Selected items from the Nigell and Heather D’Oyly Collection will be presented as part of the upcoming Fine Interiors sale, taking place on 25 & 26 March.
18 March 2025
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Nigell and Heather D’Oyly
Nigell and Heather have been passionate collectors throughout their married life. The core of their collection was inherited from the J W French side of Nigell’s family, who were prosperous flour millers based in Bow, Chelsea and Ware. Their notable relatives include Sir Charles D’Oyly, 7th Baronet (1781-1845), an accomplished watercolourist based in Calcutta, and Sir John D’Oyly, 1st Baronet of Kandy, Ceylon (1774-1824).
Left: A large silkwork picture of the three-mast ship 'Bann' (£1,000-2,000), Right: A Napoleonic prisoner-of-war straw-work picture (£200-400)
Nigell is a world-renowned expert on barometers and Napoleonic-period works, including ship paintings, bone ship models, scrimshaw and small marine instruments. This sale has, sadly, been precipitated by Nigell’s failing health. Nevertheless, his enduring passion and interests are evident in many of the lots offered in this auction, including an exquisite 19th-century appliquéd silk diorama of a three-masted ship and several Napoleonic prisoner-of-war artefacts crafted in bone and straw.
A Napoleonic bone prisoner-of-war ship model (£600-800)
fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
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