Lawrence of Arabia headscarf to be sold
LAWRENCE of Arabia’s headscarf, a Stetson owned by Sir Winston Churchill and a set of keys from the Titanic are among the eclectic items on sale at Christie’s Out of the Ordinary auction.
About 100 curios that have been amassed over 40 years by Jersey-based collector David Gainsborough Roberts will go up for auction on September 14 for the 250th anniversary of the annual sale.
Estimates start at £300 and go up to £15,000 for a 14-carat gold, diamond and enamel world heavyweight title belt owned by American boxer William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey. Hoping to bring in the same amount is a purple silk and copper agal, or head circlet, owned by author and military officer TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, and his red silk and gold thread headscarf at £3,000-5,000.
Personal possessions of Queen Victoria and Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott are also among the pieces of history that the public will be able to view from August 6 at the auction house’s summer exhibition before the sale.
Owner Gainsborough Roberts said: “After collecting for over 40 years the time has finally arrived to share my collection with the world. I hope my insatiable appetite for the curious, the famous and the infamous will inspire a new generation of custodians.”
The summer exhibition of Christie’s Out of the Ordinary – the 250th Anniversary Edition begins on August 6 and the sale takes place on September 14.