Liz Taylor’s ‘Cleopatra’ Headress Hits Block for $3K

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By Reuters July 16, 2013

A collection of late actress Elizabeth Taylor’s personal items, including jewelry, cocktail dresses and film costumes, will go under the hammer in Beverly Hills, California, Julien’s Auctions said on Tuesday.

The collection, which comes from an unidentified former employee of Taylor, will first go on display in Ireland on Tuesday and will hit the auction block on Oct. 12.

The top item, an 18-karat gold, multi-gem earring and necklace set, is expected to fetch between $10,000 and $15,000. The necklace and earrings set include multiple topaz, diamond, peridot and citrine gemstones.

Taylor, who died in 2011 at the age of 79, epitomized Hollywood glamour from its golden age with her love of diamonds, her violet eyes and a tumultuous love life that included eight marriages, two of them to Welsh actor Richard Burton.

In a career spanning seven decades, British-American Taylor first gained fame in 1944’s “National Velvet” at age 12 and was nominated for five Oscars. She won the best actress award for 1960’s “Butterfield 8” and 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Also for sale is the falcon headdress Taylor wore in the 1963 film “Cleopatra,” where she began her love affair with Burton. The headdress, which helped score the film an Oscar award for costume design, is expected to sell for $2,000 to $3,000.

A decolletage-baring spaghetti-strap gown and bolero jacket designed by South African couturier Chris Levin that Taylor wore to Burton’s 50th birthday party at London’s Dorchester Hotel in 1975 is expected to fetch between $2,000 and $3,000.

An antique inlaid wood stagecoach box used by Taylor’s mother, stage actress Sara Sothern, which includes glass-cut toiletry jars and mother of pearl handles is estimated to sell for $6,000 to $8,000.

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