Elizabeth Taylor's wardrobe fetched over £75m at auction

Elizabeth Taylor's wardrobe and jewellery fetched over £75m at auction in New York this week, with some items being sold 150 times over the reserve price. The late actress wardrobe had been on exhibition in the UK, Moscow, Los Angeles,

Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong as part of a three-month global tour ahead of the auction, which was held at Christie's.

The actress's astonishing jewellery collection fetched a record-breaking sale, including more than $11.8million for a pearl necklace and $8.8million for a diamond ring, both given to her by Richard Burton.

The necklace was made to display a historic pearl known as 'La Peregrina', which Burton bought for Taylor in 1969 and which cost him £23,000 and which sold for £7.6m.

The pear-shaped La Peregrina is widely considered to be one of the most important pearls in the world. It dates from the 16th century, was painted by Velasquez and belonged to King Phillip II of Spain and to Queen Mary I.

Other sales of Taylor's art, clothing and memorabilia were held separately. The fashion collection that toured was a journey through Taylor's evolving fashion sense, from her glamorous red carpet gowns to beaded Versace jackets, a sea of gold Hermes bags, sequin Chanel clutches and satin Louboutins.

Meredith Etherington-Smith, curator of Taylor's fashion collection, called the display a glimpse into Taylor's 'tempestuous, fabulous, technicolor personality that epitomizes gutsy glamour'.

According to Christie's, some items shot up by more than £1million in 30 seconds as fierce bidding wars erupted over the most coveted lots. A fitting tribute to the last of the Hollywood greats, who died in March aged 79

Image: Elizabeth Taylor