IN an unusual trade initative, three London dealers have combined forces to buy and sell one of the largest silver collections in private hands and one of the biggest for sheer numbers ever to be offered in the trade.
A partnership of Alastair Dickenson, Koopman Rare Art and S.J.
Phillips have bought the so-called Albert Collection - around 600
pieces built up by an anonymous collector over a 30-year period and
encompassing hollowwares, drinking vessels and a huge spread of
collectors' items. Typically a collection of this size and
importance would have been sold at auction.
One of the collection's main features is that, rather than
concentrating on just one or two categories of silver smallwork as
some collectors do, its founder ranged across a wide variety
including the utiltarian alongside the luxurious.
The Albert Collection was published two years ago in a survey
written by Robin Butler and a representative selection went on
display for a two-week exhibition at Partridge Fine Art of Bond
Street to mark the occasion.
It has now been bought outright from the collector's widow by the
three-dealer partnership for a seven figure sum. "It is unusual for
such a large and varied collection to be sold in the trade. It's
quite a challenge," Alastair Dickenson told ATG.
Given the size and variety, the aim is to capitalise on the number
of contacts that the trio of dealers have between them to disperse
the collection. Several pieces had already been sold last week.
"It's going off at quite a pace," said Mr Dickenson.
By Anne Crane
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