Comedian Joan Rivers to auction furnishings from country home

[March 13, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) — Acerbic comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers is selling furniture, fine art, ceramics and other objects from her country home in Connecticut, Christie's auction house said on Wednesday.

More than 150 items will go under the hammer during the New York sale which will be part of Christie's interiors auction on April 1-2.

Rivers, 80, sold the house on the 760-acre country estate that also included a caretaker's cottage last year for $4.4 million.

Highlights of the auction are expected to include a modern upholstered bed in pink linen, which could sell for up to $3,000, a pair of white-painted palm trees with a pre-sale estimate of as much as $5,000 and a collection of 15 animal horn trophies that could fetch $2,000.

"This home was filled with some of the treasure of my life," Rivers, the 80-year-old veteran of plastic surgery who is known for her snide Oscar red carpet commentary, said in a statement announcing the sale.

Items in the auction range from very personal pieces made by her friends and top furniture makers to objects the Brooklyn-born, raspy-voiced star found while traveling for concerts.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to charity.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Richard Chang)

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