THROUGH THE GENER ATIONS

Africa and African diaspora curator and creative director of home lifestyle store The Cornrow, Kemi Lawson tells us about her most treasured heirloom ‘This commemorative magazine, published in

1956 by Pitkin Pictorials, describes Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh’s tour of Nigeria. It’s a wonderful lens into life in Nigeria in the 1950s just before independence. It features photos of my children’s paternal greatgrandfather, Chief A.O. Lawson, and his wife Mrs I. Lawson, welcoming Her Royal Highness to Lagos. It also features pictures of my children’s grandfather Kolapo Lawson and his sister Folashade in traditional dress. To welcome the Queen was a tremendous honour and I am so proud that my family were involved. It means a lot to have this in my possession and through displaying it on my gallery wall of ancestors and telling my daughters the story, I hope it stays in my family for ever.’

Clockwise from above left: Part of Vasisht’s collection of 19th-century Staffordshire dogs set against his own wallpaper design, £102 per roll; a selection of dogs illustrating the variety of sizes; a classic spaniel with orange coat detail; Vasisht’s highlight is this pair of mid-sized Staffordshire dogs with black spots on a creamy coloured coat with classic pink bows