A John Lennon and Yoko Ono inlaid couch
19th century
Chinese mother-of-pearl inlaid rosewood bedcouch, with shaped backboard and sides and a rectangular seat, raised on cabriole legs ending in claw and ball feet.
Provenance: Sotheby's Collectors' Carousel, The Collection of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, New York, June 23, 1984, lot 313.
In 1984 Yoko Ono consigned more than 100 items to the Sotheby's New York "Collectors' Carousel" auction, donating the proceeds to the Spirit Foundation, an organization set up by the Lennons in 1979 to help children's causes. It was the first release of property from the Lennon estate, and was wildly successful by the standards of the time, selling for $430,936, more than double its pre-sale estimate. Highlights from the sale included a 1947 Wurlitzer from the couple's Dakota apartment and Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V. 43.5 x 46 x 72 in.