A stunning single-owner auction of art and antiques

September 6, 2021 | Uncategorized

One of the largest and most impressive private collections of Georgian furniture and antiques to come to auction in Scotland is set to go under the hammer this month.

Almost 1000 pieces of furniture, art, books, porcelain, silver and objets d’art from the magnificent collection of Edinburgh dance educator, William Mowat-Thomson, will be the focus of the one owner auction at McTear’s in Glasgow on September 17 and 18.

Mowat-Thomson, who passed away in 2019 aged 86, was an iconic figure in Scottish dance, with his pioneering Theatre School of Dance and Drama in the capital’s Shandwick Place and subsequently St Stephen Street, Stockbridge, providing professional training for dancers across Scotland.

A hugely talented dance and yoga teacher and ballet pianist, Mowat-Thomson would frequently host the most extravagant dinner parties at his Edinburgh St Bernard’s Crescent residence, with the focus of conversation always turning to the array of fascinating artefacts he had procured during decades of collecting.

Amongst the lots featuring at McTear’s is a stunning selection of busts including a 19th century Carrara marble bust of Emperor Hadrian’s lover, Antinous, valued at £1500 to £2000.

Inside the home of William Mowat-Thomson

Two fabulous George III Chinese Chippendale elbow chairs could fetch thousands, while paintings, silver, ceramics, bronzes, Asian art, glass and objects of vertu are superbly well-represented.

McTear’s director, Magda Ketterer, said: ‘This an astounding collection of unrivalled breadth and vibrancy that was lovingly created over a lifetime of collecting.

‘A great friend of William Mowat-Thomson recalls that those visiting his magnificent residence at St Bernard’s Crescent, Edinburgh, affectionately referred to it as the V&A, being as it was a museum of beautiful objets d’art.’

The William Mowat-Thomson Collection will go to auction at McTear’s on Friday September 17 and Saturday 18. Viewing will open on Tuesday September 14 at 10am. Bidding is available in the saleroom, live online, on the phone and by absentee bid.

For more information visit www.mctears.co.uk