The Patrick Donald Collection realises over £200,000 | The auction is 89% sold by lot | Japanese arms and armour 100% sold by lot | Portraits in oil 100% sold by lot
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Extremely strong results were achieved across the board in the auction of The Patrick Donald Collection, held at Moor Park Mansion on Tuesday 19th November.
Assembled in both Toronto, Canada and England, the Collection fell into two distinct halves reflecting Patrick Donald’s collecting passions: Japanese arms and armour and works of art and Early furniture, carvings and pictures. His study of the martial art of kendo to black belt level triggered his discovery of and education in the arts and culture of Japan; he was particularly captivated by the way of life of the samurai.
On his return to England in the early 1990s, Donald worked at Fulham Palace and then Southside House, and within these interiors his interest in works and paintings from the Jacobean era was fuelled. He transformed his Putney home in South West London through a series of room settings, specially composed to accommodate the entire contents of his Collection and drawing on his experience as a set designer acquired through his work at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Collection contained a large group of Japanese swords and blades; all were displayed in his home and some in katana-kake – the distinctive stands created for daisho and katana.
Japanese works of art depicting deities and mythological figures also appealed to Patrick Donald, and the Collection included a number of carved figures as well as shrines.
A cast of Elizabethan and Jacobean characters, comprising Kings and Queens as well as distinguished, unnamed ladies and gentlemen graced Donald’s Putney home.
The Collection also featured a diverse and interesting group of carvings, wooden panels, pilasters, and architectural fragments and elements, which further decorated Donald’s room designs. These items captured religious and secular figures as well as wild animals and centuries-old motifs from folklore, such as the Green Man.
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Please note that all sold for prices inc. buyer’s premium at 25%
Showing on the previous page: an interior from Patrick Donald’s Putney home featuring an Italian sculpted alabaster bust of Torquato Tasso (1544-1595), possibly 18th century; sold for £3,750, and a 19th century lead bust of Galeoctus Lazzarinus; sold for £938
Find out more about the collector Patrick Donald
Next auction: Fine Interiors | April 2020
To discuss consigning to future auctions, contact: Guy Savill and Sally Stratton MRICS | +44 (0)20 7281 2790 | info@thepedestal.com