£300,000 for important Allan Ramsay portrait 280

By Alexander Lawrie
 
A PAINTING described as “one of the most important Scottish portraits to be offered at auction this year” sold for almost £300,000 at auction yesterday (Thu).
 
Art collectors from around the world descended on Edinburgh to bid for the rarely seen 18th century self-portrait of celebrated Scots artist Allan Ramsay.
 
The painting of the Edinburgh-born artist was just one of the rarities sold at Christie’s Auction of Scottish Art at the city’s Assembly Rooms.
 
On sale were over 180 lots of Scottish art covering a period of 300 years, including many pieces that have not appeared on the open market for generations.
 
A spokeswoman for Christie’s Auction House confirmed the Allan Ramsay portrait sold for an amazing £289,250 to an anonymous buyer after a fierce bout of bidding.
 
She said: “In recent years Christie’s has realised impressive results for Scottish art as the category continues to attract new international collectors.
 
“This year the auction has attracted huge worldwide interest and the exceptional Ramsay self-portrait is one of the most important Scottish portraits to offered in years.
 
“For the painting to reach almost £300,000 is incredible and here at Christie’s we are extremely proud to be involved with the sale of this iconic painting.”
 
The self-portrait was commissioned by a patron of the artist, Dr John Ward, and was painted in 1749. It is thought to be a later version of another self-portrait Ramsay completed in 1738.
 
The painting, which has the artists signature in the corner, was then passed through the Ward family until 1937.
 
Before yesterday’s sale the painting had been in the ownership of the same family since 1969 and had never been offered for auction before.
 
Born in the capital in 1713, the Scottish artist moved to London aged 20 to study painting, and three years later then moved to Italy to study the influence of the Italian old masters.
 
On his return to Britain he was taken under the patronage of The Duke of Bridgewater – at the time the richest noble in the country – and in 1760 he was appointed Painter-in-Ordinary to King George III.
 
Ramsay suffered a horrific accident in which he dislocated his shoulder leading him to retire from painting in 1770, at which point he concentrated on literary pursuits.

Swede snaps up historic whisky safe 258

 

BY Alexander Lawrie

A PIECE of Scotch whisky history has sold at auction for almost £4000.
 
Loch Fyne Whiskies have recently sold the ultimate slice of whisky memorabilia – a 100 year-old spirit safe.
 
The unusual collector’s item was sold to an anonymous buyer from Sweden for a whopping £3800.
 
The safe is thought to be the original one used at the Glenlochy Distillery in Fort William which closed its doors in 1983.
 
Richard Joynson, owner of Loch Fyne Whiskies, said: “This safe really was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece of Scotch Whisky history.
 
“I’ve never seen anything like this come on the market before.
 
“It originally came from the Glenlochy Distillery in Fort William, which opened in 1898. And although I can’t be 100 per cent positive, it certainly looks like it is the original safe.
 
“The distillery closed down in 1983 and the safe has been gathering dust since then. A friend of mine acquired it and didn’t have anywhere to keep it, and so he thought that a whisky enthusiast might enjoy the chance to own something as unusual as this.
 
“We had quite a few bids, but a Swedish gentleman came up with the best offer and he is travelling over to Scotland at the weekend to pick it up.”
 
The safe is designed to allow the distiller to analysis and manage the destination of the product of the spirit still as it emerges from the spirit condenser, but without ever coming into contact with the spirit itself.
 
Its origins date back to 1823 when the alcohol duty laws were changed to allow small Highland distilleries to compete with the larger Lowland distilleries.
 
The main reason for the introduction of the whisky safe was to stop distillers avoiding paying duty on the alcoholic drink by ‘tapping off’.
 
Its use in the whisky making process was made compulsory in 1823.
 
Thought to have been made between the years of 1880 and 1890, the brass-clad safe was designed by Archibald McMillan and Co Ltd in Edinburgh.
 
The coppersmiths are still in existence and have gathered an international reputation for the design, manufacture and installation of copper stills for the production of whisky, gin, rum, and other potable alcohols.
 
Situated near to the banks of Loch Lochy, the old Glenlochy Distillery building has recently been converted into a large guest house and residential home complex.

Scots artefacts auction success 169

By Alexander Lawrie
 
TWO items of historical Scottish importance have sold at auction for thousands of pounds above their estimated value.
 
A silver sword which once belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie sold to an English Jacobite collector for an astonishing £22,800.
 
And a lock of hair belonging to Mary Queen of Scots was snapped up for a whopping £7200.
 
The strands of hair, which are mounted on top of a jewellery box and once belonged to Lady Belhaven, was originally expected to fetch around £3000.
 
While the 2ft 8inch engraved silver sword was only initially valued at £7000.
 
The jewellery box carries the inscription “A Lock of Queen Mary’s Hair Which Belonged to the Late Lady Belhaven”.
 
The historic artifact was discovered locked away in a secret drawer of a bureau in Lord Belhaven’s official residence at Holyrood Palace in the mid-1800’s.
 
An envelope with a handwritten note with the words “a lock of my own hair” and signed “Mary R” was also found alongside the lock.
 
The signature was later authenticated as that of Queen Mary Stuart after it was compared with original documents held in the Royal Collections.
 
After finding the lock of hair, Lord Belhaven gave it to the then monarch, Queen Victoria
 
It is also believed previously a butler at Holyrood Palace took a small section of the hair and gave it as a token to a lady in waiting.
 
That piece was sold by Lyon & Turnbull in 2001, and is now in the Hawick Museum and Scott Gallery.
 
The lock of hair and the jewellery box were sold to an anonymous buyer at the Lyon and Turnbull auction house in Edinburgh yesterday.
 
A spokesperson for Lyon and Turnbull said: “We had two bidders for the lock of hair, one on the telephone and one actually in the room.
 
“The bidder who attended the auction won with an unbelievable bid, but he went away a very happy man.
 
“He told me he was a collector of historical Scottish pieces and was absolutely delighted to have bought the lock of hair.
 
“He had no idea of its worth or what it was going to go for, but he said he just had to have it.”
 
The beautifully engraved silver sword belonging to Bonnie Prince Charlie formed part of a collection which was being held in Cumbria.
 
Colin Fraser, a silver specialist with Lyon and Turnbull, said: “It measures about two feet eight inches long and has a beautifully modelled guard overlaid with floral decorations.
 
“There is a skilfully engraved representation of a halberd – a two handled weapon – and banner crossed over by a spear and cannon with drums.
 
“There is also a fire blue and gilt decoration with a ‘C’ surmounted by a royal crown with a stylised thistle. The blade is contained within a silver mounted scabbard.”
 
The anonymous English buyer was said to be “over the moon” at winning the bidding frenzy that surrounded the sale of the sword.
 
Born in Rome in 1720, Bonnie Prince Charlie was the exiled Jacobite claimant to the British throne who led the Scottish Highland army in the 1745 Rebellion. He was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart and grandson of James II of England.
 
Charles raised his father’s standard at Glenfinnan and marched on the city of Edinburgh, which quickly surrendered.
 
His forces were routed at Battle of Culloden in April, 1746.
 
He was hunted as a fugitive for more than five months, but made his escape to France in September 1746.