SHIP BELL FROM LORD LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN’S HMS KELLY FOR SALE AT BONHAMS THIS WEEK
The bell from HMS Kelly, the ship commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten from 1939 until it sank at the Battle of Crete in 1941, goes up for auction at Bonhams, New Bond Street this week as part of The Marine Sale on 24th March at 2pm.
The bell (estimate £2,500 – 3,500) was saved when HMS Kelly was decommissioned for seven months in May 1940.
A variety of Nelson-related memorabilia also features in the sale, including a washstand that belonged to his friend and fellow Commander at the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood. Attracting a pre-sale estimate of £6,000 – 8,000, it comes to auction 200 years after Collingwood’s death.
An engraved presentation silver urn (estimate £7,000 – 9,000) given by Nelson’s bereaved mistress, Lady Emma Hamilton, to her chemist, Thomas Field Savory, is an important lot, as is a George III gold and enamel mourning ring (estimate £12,000 – 15,000), one of 58 distributed at Nelson’s funeral in 1805.
Another highlight is the silver trophy presented to racing legend Sir Malcolm Campbell to commemorate his first world water speed record (126.33mph) on Lake Maggiore, 1st September 1937 (estimate £35,000 – 50,000).
Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas.For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com