Antiques Roadshow expert's collection sells for double its estimate
A collection owned by the late Antiques Roadshow expert Hugo Morley-Fletcher has sold for double its low estimate.
The collection included portraits from Yester House, Mr Moray-Fletcher's former family home, as well as European porcelain from his private collection.
Held on March 11-12, the collection sold at auction for a total of £249,201, despite a low estimate of £120,638 – including the buyer's premium.
Mr Morley-Fletcher died in 2022, aged 82.
He was an expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow for more than 25 years, was a founding member of the French Porcelain Society, and wrote four books on pottery.
The collection was sold at Roseberys' Fine & Decorative and Old Master, British & European Pictures auctions in London.
Leading the sale was a portrait in oils on canvas of Lady Margaret Hay, Countess of Roxburghe, by the renowned Scottish portraitist David Scougall – painted in the 17th century.
The painting achieved £39,000 against a £6,000 estimate.
Other notable sales included two works from the studio of Sir Peter Lely.
One is a portrait of Lady Jane Scott of Buccleuch, 1st Marchioness of Tweeddale, which sold for £25,260 over a £7,000 estimate.
Another portrait, of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, achieved £24,568 against a £8,000 estimate. Maitland was a Restoration politician, serving on the Privy Councils of England and Scotland and playing a key role in efforts to persuade King Charles I to establish Presbyterianism.
He later became Secretary of State for Scotland from 1660 to 1680.
A portrait by Alexander Nasmyth, who is considered the founder of Scottish landscape painting, sold for £31,200 against a £10,000 estimate.
It depicts Scottish peer George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale, the great-grandson of John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale, with his horse and two dogs in an extensive landscape, the painting demonstrated the artist's skill in both portraiture and landscape painting.
Lara L'vov-Basirov, head of Old Master, British & European Pictures at Roseberys, said: 'It was a privilege to have a collection of this calibre, with such excellent provenance, at Roseberys.
'It reflects centuries of Scottish art history and the central role that Hugo Morley-Fletcher's family played as patrons of the arts.
'Hugo worked tirelessly to trace and re-acquire his family's collection, and I am thrilled that these works achieved such fantastic prices.'
Anna Evans, associate director and head of Furniture & Works of Art, Fine & Decorative Sculpture & Clocks at Roseberys, added: 'Porcelain was Hugo's lifelong fascination, and this auction offered buyers a rare opportunity to acquire works from the collection of a true connoisseur.
'The sale was viewed and admired by a huge number of clients resulting in competitive bidding and only one unsold lot.
'The new owners have become the next custodians of many beautiful works and furthering their already rich history.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish economy boost as key figures prove worth the wait
Those questions were answered early last week with publication of EY's overall 2024 FDI figures for Scotland. And, for those who like to see Scotland performing well in what are undoubtedly tough economic times in the UK and indeed internationally, these numbers were worth the wait. The figures published on June 9 had shown Scotland was second only to London as a destination for financial services FDI in the UK last year, achieving a decade-high for the number of projects won. Scotland attracted 11 financial services FDI projects in 2024, up from nine in the previous year, the EY figures showed. And this advance was achieved in spite of a sharp fall in overall financial services FDI into the UK last year by project numbers. The overall FDI figures for Scotland, when they landed last week, showed the nation increased its share of inward investment projects in the UK again last year. EY Scotland managing partner Ally Scott got straight to the point. He declared: 'Put simply, Scotland continues to punch above its weight with inward investment.' Scotland in 2024 remained second only to London in the league table of the UK's top locations for FDI, securing 135 such projects last year, EY's overall figures for inward investment wins revealed last week. Although down by 4.9% on Scotland's all-time high annual number of 142 FDI projects won, in 2023, the figure for 2024 was the second-highest on record. Scotland's share of UK FDI projects was 15.8% last year, up from 14.4% in 2023 and significantly higher than the average of 11.5% over the last decade. The UK recorded 853 FDI projects in 2024, a 13% decline from 2023, making it Europe's second-top country for attracting inward investment, behind France. Contemplating the Scottish position, Mr Scott observed: 'While project numbers slipped back slightly in 2024 from their record high the