The auction of the Windsor collection, in which a 60-year-old piece of wedding cake fetched $28,600 on Thursday, ran into controversy yesterday when the New Zealand government asked that two greenstone clubs, being auctioned in New York today, be returned to the Maori tribe who made them.
Two New Zealand Ministers have written to Harrods owner Mr Mohammed al-Fayed, who now owns the collection, asking that the clubs be given back as a goodwill gesture.
"We can assure you that such a gesture would be warmly received by the people of New Zealand. Certainly, the New Zealand Government would be immensely appreciative," the ministers said in message sent to Mr al-Fayed yesterday.
Meanwhile, the auction has already exceeded expectations, with the first session bringing in $1,922,675 dollars on Thursday, three times the initial estimate.
The 60-year-old cake slice, in a ribbon-tied, white silk covered cardboard box is inscribed "A piece of our wedding cake. WE WE 3-VI-37". (`WE' was how the couple often abbreviated their names, Wallis and Edward.) It had been estimated to sell for $500 to $1,000.
But buyers Mr Benjamin and Ms Amanda Yim of San Francisco thought it was worth more. "I'm sure we're not going to eat it," Mr Yim said. "It's from a truly romantic period. It's all about style and elegance."
"We haven't opened the box," said Ms Diana Brooks, Sotheby's president and the auctioneer for the first part of the evening. "You have to trust us on that."
Sotheby's will sell the Windsor collection in 28 sessions lasting until February 27th in what has been dubbed "the royal sale of the century". The approximately 40,000 items are valued at between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000 without factoring in the magic of royalty and celebrity history. They come from the Paris home of the late Duke of Windsor and the former Mrs Wallis Warfield Simpson, the American divorcee for whom the Duke abdicated the British throne. They are being sold by Mr al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed who died in a car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales, last year.
A George III silver basket which was a wedding gift from Winston Churchill to the couple went for $79,500.
One of the star attractions, a red leather box bearing the inscription "The King" in which Edward VIII received official dispatches during his brief reign, sold for $65,750 against a top estimate of $15,000.
The highest bid came for a portrait of the duchess by Cecil Beaton. It sold for $134,500 against a top estimate of $15,000.
Mr William May, a New York composer due to present a musical in the autumn based on the Windsor's love affair, entitled "Always," bought a love letter from `W' (Wallis) to `E' (Edward) for $5,462 against a top estimate of $1,500. It will be used as the cover art for the show's recording and programme.