A sea serpent viking-ship bed from Norway, artifacts from the Indonesian island of Bali, a Dragon-headed gong stand from Tibet: the clues to the eccentric life of a Coconut Grove playboy and adventurer are up for grabs to the highest bidder on eBay.
The estate of the late Baron Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi, better known as Sepy, is putting hundreds of worldly artifacts and personal items for sale online. The first to be listed include several items from his extensive collection from his trips to Bali, such as a dining set made from an antique door (asking for $11,999), a bronze Buddha statue ($9,950), and a royal family Peacock sculpture ($2,499).
But it might be some time before the estate will sell the item that’s gotten Dobronyi the most attention since his death: the 40-something-year-old underwear of Queen Elizabeth II.
The globetrotting bon vivant, who died May 29, reportedly was gifted the royal drawers from a friend, who found them in a private plane when the Queen visited Chile in 1968, according to the estate.
“One thing no one has disputed is the authenticity of the panties,” said Louis F. Cruz, managing director of the estate’s sales. The estate is working with Hansons Auctioneers and Valuers in England to sell the undergarment with approval from the British government. The expected selling price is $9,000 for the briefs trimmed with lace and marked with a monogram of the letter E topped with a crown.
But the estate says the British government is stalling on sanctioning the sale.
“At first, they didn’t see a problem of having them auctioned,” Cruz said. “But because of the current wedding, I guess they don’t want any scandals or anything to interfere. They would rather wait until after the wedding.”
But there are hundreds of other items from his home being sold in the meantime, including letters between Dobronyi and Hugh Hefner. Some were about a disagreement about Playboy publishing a picture of a nude statue Dobronyi made of his former girlfriend, movie star Anita Eckberg. The estate hasn’t confirmed if it would eventually put those letters on eBay, but did say Hefner wasn’t interested in acquiring any of the letters.
Movie-star girlfriends were the norm for Dobronyi, who also had flings with Raquel Welch, Eva Gabor, Ava Gardner, Brigitte Bardot and Debbie Reynolds.
“He was a man who lived life to the fullest in search of happiness,” said Yesenia Perkins, a 13-year friend of Dobronyi.
Perkins, who is helping manage his estate, said the items for sale and documents in the house put truth to the tales he often shared during extravagant dinner parties.
“It backed up a lot of his stories,” said Perkins, 37, of Key West. “People would say, ‘What’s truth or what’s embellishment?’ And then, when you go through all the articles, what seemed like a tall tale was backed up by a news article.”
Clippings and letters proved that old underwear wasn’t the only connection Dobronyi had with the royal family. He was a sculptor and fine-jewelry maker, and was commissioned to make jewelry for then-Princess Elizabeth. On behalf of the Swedish Royal Family, Dobronyi made an emerald and diamond peacock brooch as a engagement gift, and a ring in the form of a miniature St. Edward’s crown for her wedding. Letters between Dobronyi and then-Prince Phillip will also be sold.