A dynasty of Chippendale furniture and robot toys

OBJECTS from the collection of the late Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, are to be offered for sale by Sotheby’s on March 24 after a public exhibition, from March 20–23. The sale and exhibition will include more than 350 lots from Newhouse Manor in Kent, the family home of Lady Mountbatten and her husband, John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, and will offer viewers and visitors the opportunity to enter the world of one the last great dynastic families of the 20th century.

Highlights include a rare Angloindian inlaid bureau mounted on a mahogany stand commissioned by Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1767. The stand, which was made by Thomas Chippendale for the sum of £4 to house a family heirloom, the Indian bureau, is seen as a celebration of the link between England and India.

Another notable object is a Masudaya Modern Toy Radicon Robot (above) from 1957, which remains in its original box. The robot was given by Lord Mountbatten to his grandchildren; it was said he delighted in anything modern and mechanical, even constructing a large train set in the cellar at Newhouse.

‘Lady Mountbatten’s residence, Newhouse Manor, was a private place for entertaining only the closest of family and friends, capturing all the magic of a stately home on an intimate scale,’ describes Harry Dalmeny, Sotheby’s chairman in the UK and Ireland. ‘Through her belongings, many passed down from members of the extended family over the years, collectors have the chance to see the story of the 20th century unfold and acquire evocative vestiges of a glittering way of life.’