08 TWO CONTINENTAL HEN TUREENS, 19 CENTURY SOLD: £8,125

When Sotheby’s auctioned o the personal collection of the youngest Mitford sister, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, in 2016, the salesroom was packed with collectors. Deborah – or ‘ Debo’, as she was fondly known – was a poultry enthusiast whose flocks of hens were often seen wandering around her home on the Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire. These plump, earthenware hen tureens helped to fetch an overall total of more than £1.7m.