag sale of the century.
Elton John is cleaning house and putting the overflowing contents of his Holland Park home on the auction block.
Sotheby's will do the honors of selling off 11 years worth of furniture and art accumulated by the pop star in his British residence later this year, the sale is expected to raise close to $1.7 million.
Not that Elton needs the money. He just wants to make room for more stuff.
"My love of contemporary art and photography is well-documented," said the singer in a statement on his official Website. "I wanted to have the opportunity to display more contemporary work in one of my U.K. homes, but as my house in Windsor has a very traditional style, the obvious choice was to remodel my Holland Park home, both in terms of layout and interior design, to give me more scope for exhibiting this collection."
This is the second time the shopaholic has cleared out his closets. In 1988, John unloaded the contents of his Windsor estate in a three-day extravaganza that included close to 2,000 pieces of memorabilia, jewelry and works of art. (That firesale came around the same time the free-spending singer was on the verge of bankruptcy; he has since refilled the coffers.)
And banish those images of sequined spectacles, feather boas and platform shoes. The flamboyant music man is surprisingly conservative when it comes to home décor, indulging in a grown-up passion for furniture, paintings and works of art with nary a speckle of glitter or stray feather among them.
On September 30 close to 400 lots will be sold from his west London home, in which he's entertained the likes of Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey. Among the high-priced loot: 19th century Biedermeier chest of drawers, chairs and tables, paintings by Edward Bower and William Larkin, Venetian glass and more than a couple of bronzed sculptures of historic leaders like Alexander the Great and Napoleon.
But just in case you're worried the superstar has lost his colorful touch and gone too Better Homes & Gardens, the items for sale also include is a banquette and pair of tub chairs upholstered in a striking faux leopard-skin fabric by designer David Linley.
Me-ow!
Meanwhile, the happy hausfrau is keeping busy. John is scheduled to keep touring throughout the year. The piano pounder is also penning the music and lyrics to a new Broadway musical with bite. John and longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin are staging an adaptation of Anne Rice's novel The Vampire Lestat, slated for a 2005 debut.