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
BROWSE CATALOGUE REQUEST A VALUATION CONTACT A SPECIALIST
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
A major highlight of our forthcoming 'DREAMS | A Unique Private Collection' sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.
2 July 2025
'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.
2 July 2025
We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.
20 June 2025