For International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting four women at Sworders and the opportunities, learning and support that have shaped their careers.
8 March 2026
A collection of African art, photographs and personal items collected by John Rendall (1945-2022) will be offered across two upcoming sales in June.
7 June 2022
In an almost unbelievable story of nostalgia and friendship, Rendall became known to a new generation when grainy video footage was uploaded to YouTube a decade ago. Showing John and his friend, Anthony ‘Ace’ Bourke, being greeted with huge affection by a fully grown male lion as they met in the African bush, it has been viewed over 100 million times to date.
John Rendall and Anthony Bourke reunited with Christian in Kenya, 1971
The story began in Swinging London in 1969, when the two Australian flatmates bought Christian the cub in Harrods for £250 after seeing him kept there in a cage. Raised on a diet of steak in their two-bed flat above a furniture shop on the King’s Road in Chelsea, the lion was the talk of the town and regularly taken to society parties in the back of an open-top Mercedes. The Rolling Stones, who rehearsed nearby, would frequently drop by to visit ‘the two Aussies with a lion’.
“It really was the good old days without all those tiresome words and exaggerations that the passing of time permits to creep in. How seldom in life are we free enough just to sit, just to enjoy friendship.”
John Rendall speaking in 1971
© Derek Cattani
christianthelionprints.com
An exotic animal in London was just a part of experimental Sixties London (at the time Harrods sold a variety of ‘pets’), but Christian had out-grown the flat by the time he was three months old. Following a meeting with the actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the 1966 film Born Free, it was arranged that Christian would be flown to Kenya and placed in the care of the lion conservationist George Adamson. The transition to the wild at the Kora National Park was successful with Christian, weighing over 500lbs, leading a pride of lionesses and a dynasty of cubs.
© Derek Cattani
christianthelionprints.com
© Derek Cattani
christianthelionprints.com
The events inspired Rendall to become a devoted conservationist and created a lifelong affinity with Africa and its wildlife. It also shaped his collecting, and the selection of pieces offered in these sales include a range of decorative African objects purchased during John’s visits to the continent.
John Rendall and Anthony Bourke reunited with Christian in Kenya, 1971
© Derek Cattani
christianthelionprints.com
A selection of twenty-eight lots will be offered in our Fine Interiors sale, on 14-15 June, including a range of decorative African objects, from drums and headrests to weaponry, with estimates ranging from £200-500.
The residual contents, including John's iconic fur coat, private photographs of Christian, and other items of tribal art will be sold in Sworders’ Homes & Interiors sale on 21 June.
For further information contact:
Sworders’ Fine Interiors department is pleased to present a considered selection of lots from the beloved collection of Elizabeth Cooke, offered in our March sale and photographed in situ at her beautiful 17th-century home, Tulip Tree House, in Great Tew, Oxfordshire.
11 March 2026
It is a rare opportunity to encounter the private world of a man whose life was devoted to the pursuit of architectural integrity, aesthetic refinement and the quiet joy of beautiful things. We are therefore honoured to offer works from the personal collection of the late Richard Collins (1952-2024) in our upcoming Fine Interiors sale.
10 March 2026
For International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting four women at Sworders and the opportunities, learning and support that have shaped their careers.
8 March 2026