Antiques Roadshow expert’s collection sells for double its estimate

A collection owned by the late Antiques Roadshow expert Hugo Morley-Fletcher has sold for double its low estimate.

The collection included portraits from Yester House, Mr Moray-Fletcher’s former family home, as well as European porcelain from his private collection.

Held on March 11-12, the collection sold at auction for a total of £249,201, despite a low estimate of £120,638 – including the buyer’s premium.

Mr Morley-Fletcher died in 2022, aged 82.

He was an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow for more than 25 years, was a founding member of the French Porcelain Society, and wrote four books on pottery.

The collection was sold at Roseberys’ Fine & Decorative and Old Master, British & European Pictures auctions in London.

Leading the sale was a portrait in oils on canvas of Lady Margaret Hay, Countess of Roxburghe, by the renowned Scottish portraitist David Scougall – painted in the 17th century.

The painting achieved £39,000 against a £6,000 estimate.

Other notable sales included two works from the studio of Sir Peter Lely.

One is a portrait of Lady Jane Scott of Buccleuch, 1st Marchioness of Tweeddale, which sold for £25,260 over a £7,000 estimate.

Another portrait, of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, achieved £24,568 against a £8,000 estimate. Maitland was a Restoration politician, serving on the Privy Councils of England and Scotland and playing a key role in efforts to persuade King Charles I to establish Presbyterianism.

He later became Secretary of State for Scotland from 1660 to 1680.

A portrait by Alexander Nasmyth, who is considered the founder of Scottish landscape painting, sold for £31,200 against a £10,000 estimate.

It depicts Scottish peer George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale, the great-grandson of John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale, with his horse and two dogs in an extensive landscape, the painting demonstrated the artist’s skill in both portraiture and landscape painting.

Lara L’vov-Basirov, head of Old Master, British & European Pictures at Roseberys, said: “It was a privilege to have a collection of this calibre, with such excellent provenance, at Roseberys.

“It reflects centuries of Scottish art history and the central role that Hugo Morley-Fletcher’s family played as patrons of the arts.

“Hugo worked tirelessly to trace and re-acquire his family’s collection, and I am thrilled that these works achieved such fantastic prices.”

Anna Evans, associate director and head of Furniture & Works of Art, Fine & Decorative Sculpture & Clocks at Roseberys, added: “Porcelain was Hugo’s lifelong fascination, and this auction offered buyers a rare opportunity to acquire works from the collection of a true connoisseur.

“The sale was viewed and admired by a huge number of clients resulting in competitive bidding and only one unsold lot.

“The new owners have become the next custodians of many beautiful works and furthering their already rich history.”