A DISH believed to have been presented to the wife of James III on the birth
of their son, Bonnie Prince Charlie, is to be auctioned.
The dish known as an ecuelle, which is one of the most important pieces of
silver relating to the Stuarts, was made in Rome around 1721. Circular with
leaf-shaped handles and decorated with the arms of England and Poland, it
also bears the engraving "The Property of Maria Clementina, Wife of James
III". It is expected to fetch up to £60,000.
It is one of some 1,300 lots including jewellery, ceramics, Wemyss Ware and
paintings which form part of Sotheby's annual Scottish sale at Gleneagles
beginning today. The paintings in the sale are expected to attract huge interest
with work by William McTaggart, a Victorian artist hailed as a Scottish
impressionist, and John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961) and Samuel John
Peploe (1871-1935), termed as Scottish Colourists because of the vibrancy
of their work.
McTaggart's As Happy As the Day is Long, depicts his children on the beach
at Islay and is expected to fetch up to £150,000. Still Life With Benedictine
Bottle and Fruit, which was considered a turning point for Peploe who was
developing a new style after three years in Paris, has a top estimated price of
£180,000.
Fergusson's paintings range from early work such as Crème de Menthe, Café
d'Harcourt, which could fetch £150,000, and later pieces such as Honia,
dated 1957, which has a price tag of between £20,000 and £30,000. Grant
Ford, Sotheby's director in charge of Scottish pictures, said: "We expect
Peploe and Fergusson to attract a lot of attention as there has been an
exhibition on Colourists at the Royal Academy in London."
The sale is also being complemented with Gleneagles On-Line, where items
range from Billy Connelly's Harley Davidson three-wheeler to a watercolour
from Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the artist, architect and furniture designer.
Connelly's three-wheeler, which he used to cross Australia during his series,
Down Under, is priced between £9,000 and £12,000.
~*~
Prince William 'sickened' over
Diana film plan (UK Times)
BY ANDREW PIERCE
FRIENDS of Prince William said yesterday that he was
"sickened" by a planned film of Diana, Princess of Wales,
that will broadcast the words she used to recount the
difficulties in her marriage.
Words from tapes made by the late Princess for Andrew
Morton's book Diana, Her True Story, which detail her
emotions over the failure of her marriage, will be used in
the film. The producers of The Biographer, which stars
Paul McGann as Mr Morton, will use an actress to do a
voiceover. A proposal to use the voice of the Princess
was blocked by Mr Morton.
The producers will use some of the most emotional
passages in the 23 tapes that were handed over to Mr
Morton including one where the Princess said: "The worst
day of my life was realising that Charles had gone back to
Camilla [Parker Bowles]." It will also include her
description of how she felt belittled by Prince Charles
over her eating disorders. In one scene Mr Morton is
depicted listening to the tape of the Princess, saying: "My
husband made me feel inadequate in every possible way.
Each time I came up for air he pushed me down again.
When I ate a lot at dinner, Charles would say: 'Is that
going to appear later? What a waste'."
A friend of Prince William said last night: "It sickens him.
Yet again someone is trying to make money out of his
mother's memory. William thinks it is grotesque.
"William thought the media exploited his mother for
commercial reasons when she was alive and he regards
they are doing it now in death." It is the third anniversary
of the Princess's death on Thursday.
The film flies in the face of the wishes of Prince William
and Prince Harry, who made a plea to the nation on the
first anniversary of her death. In a personal statement they
called for an end to public mourning and what has been
called the "Diana industry".
The Princes said that their mother "would want people
now to move on because she would have known that
constant reminders of her death can create nothing but
pain to those she left behind".
A spokesman for St James's Palace said yesterday:
"There is nothing to add to what William and Harry have
said. Their words speak for themselves."
A spokeswoman for the Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund said: "In general we don't like to comment
about a television programmes ... but in this case the use
of the Princess in such a way is likely to cause great
offence to a great many people, especially her family."
~*~
Perfume fit for Queen brings in
more orders(UK Times)
BY ALEX O CONNELL
A PERFUMER who was asked to supply the Queen with
an exclusive perfume ended up with bespoke orders for
other members of the Royal Family as well.
John Stephen received a phone call at the Cotswold
Perfumery in Bourton-on the-Water, Gloucestershire,
from the Queen's housekeeper asking the firm to concoct
an exclusive royal perfume.
Mrs Stephen, 51, head perfumer at the company, who
has been in the business for 35 years said: "At first I
thought it was a hoax." He produced a shortlist of four
perfumes which were despatched to Windsor Castle for
the Queen to test.
"It was a nail-biting moment, the Queen's Housekeeper,
Annette Wilkins, said that Her Majesty is not easily
impressed by any old scent," he added.
The Queen put in a £3,000 order for two fragrances: a
white floral perfume based on day lily, dianthus and freesia
for personal use and a spicy vanilla and patchouli musk to
scent the linen draws at Windsor.Staff were delighted to
hear that the Queen had deemed the first type "very
nice".She also asked for help with titles for each and Mr
Stephen came up with White Windsor, for the floral, and
Royal Musk for the spicier fragrance.
Less than a week later there was another call from Prince
Edward's Steward. Prince Edward had been at Windsor
when the Queen was testing the samples. He was, Mr
Stephen said, most impressed.
The Prince requested personalised gifts to give to The
Queen Mother, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of
Edinburgh and Commodore Tim Lawrence.
Staff were told that the Duke of Edinburgh was especially
fond of lime, and so a gentleman's cologne, named
Georgian Lime, was made up from a citrus blend.
Another cologne with an orange flower base, named
Edwardian Neroli, was made for the Prince of Wales.
All gifts were well received and while The Queen is said
to be enjoying her White Windsor floral, she has
expressed a wish not to have it used by anyone else other
than the Queen Mother.