Superyacht treasure trove under the hammer at Eddisons

A treasure trove of the contents of one of the world's most impressive superyachts is being offered at auction by Eddisons.

Everything from the Louis XVI goblets that once graced the boat's piano bar to the snail spoons from the ‘winter garden’ dining room's cutlery service is scheduled to be sold on Wednesday 18 June.

Built in 2008, at a cost of over £65million, the Sarafsa is the largest yacht ever built in a British yard. The 82m boat has a two-storey private deck for the owner, guest accommodation for 14 over five decks, living quarters for 10 personal staff and cabins for the yacht's crew of 23.

On board, amenities include a saloon modelled on the Riviera, a dining room that could be hidden behind sliding glass screens, a piano lounge (complete with grand piano), as well as a cinema, spa, swimming pool, gymnasium, helipad, and vehicle garage.

Following the recent sale of the Sarafsa to former Decathlon chairman Olivier Leclercq, auctioneers Eddisons has been invited to sell silver, tableware, works of art and furnishings that were not included in the deal. The retail value of the items in the auction is estimated at around £1million.

Eddisons director Paul Cooper said: “Absolutely no expense was spared in furnishing and equipping the Sarafsa. Pretty much everything in the auction has the name of an internationally famous jeweller, silversmith, porcelain manufacturer or glassmaker attached.”

“The most immediately striking entries include two superyacht models, one of which is a four-and-a-half-foot long model of the Sarafsa that was commissioned when the boat was built. Meanwhile the other is a model of an earlier, smaller, Sarafsa yacht, a model made by the celebrity London jeweller Theo Fennell.”

“The auction also includes an impressive Fennell claret jug, hallmarked Sheffield 1997, and weighing in at 1360 grams; just a smidgeon shy of 3 pounds of solid silver.”

"The Sarafsa's hallmarked silver cutlery came from Maison Ercuis, the world-renowned French silversmith that was founded by a humble village priest in the mid-19th century. Nothing humble about Ercuis haute orfèvrerie today, of course. The promotional material for their silver cutlery doesn't even carry prices - they are available only 'upon request’!”

“The auction includes over 70 lots, ranging across sets of every imaginable piece of cutlery: snail forks, oyster forks, rice spoons, parmesan spoons, ice cream spoons, cheesecake knives and more, not to mention 15 pairs of hallmarked silver sugar tongs. Each guest sitting around the Sarafsa's main dining table had their own pair of sugar tongs.'

Paul added: "The yacht's ivy and white ceramic tableware came from Augarten Wien, the Viennese porcelain manufacturer founded in 1718, the second oldest in Europe. The glassware is all French crystal - Baccarat and Royal de Champagne.

“One lot that has been attracting a lot of pre-sale interest is a pair of antique goblets that arrived in the saleroom, carefully wrapped in tissue in a shoebox with a label to record that they were the pair of Louis XVI goblets from the yacht's Piano Bar. Bidding on those has reached almost a thousand pounds weeks before the auction.”

“The decorative artworks on the Sarafsa included a number of pieces by contemporary sculptors, mainly French, several with studios or galleries in the South of France: Yves Lohe, Sophia Vari, Gerrard Le Roux and Etienne Pirot, amongst others – almost all of them limited editions.”

The catalogue is available at https://auctions.eddisonsassets.com/auctions. Viewing at Eddisons Auction Centre on Dunlop Way, Scunthorpe, is by appointment on Tuesday 17 June (10am-4pm). The online auction is scheduled to end at 1pm on Wednesday 18 June.