The Belgrave Square home of Irish tycoon Edward Haughey has been described as the Downton Abbey of our times. Contents from his extraordinary London home – which formed a backdrop to life at the highest levels of British society – will come under the hammer at
Sotheby’s on May 23 and 24.
The Kilcurry, Co. Louth born pharmaceutical magnate Lord Ballyedmond (no relation of the late Taoiseach) who died in a helicopter crash in 2014 was a keen collector with very deep pockets. Inspired by the Regency and neoclassical designs of Robert Adam he transformed a once dormant property in one of London’s most prestigious squares into a modern evocation of a great Georgian town house. Along the way he amassed a collection of paintings, tapestries, porcelain, silver and furniture.
Among the lots are a silver wine cistern capable of accommodating over 70 bottles of champagne. This is a 1992 reproduction of a 1719 original by Paul de Lamerie and is estimated at £80,000-120,000. A 19th century dinner service with the arms of the Thurn & Taxis family is estimated at £2,500-3,500, a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of Mrs. Richard Pennant has an estimate of £20,000-30,000 and a Louis XV tapestry is estimated at £12,000-18,000. Other lots include a silver aviary, chandeliers, marble sculptures, clocks and collectibles.
Born in 1944 Lord Ballyedmond is renowned as only the second person in history after the Marquess of Lansdowne in the 1920’s to have sat in the upper houses of both the Irish and British parliaments. A second sale, the Ballyedmond collection part II: Gentlemen’s Accessories Online, will open on May 23. It will feature objects like cufflinks, tie pins and watches by makers including Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Boucheron and Tiffany. Estimates range from £150 to £6,000.
UPDATE: THE sale totalled £4.4 million with bidders from every continents and a sell through rate of 94.3%. Most lots went able the high estimate.
The dining room at Belgrave Square.
The parlour at Belgrave Square.
A reproduction silver wine cistern capable of holding 70 bottles of champagne modelled on a 1719 original by Paul de Lamerie (£80,000-120,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS THE TOP LOT OF THE SALE AND MADE £112,500
Sir Joshua Reynolds – Portrait of Mrs. Richard Pennant 1816 (£20,000-30,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £25,000
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on Saturday, May 20th, 2017 at 9:18 am and is filed under ART, AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES, FURNITURE.
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