MUGHAL-STYLE WHITE JADE 'CHRYSANTHEMUM' BOWL QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 白玉雕痕都斯坦式菊紋碗 elegantly carved with steep and gently flaring plain sides, supported on a medallion of a blossoming chrysanthemum, the thin polished stone of even and translucent white colour with light occasional cloud inclusions(12cm diameter)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
We found 2466194 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 2466194 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
2466194 item(s)/page
OX-BLOOD-GLAZED LANGYAO MEIPING VASE QING DYNASTY, 18TH-19TH CENTURY 清 紅釉郎窯小梅瓶 the high shouldered baluster body rising from a spreading foot to a waisted neck and terminating to a flared rim, covered overall with a rich red glaze thinning on the mouth, the foot suffused with hints of blue and lavender colours, a network of fine crackle throughout, the base with an ivory white glaze with a fine network of crackle, with a carved wooden lid(13cm high)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.Note: a slightly larger (17.8 cm high) red-glazed vase similar in the Meiping shape and ox-blood colour, dated to the Kangxi period, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number: 14.40.70
TURQUOISE-GLAZED HANDLED VASE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 孔雀綠釉獸耳瓶 rising from a short foot to globular body, waisted neck and wide flared mouth, two makara heads with water emerging from mouth flanking the neck forming a pair of loop handles, covered overall and save for the base with a translucent bright turquoise crackled glaze, the base covered in a thin layer of transparent glaze and revealing the greyish-white body(28cm high)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.Note: a comparable handled vase, dated to the Kangxi period, was sold at Christie's South Kensington, 5 May 2014, lot 615
SANG-DE-BOEUF BOTTLE VASE QING DYNASTY, 18TH-19TH CENTURY 清 紅釉天球瓶 sturdily potted from a recessed foot rising to a bulbous body and straight long neck, applied overall with a thick red glaze thinning on the mouth rim revealing the creamy body, the base covered in an ivory white glaze with a network of fine crackle(39cm high)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
BLUE AND WHITE AND UNDERGLAZED-RED BOTTLE VASE 20TH CENTURY 二十世紀 青花釉裏紅三多紋膽瓶 the globular body supported on a slightly flared foot, rising to a long straight neck, painted with fruits borne on foliage underneath bands of ruyi, key-fret, and plantain leaves on the neck(37cm high)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE 'COVERT EIGHT IMMORTALS' PLATES QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY 清 粉彩暗八仙紋盤(一對) each painted to the central medallion with attributes of Eight Daoist Immortals, including a double-gourd, sword, plantain fan, fish drum, flute, castanets, basket of flowers, and lotus, all borne on ribbons, resting on a large leaf issuing out luscious peonies, all beneath floral and auspicious emblem panels against a pink diaper and swirling ground band(32cm diameter each)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
TWO FAMILLE VERTE GINGER JARS AND COVERS QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 綠彩荷塘清趣圖蓋罐(兩件) each similarly painted with a continuous lotus pond scene, with wooden stands(heights: 17.5cm and 19.5cm)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
FAMILLE ROSE 'LOTUS POND AND MANDARIN DUCKS' GINGER JAR QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 粉彩荷塘鴛鴦紋罐帶木蓋 of ovoid form, painted to one side with a pair of Mandarin ducks in a lotus pond with large foliage and florals, the reverse with a butterfly, with a carved wooden lid(22cm high)Provenance: Kimmerghame, Duns, the Estate of the Late Major General Sir John Swinton K.C.V.O., O.B.E., D.L. (1925-2018) Major General Sir John Swinton began his military career in 1944 with the Scots Guards, rising in rank to Major General in 1976. He was also Brigadier of the Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) in 1977, and retired from Army life in 1979. With his strong military background, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Berwickshire in 1980 and Lord Lieutenant from 1989 to 2000. A high point of his tenure was escorting the Stone of Scone back to Scotland in 1996. The Swinton family history and ownership of land in Berwickshire can be traced to the early part of the 12th century, when Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland (1084-1153). This is one of two original charters of David I kept in the cartulary of Durham; both are to Ernulf and also refer to Ernulf’s father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him. This would make Eadulf the first landowner of Scotland whose ownership could be proved, and means that the Swinton family would by this hypothesis be one of only three (the two others being the Arden and Berkeley families) that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain. Kimmerghame itself was the site of an earlier house, the home of Sir Andrew Home in the 1730s. The lands and estate of Kimmerghame came into the ownership of the family of Swinton in 1776 when Archibald Swinton of Manderston married Henrietta Campbell of Blythswood in Glasgow. This older house was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1850s, the architect being the celebrated David Bryce, who employed some materials from the older house. Bryce’s Scots Baronial house was substantially damaged by fire in 1938 and only partially rebuilt. The family still retains Kimmerghame and its contents. Captain Archibald Swinton (1731-1804) went to India in the service of the East India Company as a surgeon. He reached Madras in 1752 and took part in the campaigns being waged between the French and English Companies for supremacy in the south. He also took part in an expedition 1756-57 to Negrais in Burma. He reached eastern India for the first time in 1759 when he arrived at Ganjam in Orissa and from there went on to Calcutta. He also transferred from being a surgeon to an ensignship in the Company’s Bengal army. When Archibald Swinton left the Company’s service at the end of 1765, he took with him a letter from the Emperor to King George III asking for help to reseat him on the throne of his ancestors, since Clive would not do so unilaterally; Swinton took a munshi with him in case the answer should be written in Persian. So ‘Captain Swinton, bringing with him the Munshy (sic) (and including in his baggage the large Indian jars, the Indian pictures, Chinese pictures painted on glass, numberless ivory, silver and crystal handled arms, jewels, Persian books, etc. etc.), sailed from India …’ The important group of Indian paintings and other works of art are now in the care of the National Museum of Scotland having been accepted by the nation in lieu of inheritance tax. The Swinton family have had strong connections with the Army and the legal profession. Part of their impressive collection was sold at our saleroom in Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings and Works of Art sale on 23 Feb 2022.
WUCAI BARREL-SHAPED TEAPOT WITH COVER QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD 清康熙 五彩開光山水人物紋鼓式茶壺(含後嵌銀壺嘴) finely painted on either side with small figures in a mountainous landscape in a cartouche, the top and bottom of the teapot moulded with raised bosses, the cover similarly decorated with a lion finial, attached with a loop handle, mounted with a silver straight spout(18cm wide)Provenance: Private English collection, Surrey; formerly in a private English collection, Devonshire
PATINATED BRONZE VASE WITH MIXED METAL ACCENTS MEIJI PERIOD 明治 禽鳥花卉紋嵌銅花瓶 of baluster form, the exterior decorated with a continuous scene of draping branches bearing blossoming flowers, one side with a tree perched by a bird, all applied in silver shakudo and gold takazogan mixed-metals, all against a finely chiselled ground, the neck further adorned with two moths with flowers in tendrils, the base unmarked(24.1cm high; 1.98kg)Provenance: Private Scottish collection
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER TANKARD QING DYNASTY, CHENG JI, CANTON, CIRCA1850-60 清 澄記款 外銷銀閣樓人物紋把杯 the 'double-skinned' cylindrical vessel tapering up with exterior repoussé in relief with a continuous scene of scholars at leisure amongst trees, rockwork and pavilions, a sinuous dragon-form handle set to one side, with engraved initials ‘MCSS’ in a shield-form cartouche, the base with a two-character maker's mark '澄記 (Cheng Ji)' in Chinese(12.5cm wide; 280g)Provenance: Private Scottish collection, StirlingNote: Cheng Ji 澄記 was an artisan operating in Canton (Guangzhou) from early to mid-19th century. It only produced tankards and stemmed goblets and is known to have made on a regular basis for the two Canton retail merchants HOACHING (何金) and the mark that is still generally known as “GOTHIC K”. With thanks to Adrien von Ferscht, a Chinese export silver specialist, for the dating and footnote on this lot.
CASED CHINESE EXPORT SILVER THREE-PIECE TEA SERVICE WITH SUGAR TONGS LATE QING TO REPUBLIC PERIOD, 清末民初 「慎昌」、「90」、「CL」款 外銷銀竹林舞蝶圖海棠形茶具一組四件(帶原盒)comprising: a teapot, a handled milk jug, a twin-handled sugar bowl, and a pair of sugar tongs, all vessels of quatrefoil form elegantly carved with bamboo grooves visited by butterflies, except the tongs, all marked '慎昌 (Shen Chang)', '90' and a retail mark 'CL' for Cheong Lam (林昌 [Cheng Lin]), in a cloth-lined original fitted wooden case(Teapot: 15cm high, 579g; milk jug: 12cm high, 224g; sugar bowl: 11cm high, 229g; sugar tongs: 11.7cm long, 43g)Provenance: Private Scottish collection, has been in the family for over 100 yearsNote: the retail mark is "CL" for CHEONG LAM/C.L. 林昌 [CHENG LIN]; a Canton retailer. With thanks to Adrien von Ferscht, a Chinese export silver specialist, for the footnote on this lot.
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER 'BAMBOO' TANKARD QING DYNASTY, LEE CHING, CANTON AND SHANGHAI, CIRCA 清 「泉」、「LC」款 外銷銀石竹紋把杯 the tapered cylindrical body elegantly incised with a dense bamboo groove issuing from low piles of rocks visited by insects, a shield-form cartouche on the centre, plain handle with bands set to the reverse, 'double-skinned' interior gilded, the base marked 'LC' and '泉 (Quan)'(9.5cm high; 166g)Provenance: Private collection, Scottish Highlands
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER THREE-PIECE TEA SERVICE AND A COFFEE POT LATE QING DYNASTY, WANG HING 90 清末 「Wang Hing」、「90」、「大吉」錘印款 外銷銀八角人物花卉圖茶具一組三件 及 咖啡壺一件 (共四件) comprising: a three-piece tea service including a teapot, milk jug, and sugar jar, and a tall coffee pot; each of octagonal form, the side panel applied with dragons in clouds, goldfish in watergrass, scholars gathering in garden setting, birds in bamboo grove, attached with one or two sinuous five-clawed dragon handles, each piece marked on the base with 'Wang Hing 90 Taikut' mark in square(Tea pot: 23cm, 677g; sugar jar: 18cm wide, 316g; milk jug: 12.5cm wide, 206g; coffee pot: 23.5cm wide, 799g)Provenance: Private English collection, London; acquired by Mary Josephine Anderson, née Noble (1888-1964) who was born in Hong Kong, thence by descent. Her father George E. Noble (1846-1901) joined the newly founded Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) when he was 19 and rose to the top position of Chief Manager until illness necessitated his early retirement.Note: Taikut (大吉) was the name of a silver workshop located in Canton, active during the late Qing period. There is also the mark of Wang Hing which was a well-known craft shop, based in Hong Kong, 10 Queen's Road Central, famous for specialising in gold and silver. According to Adrien von Frescht, "The Taikut mark appears on its own as well as in conjunction with the Wang Hing mark. This implies that Taikut was both a manufacturing workshop and a retail silversmith. It is perhaps revealing that the Wang Hing/Tai Kut combined mark is actually created by a single punch, indicating this was some form of working partnership and a regularly used one." See Chinese Export Silver 1785-1940, The Definitive Collectors' Guide, University of Glasgow. Scottish Centre for China Research, 2015
COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHAKYAMUNI SWAT VALLEY, 8TH CENTURY 八世紀 斯瓦特 銅鑄釋迦摩尼佛座像 cast seated in padmasana on a slightly waisted podium supported on a single lotus throne further raised on a stepped plinth, holding the hem of his robe in his left hand, missing right hand half raised, he wears a ripple-effect robe covering both shoulders draped on the seat, his face well defined with downcast eyes, prominent lips and nose flanked by a pair of large pendulous ears, the head and domed ushnisha covered with tight curls(15.5cm high; 896g)Provenance: Private European collectionNote: By the fifth century, Buddhism had been thriving in Gandhara and the Swat Valley in Northern Pakistan for six hundred years. Strategically located on the ancient Silk Road, the Swat Valley was once a vibrant centre of Buddhism with flowing artistic traditions financed by the extensive trade that flowed through the Khyber and Karakorum passes. The ancient Swat Valley Buddhist art was predominantly in sculptural form and the term 'Swat Valley sculpture' refers to a region and a time period, which covers the far Western Himalayan regions inclusive of the Swat Valley, Gilgit and Baltistan from the 6th to the 9th centuries. The Swat Valley iconographic subjects were not extensive but had included important primarily buddha, peaceful deity, and complex deity figures. Offered here is a seated Buddha cast in copper alloy, the usual material for Swat Valley sculptures, covered in dark brown and a touch of forest-green patina. This finely modelled figure is a classic rendition of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Buddha is shown seated on a throne supported on a single lotus base and the large lotus petals are bulbous, polished and smooth, contrasting with the robe he wears with rippling folds. He holds the hem of his robe with his left hand. This gesture is widely employed in seated Swat Buddhas, extending the style from earlier Gandharan stone images. His face peacefully rendered, the cavity in his eyes suggests that they might have been inlaid with silver, a common finish to celebrate Buddha's enlightened nature in Swat figures. Comparable to a Swat Valley copper alloy seated Shakyamuni, 8th-9th century, which was sold at Bonham's Hong Kong, 2 Dec 2021, lot 1007; another silver-inlaid bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, 7th century, was sold at Christie's New York, 15 Mar 2016, lot 44. See gilded, partial gilded and copper alloy Swat Valley figures of seated Shakyamuni in Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 1636, 9342, and 20105.
GROUP OF THREE SILVER AND GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURES OF BUDDHIST MASTERS QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 銀質銅鎏金密勒日巴、第三世噶瑪巴讓烱多傑、及喇嘛座像(一組三件) comprising: a figural group of Milarepa flanked by a deer and a dog, all seated on lotus thrones issuing from a domed circular lotus podium; a seated figure depicting the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339), he wears a Karmapa hat and rests both hands on his knees; and a seated lama with right hand in bhumisparsha mudra, left holding a long-life vase before his abdomen, all bases sealed with plaques carved with crossed vajra(largest: 14.7cm high; 1119g)Provenance: Private collection, London; formerly in a private Italian collection
-
2466194 item(s)/page