LONDON.- The sale of the historic collection of paintings and objects from the collection of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe concluded today, having realised the outstanding total of £3,701,654, well above pre-sale expectations (est. £1.6–2.3 million). Of the 647 fascinating items offered, 87% found buyers and 76% of lots soared above their pre-sale high estimates. The top lot of today’s auction was the Duchess’ Cartier diamond engagement ring, which sold for 14 times its high estimate, bringing £167,000 (est. £8,000-12,000). A collection of Mary’s exquisite jewellery was sold earlier this month at Sotheby’s in Geneva, bringing the overall total for this collection to £8,861,939 (est. £2.6-4 million).

The sale charted the Duchess’ remarkable life and the exquisite objects depicted an enchanting portrait of a lost England - each carrying with them the extraordinary provenance and history, outstanding taste and sense of ceremony particular to the lifestyle of the British Aristocracy over the last century. Her heir, Bamber Gascoigne, is to secure the future of her country retreat, West Horsley Place, by channelling funds from the sale into restoring the 16th-century house.

Highlights from The Duchess’ art collection
 Three studies by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones - newly discovered at the Duchess’s Surrey estate West Horsley Place - for the artist’s most famous and powerful paintings, The Wheel of Fortune, doubled the pre-sale estimate to sell for £68,750 (est. £20,000 – 30,000). The Wheel of Fortune was painted for the Conservative politician and future Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and modelled by actress Lillie Langtry (1853-1929), regarded by many as the most beautiful woman in London.

 A portrait of Mary’s mother, Peggy Primrose, by Glyn Philpot achieved £56,250 (est. £ 10,000-15,000). The beautiful Peggy Primrose has been painted by some of the leading artists of the Victorian age, including a portrait as a three-year old by Sir John Everett Millais - the present work continuing a tradition of significant family portraits. A modern artist who courted controversy, Philpot himself was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites in his early career and his work swung between formal portraits of high society figures to the distinctive paintings inspired by mythology and the men he admired. He brings out the strength of Margaret’s character in her sovereign pose, the bravura brushstrokes and dazzling blue.

 Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Satan as the Fallen Angel, sold for £122,500 (est. £20,000-30,000). The painting is dated circa 1797 and inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

 A regal portrait of Mary by Sir Oswald Birley brought £32,500 (est. £2,000-3,000).

Items from British dynasties
 Mary’s Cartier engagement ring from her fairytale wedding of 1935 at Westminster Abbey, sold for £167,000 (est. £8,00012,000).

 A Fabergé silver-gilt, enamel and wood frame, containing a photograph of Queen Mary, nearly quadrupled its pre-sale high estimate to sell for £22,500. This object was very likely a gift to the Duchess from her godmother Queen Mary, after whom she was named. The queen's keen interest in Fabergé's work, which she shared with her mother-in-law Queen Alexandra and their Imperial Russian relations, formed a central part of her collecting passions. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Queen Mary's purchases, mainly from the London dealer Wartski, influenced a generation of collectors and kept the mystique of Fabergé alive.

 Wedding gifts included a George V Monogrammed Silver Biscuit Server, given by Princess Royal. Estimated at £500-700, this brought £1,625.

 Another of the gifts was the ultimate luxury for the young couple - a silver breakfast-in-bed tray (£200-300). This soared to nearly 60 times over its pre-sale high estimate to sell for £17,500.

 A North Indian Agra Carpet swept up £75,000, tripling pre-sale high estimate (est. £20,000-30,000). An artistic and traditional carpet, it is likely to have been acquired by Lord Crewe circa 1910 during his term as Secretary of State for India.

 The Duchess' silver-gilt toilet service (Crichton Brothers, London, 1934-1935), engraved with Mary Roxburghe's initials under a Duchess's coronet, sold for £15,000 (£6,000-8,000).
Further interesting lots

 A small Chinese jade figure of a boy, Qing dynasty, 18th/19th-century sold for 38 times its pre-sale high estimate, achieving £22,500.

 A Fabergé silver-gilt and enamel cigarette case, workmaster Henrik Wigström, St Petersburg, 1908-1917, sold for £25,000 (est. £6,000-8,000).

 A group of late 19th-century outfits including male servant's livery and uniforms sold for £15,000 (est. £1,500-2,500).

Highlights of the Jewels in Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale
A strikingly varied and rich selection of 17 delightful pieces from the Estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, sold in Sotheby’s Geneva sale of Magnificent and Noble Jewels on 12 May 2015, was 100% sold, together realising a total of CHF 7,486,000 / £5,160,285 – six times the pre-sale low estimate (est. CHF 1.5m-2.3m/ £1-1.7m). Among the highlights:

 A stunning tiara created by Cartier in the 1930s found a buyer for CHF 2,410,000 / £1,661,272 (est. CHF 295,000- 485,000 / £203,351- 341,216).

 A second exquisite diamond tiara from the collection, which dates from the 19th century and can also be worn as a necklace, was sold for CHF 790,000 / £544,567 after a prolonged five minute battle between two bidders in the room (est. CHF 295,000-485,000 / £203,351- 341,216).