previous year, a much sharper fall in projects into the UK overall saw Scotland's share increase for the sixth year running.' EY's figures show Scotland has been second only to London in terms of the number of FDI projects won in every year since 2015. Scotland was also second only to London in 2010 and 2012. This is impressive indeed, as is Scotland having increased its share of UK FDI projects for six consecutive years. Read more Scottish cities figured strongly in a UK context in the latest FDI figures, which was also highly encouraging. Glasgow, with 27 projects, became Scotland's leading city for FDI for the first time in five years - a position that Edinburgh held between 2020 and 2023. And Glasgow was the second-most popular UK city outside London for FDI, after Manchester. Scotland's 'three major cities are once again in the UK top 10 cities', EY observed, with Edinburgh having secured 24 projects and Aberdeen 12 projects in 2024. Aberdeen has not had its troubles to seek in recent years, and faces plenty of challenges in the energy transition, so it was heartening to see the Granite City's success, as well as the healthy numbers of project wins for Glasgow and Edinburgh. And, within the encouragingly broad range of sectors in which Scotland enjoyed FDI success last year, it was great to see the nation was the UK leader in FDI in oil and gas, with seven projects. Scotland was also the UK leader in inward investment in the utility supply, electronics, and machinery and equipment sectors last year. The top FDI sectors for Scotland in 2024 were machinery and equipment, with 19 projects; software and information technology, with 15 projects; and agri-food and utility supply, in joint-third place with 14 projects. The US remains Scotland's top source of FDI projects, the EY figures showed. Scotland attracted 37 FDI projects from US players in 2024 - a rise of 37% on 2023 and bringing the total over the last decade to 356. The US accounted for 27.4% of Scotland's total number of FDI projects during 2024. This was a higher proportion than the 23.7% of UK FDI projects originating from the US. Kathryn Porter, United States Consul General in Edinburgh, highlighted the US's 'strong and enduring economic ties' with Scotland. She said: 'It's fantastic to see the United States once again emerge…as the leading source of foreign direct investment into Scotland, building on our strong and enduring economic ties. 'The United States is committed to fostering a robust trade and investment relationship with Scotland, creating jobs, and driving innovation on both sides of the Atlantic. We look forward to taking our partnership to new heights.' Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'Given the geopolitical uncertainties clearly affecting investor confidence across the world, this is an incredible endorsement of Scotland's proposition as a destination for global investment. 'A huge amount of work, across both the private and public sectors, goes into securing these projects.' We will now need to wait nearly a year for the next annual FDI figures for Scotland. Hopefully, these will show continuing strong trends. In the meantime, we should celebrate the 2024 success, while not for a second losing sight of the importance of public and private sector players continuing to do their utmost to bang the drum for Scotland and attract more overseas investors.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Time for government to set the stage for economic growth
No wonder this sort of filming can bring in the thick end of £60 million a year to the city. And, hopefully, a decent chunk of that is spent in local cafes and pubs by those of us visiting the area to catch a glimpse of how the Hollywood magic is made. There are, after all, few greater pleasures than sitting in comfort with a coffee, tea, pint or pastry and watching other people working. Read more: Alas, here, on my side of the glass, there's not quite the same level of A-list glitz. But the principle of a million details adding up to one overarching successful project equally applies. I speak, of course, of the national mission to get our economy growing and the revenues flowing. As the implications of the Chancellor's recent spending review filter down, the need for economic growth is ever more pronounced. And, while events like spending reviews naturally focus on big-picture objectives and long-term capital infrastructure projects, the money to deliver any of this will need to come from revenues generated by literally millions of individual decisions taken by small and medium-sized businesses across the country. So it was a major bright spot that the spending review pledged to increase resources for the British Business Bank to £25.6 billion. This is something for which we in the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) campaigned and will, if translated into an extension of the Start-up Loan and Growth Guarantee schemes, help get more affordable credit to where it's needed in the