Portrait from Shropshire's Linley Hall sells for £104,500
A family has had a windfall as a portrait of one of England's most famous scientists has sold at auction for £104,500.
The portrait was one of the top-selling lots in the sale of the contents of Shropshire country home Linley Hall which took place in London yesterday.
Christie's auctioneers handled the sale of more than 200 items from the historic house near Bishop's Castle.
The Newton portrait, by Enoch Seeman in the early 1700s, is thought by some to be the prime work in a series of portraits.
Along with the books, antique furniture, portraits and ornaments from the collection of the late Sir Jasper and Lady More, who lived at Linley, were also up for grabs, with some items sparking a bidding war that meant they went for a lot more than expected. The auction, which featured hundreds of items from the Shropshire hall, was split into two with general items sold in the morning and selected library contents in the afternoon.
A Louis XVI ormolu-mounted striking mantel clock, thought to be from about 1690, was estimated at £40,000 but went for £86,500.
The second sale saw antique books from the library fetch a total of £1,161,438 – including a second edition of historical epic Godfrey of Boulogne that belonged to King Charles I. The book was given to Charles' Parliamentarian attendant Thomas Herbert during the former's captivity.
Also from the library was a work by explorer Captain John Smith from 1626 called The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles – which includes an account of Captain Smith's personal encounter with Native American princess Pocahontas.
Linley Hall had been home to the More family since the 18th century, with the collection being sold belonging to the late Sir Jasper More, former MP for Ludlow.
The contents up for auction were expected to fetch a total of £1.5 million, though many items sold for more.
