Elgin furniture auctioned

Historic furniture owned by relatives of the man who donated the Elgin Marbles to the British Museum was today going under the hammer.

The items - a French commode, a bronze table and a German writing desk - were being sold at Sotheby’s in London to raise cash for repairs to the family’s estate in Charlestown, Fife.

The furniture currently belongs to Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin.

He is the great-great grandson of Lord Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, who returned to Britain with the ancient Greek treasures in 1816.

The furniture was collected by Lord Bruce, a direct descendant of Robert The Bruce, during the time when he served as a British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

The red Louis XIV tortoiseshell commode is attributed to the well-known 18th century Parisian dealer Noel Gerard and was bought by the Earl in 1805. It is expected to sell for between £70,000 and £100,000.

The German gilt-bronze 19th century table has a neo-classical Berlin porcelain top and is understood to have been a christening present to the Earl’s son Frederick in 1814 from Frederick William III of Prussia.

The circular table has a porcelain plaque depicting Homer and is estimated to be worth £80,000.

The bronze desk, which contains stone that the 7th Earl had cut from a quarry in Egypt, is expected to sell for about £50,000.

A spokeswoman for Sotheby’s said: ‘‘This is a very interesting and important collection from one of Scotland’s most prolific families.

‘‘The pieces really are outstanding and we hope they generate a lot of interest.’’