Lyon & Turnbull

Folk & Fantasy: Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill

Sale number: 645Set up by Peter Powell in Edinburgh in the early 1980s, The Thrie Estaits in Dundas Street was a treasure trove of the eclectic, the beautiful and the quirky. It was hard to find a shop like it, and for nearly forty years it was the go-to for extraordinary works of art.Peter trained in silversmithing at Glasgow School of Art in the late 1960s and after graduating worked at Elders in Charing Cross. Elders were pioneers in Glasgow in the promotion of contemporary design, especially the Scandinavian and Italian designers, appealing to Peter’s eye for the unusual.From Elders, he graduated to the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh to work on their range of tiles. The studio was set up by the Marquis of Bute predominantly as a studio for weaving tapestry although the tile-making offshoot was given a space in the studio. Peter continued making tiles when the Dovecot Studios closed their tile-making operation, but he also started to buy and sell antique tiles and other small objects too. He finally bought his own shop in Dundas Street Edinburgh where he was able to expand into other disciplines and where larger items could be displayed.Peter named the shop The Thrie Estaits after the 16th century satirical play of the same name by Sir David Lindsay – a commentary on the church, the state and the common man and a reflection too of the variety of the stock. Before long the shop became known around the country for its interesting and eclectic contents. One customer describes how his visits&nbsp;<blockquote>“felt like entering an antique shop in Spain or Portugal, filled with a miscellany of desirable objects, a number of which I then acquired and scattered throughout my home. Their emporium had two enticing windows set back from the street - one of the windows involved standing over a pierced cast iron grille, always hoping it wouldn’t give way, but worth the risk! A few steps down to enter another world and at the back, beyond where Peter sat, lay a further room with a window and it too was laden with treasures.……”.</blockquote>Certainly the shop could be described as small but absolutely packed with things, though always displayed with thoughtful care and some verve, wherever possible!Peter and his long-standing partner Walter Gordon often benefitted from the cheerful help of Roger Cave, a wizard on the internet. They dealt with clients ranging from museums and institutions to dealers such as Roger Warner at Burford and Gretchen Andersen at the Lacquer Chest in London, amongst other tastemakers drawn to the shop.More recently Peter moved The Thrie Estaits to East Lothian where he has traded successfully for a number of years at Fenton Barns. In December 2020, after over 40 years he made the difficult decision to close and to turn full circle, returning to collecting, restoring and selling objects on a smaller scale.

Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill

large_Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill banner.jpg

medium_Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill banner.jpg

small_Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill banner.jpg

thumbnail_Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill banner.jpg

small_MicrosoftTeams-image-removebg-preview.png

thumbnail_MicrosoftTeams-image-removebg-preview.png

Logo with add text

Lyon & Turnbull | Online Auction Specialists  

large_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

medium_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

small_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

thumbnail_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

xlarge_Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

Placeholder-for-Blog.jpg

CHILDREN AT PLAY

EARLY 19TH CENTURY

19TH CENTURY

DATED 1833

PORTRAIT OF A GIRL WITH HER CART

SIX PORTRAITS OF WALPOLE FAMILY CHILDREN

MID-19TH CENTURY

LATE 18TH CENTURY

LATE 18TH/ EARLY 19TH CENTURY

2ND HALF 19TH CENTURY

HALF-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN

PORTRAIT OF MRS MACDONALD, AGED 102

LATE 18TH/ 19TH CENTURY

FAMILY GROUP PORTRAIT

HALF-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A SEA CAPTAIN

S.S. JAMES WATT OFF THE ENGLISH COAST

OUT TO SEA

PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER ALEXANDER

KYIK-MEE (AMHERST) - THE LANDING PLACE

FRAMED COLLECTION OF EUCALYPTUS LEAF PAINTINGS

18TH/ EARLY 19TH CENTURY

LATE 19TH CENTURY

LATE 19TH/ EARLY 20TH CENTURY

EARLY 20TH CENTURY

18TH CENTURY

A VIEW OF HOLYROOD ABBEY, EDINBURGH

LATE 19TH/ EARLY 20TH CENTURY 

FIGURE OF A GIRL

GLASGOW FAIR, 1840

19TH CENTURY / 20TH CENTURY

20TH CENTURY 

19TH/ EARLY 20TH CENTURY

PANELS 18TH CENTURY

17TH  CENTURY

18TH CENTURY STYLE 

LATE 19TH/ 20TH CENTURY

PAX ET LABOUR

EARLY 18TH CENTURY

LATE 17TH CENTURY

18TH AND 19TH CENTURY

Folk & Fantasy

Property from The Thrie Estaits and the Collection of Alison & Angus Hill | 645