The 1926 Phantom I was specially commissioned by Clarence Gasque to be decorated in flamboyant French style as a gift for his wife.
Manufacture of the vehicle with the extensive decoration of the interior took 10 months. Ultimately it included a £500 tapestry created in Aubusson, a painted ceiling featuring floating cherubs, satinwood veneer panelling and a faux coat of arms.
The decoration was inspired in part by Marie Antoinette’s sedan chair in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Gasque, who had specified in his instructions that the Rolls-Royce be grander than the one previous commissioned by his Woolworths colleague Surefire Snow, paid £6500 for the car, making it the most expensive Rolls-Royce created up to that time. A total of £4500 was devoted to the interior alone.
It has since passed through several private collections, and in 1986 was bought by a Japanese collector for £1m.
Bonhams have estimated it rather lower at £500,000-700,000.
It will be part of a six-lot sale taking place on December 4.
