Bonham's in Edinburgh, Collector auctions

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Bonham's in Edinburgh, Collector auctions: A Belfast businessman is auctioning off a collection of art he amassed during the Troubles worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.More than 3,000 items are being sold without reserve at Bonham's in Edinburgh on Wednesday and Thursday.Despite it being the middle of an economic downturn Gordon McFarlan of Bonhams said he believed the lots would attract a lot of interest.He said the cumulative estimate was between £200,000 and £300,000.Mr McFarlan said that the collection was an eclectic mix amassed over 30 years in Northern Ireland.It includes paintings, ceramics, glassware and silver items."The market for the type of item he has been collecting has not really been affected by the economic downturn," he said."It is for the middle range collector which has been quite stable."The seller, who declined to be named, said that while he may miss his collection the fun was in "in the act of collecting"."The vast bulk of the lots in these sales were collected in Northern Ireland during The Troubles when we were isolated from the rest of the antiques buying world," he said."This may seem a strange assertion but during the 70's and 80's when the bombs and bullets were flying it was a rare sight indeed to meet an English, Scottish or even Republic of Ireland dealer or collector at any antique shop or auction."This was the reality, despite how good the sale, and there were some great sales and excellent shops."One of the items is a painting by renowned Irish artist Paul Henry, with an estimate of up to £15,000.The pen and watercolour, called Summer Breeze, is an early example of Henry's work and shows a woman on a hillside.