A Sotheby’s auction of exquisite collection of over 350 objects from the family estate of Patricia Mountbatten, the eldest daughter of last viceroy of India has reached a grand total of £5.6 million in sales. There were bids from over 1,400 bidders in 55 countries, and it tripled the pre-sale estimates, with 90 per cent of the pieces going for over the high estimate price. The collection from the Countess's home Newhouse in Kent, which spans jewellery, furniture, paintings, sculpture, books, silver, ceramics and objets d'art, was acquired from both her own family and that of her husband, John Knatchbull, 7th Lord Brabourne.
Pieces in the sale from her husband's side of the family included Thomas Chippendale furniture from the Knatchbull family seat of Mersham le Hatch in Kent, as well as remarkable items once owned by the likes of Jane Austen's beloved niece Fanny Austin Knatchbull (née Knight) and Sir Joseph Banks, who travelled to Australia on Captain James Cook's first expedition.
Standout pieces from the collection included two sweet anniversary gifts. One was sent by Lord Mountbatten, Patricia's father, to her mother Edwina on their 24th wedding anniversary. He gave her a pair of enamel elephants made in Jaipur and engraved with ‘Edwina from Dickie’ and ‘18 July 1946’. These sold for £34,020, fourteen times their estimate. Also included was a gift from John Knatchbull to his wife Patricia for their 20th wedding anniversary, a Fabergé inkwell with a romantic inscription in Patricia’s handwriting that says '20 even more perfect years'.
