Auction off rare private collection
“The collection shows someone with exceptional taste and includes very impressive examples of 17th and 18th century English and European furniture,"
ROMINENT Jewish businessman and founder of the Chemist Warehouse and MyChemist empire, Sam Gance, is auctioning off his private collection of over 150 exemplary pieces of 17th and 18th-century furniture, decorative arts, carpets, outdoor pieces, traditional and modern art.
The collection is being auctioned by Melbourne’s Gibson’s Auctions. It will take place at 2pm on Sunday, April 30 at Gance’s home at 2 Struan Street, Toorak.
Gance – who is also the long-term partner of Janet Roach, a favourite of the popular television show, The Real Housewives of Melbourne – and his family have lived at their Struan Street residence for the past 35 years. However, they are now moving to a nearby $43 million mansion in Toorak, which means everything from their current residence must go.
The viewing for the auction will be held within the impressive property over three days, from 10am-5pm on April 28-29; and 10am-12pm on Sunday, April 30. Everyone is invited to view the items in situ before they are sold to the highest bidder.
Jennifer Gibson, CEO of Gibson’s Auctions, expressed delight in being entrusted with items from this prestige collection.
“The collection shows someone with exceptional taste and includes very impressive examples of 17th and 18th century English and European furniture, antiquities, alongside contemporary works of art. We expect fiercely competitive bidding in the room on the evening of the auction and look forward to a successful sale,” she said.
In 1976, brothers Sam and Jack Gance established a successful sunglasses, perfume, and suntan lotion company – Le Specs and Le Tan – which they sold in 1991. Four years later, Sam and Jack started the Chemist Warehouse pharmacy business with Mario Verrocchi with just five pharmacies. Today, it generates annual revenue of over $3 billion and employs over 17,000 staff for more than 500 outlets across Australia and New Zealand, China and Ireland. Chemist Warehouse’s IPO, expected to be the hottest listing in Australia in 2023, is estimated to value the company at $A5 billion.
“Gibson’s is proud to have been entrusted with items from this prestige collection, amassed over the last 35 years of Sam and his family’s life at this fantastic property,” said Gibson, continuing, “and it is with great pleasure that we offer it to the market knowing that these rare pieces will now move on to a whole new generation of collectors.”
The Sam Gance Collection will be auctioned by Gibson’s Auctions on Sunday, April 30 at 2pm at 2 Struan Street, Toorak. For more information and to view the catalogue, visit gibsonsauctions.com.au/auction/3762-2.
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