Few actresses can claim to be as enduring as Barbra Streisand, and this was proven when she returned to the stage before a sell-out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, today in 1993.

Streisand enjoys a kind of status which means she can emerge whenever she likes, every few years, and people automatically take notice.

Streisand's Dirk Van Erp table lamp ($30k)

The same thing happened this year when, having decided to clean out her closet - and that a garage sale simply wouldn't do - Streisand had an auction dedicated to herself, instead.

The Barbra Streisand auction took place on October 17-18, 2009 at Julien's Auctions - which famously sold Michael Jackson's iconic glove - in Beverley Hills.

Naturally, her memorabilia included some of the finest outfits, furniture and other home accessories available.

The top lot was a Dirk Van Erp table lamp, which brought an incredible $30,000.

An L & JG Stickley China Cabinet ($15k)

Other big sellers included an L & JG Stickley China Cabinet, which matched its higher estimate of $15,000; and a William Louis Otte (American, 1871-1957) painting which sold for $13,125.

The auction was a success - and its proceeds went primarily to the Streisand Foundation for women's, children's, political and environmental causes, and the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

However, when you're as famous a Streisand, there is always the possibility of things best left forgotten emerging from the woodwork.

In September, Barry Dennen, her ex-boyfriend between 1959-1965, attempted to sell an early demo tape recorded by the pair which he kept after they had broken up.

"Our lawyers are dealing with this," said a representative of Streisand.

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