A Pair of Restauration Gilt and Patinated Bronze-Mounted Painted Paris Porcelain Beakers, Circa 1815, the porcelain late 18th century

David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley (b. 1960), Houghton Hall, Norfolk

Christie's London, Works of Art from Houghton, 8 December 1994, lot 14

One of England's finest stately homes, Houghton Hall was built for Britain's first Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745) to designs by the architects Colen Campbell and James Gibbs, with interiors designed and furnished by William Kent. The house passed by descent to the Marquesses of Cholmondeley, and the collections were greatly enriched in the first half of the 20th century with the marriage of the 5th Marquess to Sybil Sassoon (1894-1989), who inherited important works of art from her Rothschild grandparents and her brother Sir Philip Sassoon, an notable art collector.