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Irene (on left) and Cynthia Curzon wearing jewels to be sold at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge).

The photographs of Cynthia and Irene Curzon, elder daughters of Indian Viceroy and later British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon (1859-1925), show them wearing pearls, rubies and diamonds to be sold at Bonhams in London on April 24.

Their wealth and social position put them at the centre of the British political scene.  Guests at the 1920 wedding of Cynthia (1896-1933) to Oswald Mosley included King George V and Queen Mary, Leopold III and the King and Queen of the Belgians. In 1924 the Mosleys joined the Labour Party and she campaigned with her husband (Mosley had earlier fallen out with the Conservative Party over their use of the Black and Tans in Ireland).  Her costly dress was often remarked upon during these political campaigns and their lavish lifestyle often attracted negative comment.  After their third child was born in 1932 Cynthia was shattered to discover her husbands affair with Diana Guinness, one of the Mitford sisters.  She died in 1933 of peritonitis after undergoing appendix surgery.  Mosley later married Diana Mitford. Irene Curzon became surrogate mother to the children and when Mosley (now leader of the British Union of  Fascists) was interned along with Diana in 1940 she became their official guardian.

The Dodo bone, image courtesy Christie’s images Ltd., 2013 (Click to enlarge).  UPDATE: IT MADE £8,125.

A Dodo bone crops up at Christie’s Travel, Science and Natural History sale at South Kensington on April 24. The fragment of a femur is believed to be the first dodo bone to come to auction since 1934. First recorded by Dutch sailors in 1598 on Mauritius the dodo was driven to extinction in the late 17th century. This femur bone was almost certainly excavated in 1865 at Mare aux Songes, in the South-East of Mauritius during the famous dig by George Clark (1807-1873), a natural history enthusiast. Comprising over 260 lots, the auction features curiosities of natural history, globes, scientific instruments, rare books and maps, paintings and works of art from the ages of exploration.

Seahorse ‘Registration’ sheet (click on image to enlarge).

Seahorse ‘Registration’ sheet (click to enlarge).

AN extraordinary range of stamps from The British Postal Museum & Archive will come up at Sotheby’s in London on July 11. The auction will comprise material duplicate to the archive collection. Stamps from ‘Registration’ or ‘Imprimatur’ sheets are among the most highly prized items among stamp collectors. Only two of these special sheets were ever produced for each stamp in this sale. The BPMA is to retain the original sheet which, due to its protected status, will never be sold; Sotheby’s will present for sale elements of the duplicate Registration sheets. No other examples of these items will be made available. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for collectors.
In the July sale collectors will have a choice of selected issues from the reigns of King George V (Seahorse issues), King Edward VIII and King George VI (definitive issues). A total of 191 lots is estimated to bring in excess of £5 million. A second sale takes place in February 2014. Proceeds go to the new home of the archive at Calthorpe House at London’s Mount Pleasant due to open in early 2016.
Richard Ashton, Sotheby’s Worldwide Philatelic Consultant, said: “Now in my 50th year as a professional philatelist, I have never seen such an important sale of its type. Many are the only examples of their kind ever to come on to the market. Quite aside from their rarity, these extraordinary stamps are also of great beauty – engraved to the highest standard by leading masters of the day. There are magnificent sheets of the ‘Seahorse’ stamps of King George V, and important blocks with Registration Certificates on the reverse of the reigns of King Edward VIII and King George VI. Collectors will never again have such an opportunity to purchase such rare and beautiful items.”

The rare white porcelain Meissen Monkey. (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £818,500

Another view of the Meissen Monkey. (Click on image to enlarge).

AN exceptionally rare white Meissen monkey modeled around 1732 by Johann Joachim Kändler is a highlight at Sotheby’s in London on May 1. Depicted taking snuff, the monkey was commissioned by Augustus II, the Strong, Prince Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and displayed in his porcelain menagerie at the famous Japanese Palace in Dresden.
Estimated at £200,000-400,000 it is the highlight of the sale of the Meissen Collection of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie. Only two other examples are known – one in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the other in the Dresden State Art Collections.

The Meissen Collection of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie represents one of the most extensive groups of
18th century Meissen animals and birds ever to appear at auction. Comprising over 140 different
figures, almost all of which were created at Meissen during the 1730s and 1740s by the legendary
Johann Joachim Kändler, the collection was started in the 1930s by the Anglo-American heiress
Olive, Lady Baillie (grand-daughter of William Whitney), who bought many of the pieces for her
home, Leeds Castle in Kent and Lowndes House, London. She passed her love for Meissen on to
her son, Sir Gawaine Baillie, Bt., who with his wife Margot, built it into one of the most extensive
Meissen menageries in private hands.

UPDATE: THE Meissen Monkey sold for £818,500. The Baillie Collection comprising around 140 works, made £4.03  million.