Ariddle wrapped in a mystery

The late Robert Kime chose his pieces as much for their history as for their quality, but the stories of some of the works sold in the phenomenally successful dispersal of his collections may never be fully revealed

- Huon Mallalieu

I HAVE written several times recently about auctions that brought to mind the spate of contents sales held on the premises during the 1970s and 1980s and the dispersal of Robert Kime's personal collections by Dreweatts last month was another such occasion. Although the auction was not held on the actual premises, the auctioneer had done a fine job of approximating the atmosphere at its base, Donnington Priory in Newbury, Berkshire.

Robert Kime (1946-2022) preferred to label himself an 'assembler', rather than an interior decorator, and would not big himself up in the American way as a cap-D 'Designer'. Assembler also suited him better than collector, as his accumulations were not tightly focused, although themes and threads ran through and drew them together. Egyptian antiquities, for instance, led to Edward Lear's watercolours of the Nile and Lear-I speculate to the Modern British artists that his style foreshadowed. Not only quality was important to Kime; he also valued stories and provenance. As his daughter, Hannah, has said, 'my father's treasures were as cherished as friends'.