market. At a time when 45% of Scotland's small firms are harbouring ambitions to grow in the coming year, you can see the potential of financing those plans. Read more: Beyond that, though, it's fair to say there was a lack of concrete business focus in the review, which caused disappointment in some quarters. Absolutely understandably, if you're running a small firm today, you're more interested in what your cash position will look like in 30 days than whether you'll have a new nuclear power station in 30 years. But just because the review was silent on some of the more day-to-day, detailed points we were making in the run-up to its publication, it doesn't mean these debates are dead. They can – indeed must – be addressed elsewhere. For example, three quarters of small employers are concerned about being able to afford the extra cost associated with the expansion of statutory sick pay (SSP) from next April. An SSP rebate for small employers would mitigate the threat the move poses to smaller firms' enviable record of employing those further from the labour market by virtue of living with a health condition – and the time to introduce this will be in the Autumn Budget. Similarly, the upcoming, if not imminent, UK industrial strategy will be the place to implement our calls for action on late payments – making sure big businesses who pay their small suppliers when they feel like it aren't rewarded with government largesse. Read more: More than three-fifths of Scottish small businesses tell us they've experienced problems with late payment in the last year, with a third of those affected saying the problem's getting worse. That's why we're calling for the industrial strategy to ban companies that don't pay at least 95% of invoices within 60 days, or keep their average payment time to 55 days or less, from winning government grants. Just as it will doubtless take years for the movie being filmed in Glasgow to hit the big screen, big-budget, infrastructure-heavy, long-term economic strategies will take time to come to fruition. The difference is that, while we can wait for a movie premiere, we can't hang on much longer without the economy bouncing back. Practical choices to boost growth now are vital if we don't want the sequel to be higher taxes and more borrowing. Colin Borland is director of devolved nations for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
Brexit rules spark ‘clear demand' for more motorhome parking, lobby group says
Boosting provision for these vehicles would generate more revenue for local businesses and increase the number of visitors to tourist destinations outside the peak summer season, the Campaign for Real Aires (Campra) said. Aires is a French word used to describe designated stopping places for motorcaravans – the collective term for motorhomes and campervans – which are much more common in continental Europe than the UK. Post-Brexit rules mean UK passport holders are prohibited from being in the Schengen area – which covers most of the European Union and some other European nations – for more than 90 days within a 180-day period. That means many UK-based motorcaravan users are seeking domestic destinations for overnight trips. But a survey of 6,731 users suggested 88% are dissatisfied with the UK's availability of overnight parking in desirable locations. The poll also indicated that motorcaravaners spend an average of £51 per day in local businesses and £23 per night on overnight parking or campsite fees. Many respondents commented on the UK's lack of infrastructure and welcoming attitude compared with continental Europe, Campra said. Last month, Hampshire County Council approved plans to ban campervans and motorhomes from staying overnight at the south coast beauty spot of Keyhaven, near Lymington. It claimed the move would 'bring order' to the area. Campra managing director Steve Haywood said welcoming motorcaravans to an area 'can be a hugely positive move'. He went on: 'There is a clear demand – emphasised by post-Brexit travel restrictions – for more overnight stay options in UK towns and cities, and those towns and cities could benefit hugely by embracing motorcaravans. 'More councils are seeing the benefits of providing facilities, instead of suffering the cost of enforcement and bans, not to mention the loss of potential revenue to businesses. 'In Fleetwood, Lancashire, for example, the introduction of overnight parking in the seafront car park for £5 per night has seen a huge boost in revenue for local shops, and has been so successful that additional facilities are now being planned for motorcaravanners. 'Every council that has operated a 12-month trial aire has been successful and made the overnight parking permanent.' Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures show more than 416,000 motorcaravans are registered in the UK. A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: 'Policies around overnight motorcaravan parking and the provision of facilities are a matter for local councils.'
