Items from his and his widow Lucy’s collection will be offered at auction at Bellmans in its 'Interiors including Property from the late Sir David Tang, fine clocks, Asian works of art and fine jewellery' sale on May 13. It follows other works from the Tang collection that sold at Christie’s last year.
Items in the 350-lot Bellmans’ auction include Tang’s Steinway & Sons ebonised model D Concert grand piano, c.1999, estimated at £10,000 - 20,000, John Piper’s (1903-92) Still life with Gargoyle, pen, ink and watercolour measuring 22 x 2ft 6.5in (56 x 78cm) estimated at £2000-3000 and Portrait of a young man, c.1937, an oil sketch on canvas by Edward Seago (1910-74) measuring 2ft 6in x 2ft (74.5 x 62cm) and estimated at £800-1200.
Bellmans said import VAT is payable at 20% on the hammer price.
Christie’s offered David and Lucy Tang’s collection in January this year. One of the highlights of that sale was a watercolour on paper by artist Tracey Emin called Happy with you. Carrying an estimate of £8000-12,000, it sold at a premium-inclusive £60,000.
Tang founded the high-end fashion brand Shanghai Tang in 1994, set up private clubs and restaurants and was knighted in 2008 for his philanthropic work.
He died from liver cancer aged 63 and received tributes from celebrities including actor Russell Crowe and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. He is survived by his widow Lucy and two children from a previous marriage.
The Bellmans sale can be viewed on thesaleroom.com.
