Family jewels belonging to countess who was driving force behind Edinburgh Festival are sold for £150,000
TREASURES from the jewellery box of a glamorous Scottish countess have raised nearly £150,000 to help support one of Scotland’s finest estates.
The jewels were sold by George Baillie-hamilton, 14th Earl of Haddington, to support the Mellerstain Estate, near Kelso, Roxburghshire.
They belonged to his late grandmother, Sarah Baillie-hamilton, Countess of Haddington, who died in 1995.
The Countess was a driving force behind the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, sitting on the Festival committee for 14 years.
A group of 18 stunning jewels went under the hammer at Sotheby’s
Fine Jewels Online sale, where they fetched a combined £149,500.
The highlight was a mid-19th century turquoise cameo and diamond demi-parure, which soared to £52,500 -- more than seven times the £7,000 pre-sale estimate.
A diamond brooch from the same period was sold for £25,000, while a 1920s diamond bracelet fetched £16,250, five times its estimate.
A group of three emerald and diamond brooches from the second half of the 19th century doubled its estimate to make £20,000.
The funds raised will contribute to the management and upkeep of the house and grounds, which is home to the Borders Sculpture Park.
Lucy Brown, head of Sotheby’s Edinburgh office, said the jewels had been hidden in a bank vault in the capital.
Many of them, she said, had been worn by Sarah, the “Society beauty who helped establish the Edinburgh Festival”.
She said: “It was wonderful to be able to offer a glimpse into such a glamorous family jewellery box.
“The results achieved today are testament to the exceptional quality of these incredibly stylish pieces.
“It is also a further proof of the strong demand for beautiful antique jewels around the world.”
She added: “The family are delighted these pieces, long locked away, will find new owners.”
Lady Hamilton was born in Montreal, Canada, and met her future husband George, the
12th Earl of Haddington, while he was serving as an aide-de-camp to the Governor-general of Canada.
They married in 1923 and settled at the family home at Mellerstain.
The Countess died in 1995, aged 92.
The 18th century property, described as a “Robert Adam masterpiece”, remains one of the great houses of Scotland.
George Bailliehamilton, 44, is the
14th and current Earl of Haddington.
Mellerstain has been in the Baillie family since 1642, when it was bought by one George Baillie, of Edinburgh. Upon his death, the estate was inherited by Robert Baillie, who became involved in the Rye House Plot of 1683 to bring down Charles II.
Sotheby’s Fine Jewels Online sale brought a combined total of £2,983,625 – a world record for a jewellery online auction – and well above pre-sale expectations.
Sotheby’s said the results demonstrated
“the resilience of the market and, of course, the enduring appeal of jewellery across the generations”.