- One of the largest fine art auctions ever to take place in the Island to be held this weekend
- Items going under the hammer include a Victorian stained glass window and a Neolithic flint hand axe
- Auction to be held at Hotel de France this Saturday and Sunday
- Read about some other interesting local items which have gone, or are going, under the hammer below
TWO 1,000 year-old Chinese jade sword slides, a Victorian stained glass window and a Neolithic flint hand axe will be up for sale as part of one of the largest fine art auctions ever to take place in the Island.
The items, which are among 1,200 lots from the collection of economist and traveller Dr Hugh Thurston who died three years ago, will be put under the hammer this week with the total of the auction expected to reach up to £300,000.
Other highlights from the collection, which is currently displayed in Dr Thurston’s Georgian mansion Claremont Court at Mont Millais, include more than 50 religious icons from the 16th to the 19th century, a rare set of twelve 19th century Chinese watercolour scroll paintings, several pieces of Inuit art and a rare 18th century silver tankard made by Jersey silversmith Philippe Le Vavasseur.
Collectors will also be able to bid for a large selection of antique, vintage and modern jewellery and watches, with selling prices likely to range from £20 to £15,000.
James Bridges, a director of Martel Maides – the company that is organising the auction, said that the items reflected a lifetime’s passionate collecting of eclectic antiques and decorative arts.
‘I don’t think I have ever come across a collection that is so wide-ranging as this one – there’s pieces from all over the world dating from Neolithic times up to the 20th century,’ he said.
‘Dr Thurston used to advise governments across the globe and as such he used to travel huge amounts. Part of his passion was looking in antique shops and art galleries and he would always come back with the most extraordinary things in his suitcase. He would come back with things that you really wouldn’t believe. Collating the sale has been a voyage of discovery.’
Mr Bridges said that he thought that the Chinese watercolour scrolls, which have already attracted interest from several collectors, would fetch the highest amount, adding that he expected bids in the region of £15,000.
Viewings of the collection will take place at Claremont Court today, Wednesday and Thursday, before the two-day auction at Hotel de France on Saturday and Sunday.
All of the proceeds of the sale will go to Dr Thurston’s surviving partner Robert Chapman.
A collection of war medals, owned by the daughter of war hero Violette Szabó, fetched a world record price of £260,000 when they were bought at auction by UK businessman and politician Lord Ashcroft.
James Bond fans will be able to get their hands on a J007 numberplate on 26 September, meanwhile a Guernsey man recently handed over £240,000 to claim their version of the 007 registration.
An oil painting by Jersey artist Sir John Everett Millais sold for £86,500 at an auction earlier this year. The painting was painted by Millais in 1882 four years after he painted A Jersey Lily, his famous portrait of Jersey-born actress Lillie Langtry, which is now owned by Jersey Heritage.
David Gainsborough Roberts has announced that most of his collection will go under the hammer in the coming years. Estimated to be worth around £10 million the collection includes a painting by Winston Churchill, clothes worn by screen icon Marilyn Monroe in some of her best-known films and items owned by the infamous duo Bonnie and Clyde.
