Sale of items connected to Margaret Thatcher nets controversy and a total price of £4.5 million
The auctions of 418 items owned and given to Margaret Thatcher concluded on Wednesday and resulted in a total sale price of £4.5 million ($6.8 million, €6.1 million). It also brought with it controversy as many of the items were supposedly never actually in her personal possession whilst, equally, her son is said to have opposed the sale.
Orchestrated at the instructions of the late Lady Thatcher’s daughter, Carol, the auction’s best performer was a model of an American eagle given to the politician by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It fetched £266,500 against a guide of just £5,000 to £8,000 whilst the Iron Lady’s dispatch box went for an astonishing £242,500 on a guide of £3,000 to £5,000.
Of the auction, Adrian Hume-Sayer of Christie’s commented:
“The market’s response to these historic sales, both the online-only sale and the traditional auction, was remarkable, with the overall result for the Mrs Thatcher collection far exceeding pre-sale expectations. Clients from all over the world seized this once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire items which gave insights into both the public and private life of Britain’s first female Prime Minister, who was a political giant on the world stage. These sales continue Christie’s long tradition of offering notable private collections, taking place over 200 years after James Christie, founder of Christie’s, negotiated the landmark sale of the magnificent art collection of Great Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole to Catherine the Great in 1779”.
Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here: