"Mark Birley: The Private Collection" 2013 Sotheby's London
$250
Elegant 504 lot auction catalogue featuring the stylish contents of private London club empresario.
Sotheby's
2013
[257] pp.
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More than 500 objects went under the hammer, among them Birley's most personal belongings: hairbrushes, tie pins, signed paintings of his dogs by the artist, Neil Forster.
A wooden statue of Birley's beloved dog Blitz (Lot 171, sold for £26,000), was placed at the front of the auction room, as if standing guard over his master's property.
Lot 460, a collection of gentleman's dressing accessories including three ivory hairbrushes engraved with an "M", sold for £3,800.
His four-seated red sofa; a hat stand; silverware; the contents of his wine cellar; even his bath fittings (Lot 485, green and silver Art Deco taps) - all went to new homes.
Lot 232, a Hermes backgammon board, personalised with a tapestry surface so the dice wouldn't rattle, eventually went to a telephone bidder for £16,000.
Paintings such as Hockney, Rossetti, several Munnings - and hand-picked artifacts, such as china figurines, cocktail shakers, monogrammed cigar boxes from around the world were also up for bid