A clutch of personal items that belonged to cult Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky will be sold in Paris next month, French auction house Drouot has announced on its website.
Vysotsky's belongings have been put up for sale by the legendary singer and actor's third wife, Marina Vlady, a French actress of Russian descent.
The items due to be sold include Vysotsky's bronze death mask, estimated to fetch up to 50,000 euros (3.5 million rubles) and one of Vysotsky's last poems, dated June 11, 1980, which was dedicated to Vlady and written on a map, according to a statement by Drouot.
Russia is this year marking 35 years since the death of Vysotsky, who passed away in 1980 aged 42. Vysotsky gained cult status in the Soviet Union for his informal songs about freedom, society and politics and his many appearances on stage and screen.
The Vysotsky items are just some of the pieces put up for sale by Vlady, who has enjoyed a long career in cinema and worked with prominent French figures, including director Jean-Luc Godard. In 1987 she published a memoir of Vysotsky titled “Vladimir or the Aborted Flight.”
The Vysotsky items will be available to view at a hotel in Paris on Nov. 24 and will be sold the following day, according to Drouot.
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