This interior view of his Notting Hill house illustrates his spare, distinctive way of mixing old with new cultures. It was a look that found great appeal with Sotheby’s audience, resulting in high prices for many pieces.
The black acrylic painting of 1994 by William Turnbull was taken to £18,000. The 5ft (1.53m) wide Dogon ceremonial animal-shaped trough from Africa made £24,000, as did the large canoe from Kerala just visible on the right. On the floor is an 8ft 4in x 5ft 10in (2.53 x 1.78m) fragment of an Egyptian Mamluk carpet, first half of the 16th century, which realised £3500.
Visible on the left is a Regency mahogany chair – £1400; the corner of a late-19th, early-20th century 3ft 1in (94cm) square huang hau li centre table – £2800, and part of a 16th century Marcantonio Raimondo engraving after Raphael of Parnassus – £1500.
A look for an art lover’s lifestyle
“…a show, not a place to live,” was how Lord Gowrie summed up David Sylvester’s approach to decorating his homes in a tribute previewing Sotheby’s sale of the art critic and curator’s collection last month.
