IT won’t be your average attic sale when more than three centuries of European furniture and works of art collected by the Lindsay family go on sale next week.
The collection from Balcarres House in Fife, home of the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, will be sold at auction in Edinburgh on September 2 and 3 by Lyon & Turnbull.
Balcarres House, commanding a view across the Firth of Forth, has been home to the Lindsay family since 1595.
The furniture and works of art provide a fascinating view into life in a grand country house over many generations.
Douglas Girton, specialist and head of sale at Lyon & Turnbull, said: “The collection provides us with a rare glimpse into another world and a time gone by, and it truly captures the spirit we aim to achieve in our ‘five centuries’ auctions.
“From the rare and beautiful terracotta figure study of Bacchus and Ariadne by Giuseppe Piamontini (1664-1742), to the everyday objects like the collection of copper kitchen wares, the selection encompasses the life of a grand country house.”
Feature items include an interesting Flemish tapestry, dating from the 17th-18th century, depicting the legend of Dido and Aeneas, estimated at £6000-8000 and a fascinating 17th-century terracotta sculpture of Bacchus and Ariadne attributed to Italian sculptor Giuseppe Piamontini, estimated at £3000-5000.
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Moving into the 19th century, on offer is a remarkable French florentine marble and pietra dura mantel clock by Paris maker Hunziker, with a beautiful lapis lazuli dial, expected to reach between £2000-3000, and a rare pair of French carton moule seaside dolls, dating to around 1800, estimated at £1000-1500.
There are also more than 200 lots from the attics and stores of the house to include furniture, clocks, pictures and works of art.
The Earl of Crawford is one the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain, created in 1398 for Sir David Lindsay, who married a daughter of Robert II, King of Scots.
The title has stayed with various branches of the Lindsay family ever since. Alexander Lindsay (1618 -1659) was created 1st Earl of Balcarres in 1651, and the 6th Earl of Balcarres, another Alexander Lindsay (1752-1825), sold the estate to his younger brother Robert in 1791, who enlarged the house with a bow-fronted Georgian extension.
Subsequent additions and improvements were undertaken in the 19th century, the first headed by the Scottish architect William Burn from 1839-1843, who greatly enhanced and unified the Scots baronial design of the house, and later by another Scottish architect, David Bryce from 1863-1867, designer of Fettes College.
The terraced gardens have long been a celebrated feature of the house and were once described as “second only in Scotland to those of Drummond Castle. Their character is truly magnificent...”
Lord Balniel, heir apparent to the 29th Earl of Crawford, commented “Balcarres continues to be our family home as we continue into the 21st century.
“It has been a fascinating process going on a voyage of discovery through our attics with the Lyon & Turnbull team, and we are very much looking forward to watching the pieces find new homes.”
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