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If You Love Cats, This Jewelry Auction Is for You
Cat ladies of the jewelry world, unite. Sandy Lerner’s “significant” collection of cat jewelry and other objects is going up for auction.
Tech entrepreneur, philanthropist, and farmer Sandy Lerner was a cat person. Her unrivaled collection of cat artwork, objects, and jewelry will be up for sale later this month at Bonhams. Among them is this 18-karat gold and diamond cat brooch made in France (pre-sale estimate $5,000 to $7,000). (Photo courtesy of Bonhams)
New York—For thousands of years, people have revered cats for their beauty, enigmatic nature, and superiority to dogs.
They’re skilled hunters, social media stars, sources of healing and comfort, and (sometimes) sweet companions; many would say you haven’t lived until you’ve curled up in a bed with a purring cat.
Cats also make for beautiful jewelry, from big cats like Cartier’s iconic “Panthère” collection to personalized representations of smaller (but still fierce) house cats from independent designers like Irene Neuwirth, Francesca Villa, and Russell Jones and Judi Powers.
Many famous people are known cat lovers, but perhaps none are as dedicated to the feline form as Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and founder of cosmetics brand Urban Decay.
Lerner possesses what is believed to be one of the “most significant private collections of cat-related decorative arts, books, and collectibles ever assembled,” Bonhams said, and it’s going up for auction in a series of sales this fall along with furniture and artwork from her 800-acre organic farm and estate in Virginia.
“These are objects I have personally chosen. They each had a place in my home, giving context and beauty as representatives of other lives and other times,” Lerner said in a press release from the auction house.
“They need to be rehomed, now, to others who will care for, cherish, and respect them as icons of the human achievement and—in the case of the caticons—affection that created them. May these beautiful things give you as much joy and wonder as I have found in their company.”
“The Sandy Lerner Cat Collection Part I” is scheduled for Sept. 30 at Bonhams New York and will feature 66 pieces of art, decorative objects, collectibles, and jewelry depicting cats.
A lavender jade pendant depicting two cats confronting each other is expected to be the auction’s top-grossing cat jewelry lot.
The pendant comes on a necklace set with black and white diamonds and is detachable.
It’s estimated to sell for as much as $18,000.
They’re skilled hunters, social media stars, sources of healing and comfort, and (sometimes) sweet companions; many would say you haven’t lived until you’ve curled up in a bed with a purring cat.
Cats also make for beautiful jewelry, from big cats like Cartier’s iconic “Panthère” collection to personalized representations of smaller (but still fierce) house cats from independent designers like Irene Neuwirth, Francesca Villa, and Russell Jones and Judi Powers.
Many famous people are known cat lovers, but perhaps none are as dedicated to the feline form as Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and founder of cosmetics brand Urban Decay.
Lerner possesses what is believed to be one of the “most significant private collections of cat-related decorative arts, books, and collectibles ever assembled,” Bonhams said, and it’s going up for auction in a series of sales this fall along with furniture and artwork from her 800-acre organic farm and estate in Virginia.
“These are objects I have personally chosen. They each had a place in my home, giving context and beauty as representatives of other lives and other times,” Lerner said in a press release from the auction house.
“They need to be rehomed, now, to others who will care for, cherish, and respect them as icons of the human achievement and—in the case of the caticons—affection that created them. May these beautiful things give you as much joy and wonder as I have found in their company.”
“The Sandy Lerner Cat Collection Part I” is scheduled for Sept. 30 at Bonhams New York and will feature 66 pieces of art, decorative objects, collectibles, and jewelry depicting cats.
A lavender jade pendant depicting two cats confronting each other is expected to be the auction’s top-grossing cat jewelry lot.
The pendant comes on a necklace set with black and white diamonds and is detachable.
It’s estimated to sell for as much as $18,000.
Sandy Lerner’s lavender jade cat pendant on a long chain is expected to sell for $14,000 to $18,000. The picture on the right shows a closeup of the pendant, which features two cats. (Photos courtesy of Bonhams)
This 18-karat gold Tiffany & Co. cat pendant/pin features textured and polished gold. Its pre-sale estimate is $8,000 to $12,000.
Also by Tiffany & Co., this 18-karat gold cat brooch with green enamel eyes looks like it’s ready for some pets (pre-sale estimate $3,000 to $5,000).
There are also two pieces of cat jewelry by Tiffany & Co.
A pendant/brooch depicting a cat’s head uses textured 18-karat gold for the fur and polished gold for the eyes and nose (pre-sale estimate $8,000 to $12,000) while an 18-karat gold brooch features a stylized cat with prominent whiskers and green enamel eyes (pre-sale estimate $3,000 to $5,000).
The 18-karat gold and diamond cat brooch pictured at the top of the article has eyes of green and black enamel. It was made in France and is expected to sell for $5,000 to
$7,000.
The cats in these earrings are crafted in 18-karat white gold with sapphire eyes and collars. They are curled up around cultured pearls (pre-sale estimate $2,000 to $3,000).
A pair of 18-karat white gold and diamond earrings depicting cats wrapped around cultured pearls are estimated at $2,000 to $3,000.
An online sale, “The Sandy Lerner Cat Collection Part II,” will coincide with the live sale at Bonhams New York.
It is scheduled to take place Sept. 22 to Oct. 1 and will include more cat jewelry, artwork, decorative objects, and collectibles from Lerner’s collection.
Following the two cat auctions, the sale will migrate to Massachusetts, where Bonhams will present “Ayrshire Farm: The Sandy Lerner Collection Parts I & II,” a selection of furniture, decorative arts, paintings, lighting, and furnishings from her Georgian Revival-style estate in Upperville, Virginia.
The first part of the sale will be a live auction held Oct. 28 in Massachusetts while the second part will take place online from Oct. 18-29.
Bonhams’ announcement of the four-part “The Sandy Lerner Collection” sale comes less than a year after news surfaced in The Wall Street Journal that Lerner was putting 571 acres of Ayrshire Farm on the market for $19.8 million.
Lerner bought Ayrshire Farm for $7 million in 1996, leaving Silicon Valley to become a full-time organic farmer. The tech entrepreneur and feline enthusiast, now in her early 70s, told the Journal that she was selling the farm to simplify her life.
The property went under contract for the asking price the week after it was listed, and the sale closed in March, according to Washington, D.C. real estate website Urban Turf.
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