Article courtesy of Reuters

By Tom Hals

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Three years after a billionaire divorce gone terribly wrong, this is what is left: unfinished plans for America's largest home, several bankruptcies and an auction featuring a talking moose head.

Bargain hunters will get the chance to bid on Saturday on the leftovers from the home furnishings firm of Edra Blixseth, ex-wife of timber baron Tim Blixseth, a former billionaire.

The design business served the wealthy in general and Edra Blixseth, its owner and biggest client, in particular. Foreclosed on by her bank, the last 500 or so items of the business will go on the block in a rapid-fire finish to her decorating enterprise.

In happier, less litigious times, the Blixseths planned to erect a 110,000-square-foot (10,220-sq-meter) home in Montana and began amassing the antiques, animal statues and furnishings to fill it, according to Bob Brown, owner of Red Baron Auctions of Atlanta.

The couple had already developed the Yellowstone Club in Montana, a private club for millionaires. Ownership of the exclusive hideaway for the likes of Bill Gates had propelled them onto the Forbes list of richest Americans.

"They wanted to build the largest, most expensive home in America, and they collected just for that," said Brown, who helped buy their antiques. "They liked grandiose things, incredible quality."

Kamelot Auctions of Philadelphia, which is hosting Saturday's sale, looked like a prop warehouse that supplies Victorian costume dramas and Westerns.

PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR

Carved doors from an Italian consulate, 15-foot (4.5-meter) rosewood sideboards and 10-foot (3-meter) elk statues, much of it sized perfectly for a Hollywood sound-stage.

"Opulent. Over the top. Outrageous," said Jeff Kamal, a Kamelot Auctions partner in describing the collection.

Kamal and his partner Joe Holahan said they expect interest from boutique hotels and restaurants.

The lots will be sold without a reserve price, and many will fetch pennies on the dollar compared to what Edra Blixseth paid, according to the auctioneers.

"We're not in the storage business," said Holahan. "The bank doesn't want it back."

They estimate a marble bust of a woman's head that Blixseth purchased for $32,000 will sell for less than $2,000.

"That's not one of her better buys," said Kamal.

A Persian Ahar rug measuring roughly 10 feet by 13 feet was purchased by Edra Blixseth's firm for $1,495 and she estimated its value at $3,445, according to court documents.

Kamelot Auctions estimates its worth at $100 to $300.

The story that ends with Saturday's auction begins with a bitter divorce that gave Edra Blixseth control of the Yellowstone Club.

She celebrated with a divorce party where she invited guests to whack a pinata in the shape of her ex-husband, according to testimony from Tim Blixseth.

After just three months under her control, the resort filed for bankruptcy and Edra Blixseth sought court protection from creditors soon after.

In addition, a bank foreclosed on Monarch Designs, the business she used to decorate the club as well as her homes, including her Porcupine Creek estate in Rancho Mirage, California, with its 32,000 square feet (3,000 sq meters) of living quarters.

The bank began selling Monarch's inventory in a manner Edra Blixseth has described as "yard sales" in court papers.

The finest pieces were sold by Red Baron Auctions, which sold 11 tractor trailers of antique furniture two weeks ago.

The final pieces at Kamelot include some whimsy, including a chair in the shape of a cowboy boot and antique mechanical amusements, such as a punching bag to test one's strength.

And, of course, the moose head, which can play back recorded messages. Kamelot estimates it will sell for $800 to $1,200.

"It's been silent," said Kamal, after testing to see if any message had been recorded on it.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)