Furniture, porcelain, glass, silver, paintings and drawings which encompass the long and varied history of the Dutch Royal family are about to come under the hammer in Amsterdam. Sotheby’s will conduct the four day sale of around 1,600 lots from the estate of the late Queen Juliana of The Netherlands at the RAI Theatre, Europaplein 14, Amsterdam from March 14-17.
The sale is taking place at the instructions of the Executors on behalf of the Queen’s daughters, Her Majesty the Queen and Their Royal Highnesses Princess Irene, Princess Margriet and Princess Christina, who have stipulated that the proceeds go to four charities. Many of the lots are from the Palace Soestdijk where Queen Juliana lived throughout her married life, while other items come from the attics of other Royal Palaces, with many drawings and prints previously held in the Royal Archive.
Only a small number of the pieces were acquired by Queen Juliana and her spouse Prince Bernhard, and by far the greater share was accumulated over the last 150 years from Kings Willem I, II and III, Queen Emma and Queen Wilhelmina. Many of the works still bear inventory marks and labels to show their origins in the seven Royal Palaces and Royal Residences throughout the Netherlands.
