europe armory

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- More than 1,000 bidders from as far away as England and Austria are expected to vie Friday evening for scores of items from the former mansion owned by New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and his ex-wife.

Among the 221 items from the $3.6 million Montclair estate to be auctioned are a 14-piece Continental Baroque-style walnut dining room suite estimated to be worth up to $25,000; a Renaissance Revival carved oak sideboard cabinet expected to fetch up to $18,000; Victorian-era furniture and antique Persian carpets.

"You could tell he had a lot of money and liked to decorate," Connecticut resident Chris Velush, viewing the items at a preview Thursday at the Morristown Armory, told The Star-Ledger of Newark. "It goes on and on."

The auction was ordered by Superior Court Judge James Convery in May as part of the divorce agreement between Strahan and wife Jean. They are to split the profits.

The couple went through a bitter public divorce that included allegations of physical abuse. Jean Strahan said in May that she was putting the Georgian Revival mansion, valued at $3.6 million in 2006, on the market.

In January, a judge awarded Jean Strahan $15.3 million and set child support for their twin daughters at $18,000 a month. Michael Strahan has paid more than half of the money, but an appellate court has allowed him not to pay the remaining $6.5 million while it considers his argument that the award was excessive.

Strahan, 35, the NFL's active sack leader with 1321/2, returned to the Giants last week after missing training camp and the entire preseason schedule while contemplating retirement.