Sep 08 2011
Indian jewels and photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe are among items collected by a Scottish aristocrat that are estimated to sell for as much as $1 million.
Colin Tennant, who died last year, gained notoriety for the parties he hosted on Mustique in the Caribbean in the 1960s and 1970s. Princess Margaret, sister of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth, Mickand Bianca Jagger, and David Bowie were among the guests.
Tennant, who lived to be 83, sold his private island and moved to nearby Saint Lucia with his pet elephant, Boopa, in 1992. Newspapers described him as an eccentric socialite who collected widely and left his Indian-style “Beau House” to Kent Adonai, his locally born servant and elephant-keeper. Proceeds of the auction will benefit the Glenconner Estate, said Bonhams.
“The collection is a wonderful mix,” said Charlie Thomas, the Bonhams specialist in charge of the September 28 London sale. “There are serious academic pieces combined with fun lots.”
A gold pendant from the treasury of the Indian ruler Tipu Sultan, set with a 38-carat emerald, is valued at £80,000 ($127,600) to £120,000. It is the most expensive piece in the 225-lot sale, which may raise £650,000. Tipu was known as the “Tiger of Mysore” for his opposition to British rule. He was killed, and his treasury looted, at the Siege of Seringapatam in 1799.
Mapplethorpe photos of Princess Margaret and the Jaggers at an Indian costume party for Tennant’s 50th birthday in 1976 carry low estimates of £300 each.
Colin Tennant, who died last year, gained notoriety for the parties he hosted on Mustique in the Caribbean in the 1960s and 1970s. Princess Margaret, sister of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth, Mickand Bianca Jagger, and David Bowie were among the guests.
Tennant, who lived to be 83, sold his private island and moved to nearby Saint Lucia with his pet elephant, Boopa, in 1992. Newspapers described him as an eccentric socialite who collected widely and left his Indian-style “Beau House” to Kent Adonai, his locally born servant and elephant-keeper. Proceeds of the auction will benefit the Glenconner Estate, said Bonhams.
“The collection is a wonderful mix,” said Charlie Thomas, the Bonhams specialist in charge of the September 28 London sale. “There are serious academic pieces combined with fun lots.”
A gold pendant from the treasury of the Indian ruler Tipu Sultan, set with a 38-carat emerald, is valued at £80,000 ($127,600) to £120,000. It is the most expensive piece in the 225-lot sale, which may raise £650,000. Tipu was known as the “Tiger of Mysore” for his opposition to British rule. He was killed, and his treasury looted, at the Siege of Seringapatam in 1799.
Mapplethorpe photos of Princess Margaret and the Jaggers at an Indian costume party for Tennant’s 50th birthday in 1976 carry low estimates of £300 each.
Tennant inherited 1 million pounds in 1963 on the sale of the family commodity trading business. He assumed the title Lord Glenconner when his father died in 1983.
Pair of cufflinks and a silver snuffbox, both gifted by the princess to Tennant, are catalogued at £1,000 to £1,500 each. A late 17th-century marble bust symbolizing America is priced at £3,000 to £5,000.
Pair of cufflinks and a silver snuffbox, both gifted by the princess to Tennant, are catalogued at £1,000 to £1,500 each. A late 17th-century marble bust symbolizing America is priced at £3,000 to £5,000.
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