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Auction Results

Now
The Duchess
Property & Precious Objects from the Estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe

27 May 2015 - 28 May 2015 | 10:00 AM BST | London

SALE TOTAL

3,701,654GBP
Browse Lots
  • A selection of items from The Duchess auction

  • A selection of items from The Duchess auction

  • A selection of items from The Duchess auction

  • A selection of items from The Duchess auction

  • A photograph of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe aged 19

Browse Lots
Sale Number: L15317 Lots : 645

SALE TOTAL

3,701,654GBP DOWNLOAD RESULTS

Sessions

  • Session 1: 27 May 2015 | 10:00 AM | Lots 1 - 420
  • Session 2: 28 May 2015 | 10:00 AM | Lots 421 - 662
  • Sale Tracked
  • Print My Catalogue (0)

Overview

RESULTS

The sale of the historic collection of paintings and objects from the collection of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe realised the outstanding total of £3,701,654, well above pre-sale expectations (est. £1.6–2.3 million). Of the 647 fascinating items offered, 87% found buyers and 76% of lots soared above their pre-sale high estimates. The top lot of the auction was the Duchess’ Cartier diamond engagement ring, which sold for 14 times its high estimate, bringing £167,000 (est. £8,000-12,000). A collection of Mary’s exquisite jewellery had been sold earlier in May at Sotheby’s in Geneva, bringing the overall total for this collection to £8,861,939 (est. £2.6-4 million). 

AUCTION DETAILS

Mary Evelyn Hungerford Crewe-Milnes (named after her godmother Queen Mary) was born into a world of tradition and high society. Her mother was the daughter of a British Prime Minister and a Rothschild heiress, and her father was the handsome Earl of Crewe. Their homes were frequented by bright young things, politicians and the grandees of society. Mary, their only surviving child, inherited West Horsley Place in Surrey from her mother. This beautiful estate, frozen in time, housed a collection from a vanished world inherited from the most illustrious families in Britain: from the footman’s gold and blue livery, furniture, ceramics, silver set picnic hampers through to a battered Louis Vuitton suitcase that opened to reveal a collection of exquisite 18th-century French fans and Mary’s Cartier engagement ring. Each piece gives us a glimpse into a world which we will never see again but lives forever in the extraordinary story of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe.

conditions of sale Saleroom Notice

Contact Information

David Macdonald
Senior Director
Senior Specialist
English & Continental Furniture
+44 20 72 93 5107
david.macdonald@sothebys.com
Gina Tammaro
Client Management
Furniture & Decorative Arts
+44 20 7293 5533
gina.tammaro@sothebys.com
Edward Hall-Smith
Administrator
Impressionist & Modern Art
+44 20 7293 5217
Edward.HallSmith@sothebys.com
Henry House
Senior Director, Head of Department
Furniture and Decorative Arts
+44 20 7293 5486
henry.house@sothebys.com
João Magalhães
Director
Senior Specialist
Continental Furniture
+44 20 7293 5089
joao.magalhaes@sothebys.com
Thomas Williams
Deputy Director
Specialist
English Furniture
+44 20 7293 6211
thomas.williams@sothebys.com
Jonathan Hills
Director
Senior Specialist
Clocks and Barometers
+44 20 7293 5538
jonathan.hills@sothebys.com
Charlie Minter
Director
Specialist
British & Irish Art Post 1850
+44 20 7293 5925
charlie.minter@sothebys.com
Justin Roberts
Specialist
Head of Catalogue Production
Jewellery
+44 (0)20 7293 5310
justin.roberts@sothebys.com
Julian Gascoigne
Director
Specialist
British Pictures 1550-1850
+44 20 7293 5482
julian.gascoigne@sothebys.com
Mark Griffith-Jones
Director
Specialist
British Watercolours, Drawings and Portrait Miniatures
+44 20 7293 5083
mark.griffithjones@sothebys.com
Richard Hird
Assistant Vice President
Specialist
European Ceramics
+1 212 894 1442
Richard.Hird@sothebys.com
Vivian Tong
Deputy Director
Head of Mid-Season Sales
Chinese Works of Art
+852 2822 9027
vivian.tong@sothebys.com
Alexandra Yasmina Roy
Deputy Director
Specialist
Middle East
+44 20 7293 5507
alexandra.roy@sothebys.com
Alexander Faber
AVP
Specialist
Old Master Drawings
+1 212 606 7552
alexander.faber@sothebys.com
Chloe Stead
Director
Specialist
Old Master Paintings
+44 20 7293 5465
chloe.stead@sothebys.com
Christopher Mason
Director
Head of Auction Sales
European Sculpture & Works of Art
+44 20 7293 6062
christopher.mason@sothebys.com
Richard Lowkes
Deputy Director
Specialist
19th Century European Paintings
+44 20 7293 5477
richard.lowkes@sothebys.com
Arabella Toler
Cataloguer, Online Sales
Jewellery
+44 207 293 5504
arabella.toler@sothebys.com