REVIEW

Top of the Lots 2024

18 December 2024

Lyon & Turnbull

From Ancient Rome to Modern Scotland, 2024 was a thrilling ride from start to finish, welcoming buyers and sellers from across the globe to our UK and online salerooms. Join us as we take a look back at the top lots and most interesting collections of the year.

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THREE ROMAN MONUMENTAL MARBLE PORTRAIT HEADS AT £1.7M

Bidders from all over the world competed to own three extraordinary Roman portrait busts during our March Classical Ancient Art auction. The trio of second century heads – sold for a combined £1.7million* – boasted an 18th century provenance linked to the renowned Cobham Hall: they were previously owned by John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767-1831), the Lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent.

Read more about J.D. Fergusson at 150

Historic collections featured prominently this year including furniture and works of art from the architecturally important Penicuik House in March. Penicuik estate situated to the south-west of Edinburgh at the foot of the Pentlands, has been owned by the Clerk family since the middle of the 17th century

A highlight of the collection was a lively pair of giltwood side tables, with their somewhat menacing dolphins or sea serpents, which were certainly saved from the major house fire in 1899. After international bidding they sold for £275,200*. The impressively thick brecce pernice marble slabs may have been part of the shipment of marble slabs shipped from Rome in the late 1760s, arranged by John Baxter the Younger, son of Penicuiks chief architect John Baxter.

Read about Penicuik House here

Sir John Lavery's Paisley Lawn Tennis Club (illustrated above) depicting Paisley socialites at a tennis party in 1889 sold in A Taste for Art: Selected Works from the Paisley Art Institute Collection in September for £537,700*. The much anticipated auction totalled £1.63 million* - a sizeable portion of which will contribute to the ongoing effort to secure the 148-year old artist-led charity’s future.

Paisley Art Institute has been at the forefront of promoting and supporting Scottish artists’ work since 1876. It is a lively artists collective run by artists and art lovers which continues to be focused on its original aims including its annual large-scale exhibition for contemporary artists, now in its 135th year.

Read a review of A Taste for Art

All private collections presented in 2024 were incredibly well received - Scottish Wemyss Ware : The George Bellamy Collection opened the year at 100% sold; The Cairncross Collection a white-glove sale lead by world record for The Abernethy Pearl at £93,951*; Jewellery from the Private Collection of the Former First Lady of Haiti Yolette Leconte Magloire again 100% sold and featured a stunning Cartier bracelet by renowned maker Georges Lenfant at £62,700*; The Dorothy Bohm Collection brought a fascinating range of important 20th century photography to market from the renowned photographer's personal collection; a passion for Indian art was reflected by bidding in the auction of Indian Paintings from the Collection of William & Mildred Archer in June, led by an interior scene dating from 18th century Gujarat at £175,201*.

Design and Contemporary Craft has been a strong feature of 2024 with multiple private collections included Nature Inspired: A Private Collection of Lalique; The Steve Allison Collection led by amazing gathering of works by Italian design icon Gaetano Pesce; Collecting Contemporary Craft: Selected Works From “A Private Aficionado” led by works by Fred Rich, Kevin Gray and Wendy Ramshaw; An Aesthetic Interior: The Contents of a London Apartment a fine collection of works of art held in an exquisite interior within a London apartment designed by Richard Norman Shaw, its success a tangible reflection of the renewed interest in early Decorative Arts that began in the 1960s and that continues to thrive today.

The beautiful work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh yet again attracted interest from across the globe, with a rare stool from Miss Cranston's Argyle Street Tea Rooms, dating from 1898, reaching £81,450* in October.

The rare and unusual will always be a pleasure to bring to market - this year was no exception with one of the few first edition copies of Robert Burns landmark Poems in the Scottish Dialect to remain in private hands fetching £62,700*; in our inaugural London Watches sale in November a very rare and important gold and enamel pocket watch, made for the Chinese market circa 1820 by Ilbery of London sold for £50,200*; and in December a detailed view of the River Tweed by early 19th century British artist William Daniell set a world record for a British view by the topographical artist at £150,200*.

Thank you for joining us in 2024. We look forward to welcoming you back to our salerooms, galleries and online in 2025.

*All sold prices include buyer's premium.

JACK VETTRIANO O.B.E. (SCOTTISH B.1951) | THE CONFRONTATION

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