Just under 100 items belonging to the late Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild will be auctioned over two days in December and will form a highlight of Christie’s autumn season. They are offered by a trust of which the Baroness was a beneficiary.
Baroness Batsheva, who died last year, was born in Paris in 1914, lived in New York and settled finally in Israel in 1964. Her collection is just a small slice of the impressive array of treasures assembled in the 19th century by her grandfather Baron Alphonse de Rothschild.
Old Master pictures are the backbone of the Baroness’s collection and will be offered as part of the auctioneers’ main mixed-owner Old Master sale on December 13. They include Rembrandt’s 1632 Portrait of a Lady aged 62 which is estimated at £5m and several works by major French artists. Two oils by Watteau, Le Conteur and Le Lorgneur are estimated at £1.5-2m and £1-1.5m respectively and two tondos by Fragonard: Girl holding a dove, and Girl playing with a dog and cat, are each estimated at £1.5-2.5m.
The following day will see a separately catalogued, 77-lot sale of works of art from the collection. They range from Islamic and Venetian glassware to caskets and jewelled objects including a large group of 19th century Renaissance-style jewellery.
