The Queen's Knight by Martyn Downer
It was at first a place of lavish parties and regular dances, as the miseries of the Crimean war faded and the Empire expanded to its zenith. This work tells a story of life at the gilded heart of Queen Victoria's court, via the extraordinary friendship between her and Howard Elphinstone, until his untimely death in 1890.
Martyn Downer grew up surrounded by art and antiques as his father owned a provincial auction house and he spent his school holidays working there as a porter. He started his career in the art business working for an antique jeweller in London's West End before joining Sotheby's as a junior specialist in 1993. Over the following ten years, Martyn sourced jewellery from around the world for Sotheby's auctions in New York, London and Geneva. In that time Sotheby's sold many important single collections of jewellery, notably those of Elton John and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and - in 1994 - the single most valuable jewel ever sold at auction, a 100.1 carat diamond which fetched $16m. Martyn was Head of Jewellery at Sotheby's in London from 1999 to 2003. He regularly lectures on the subject and contributes articles to art and antiques magazines. He lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, who is a painter, and their three young children.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780593054857 |
| ISBN 10 | 0593054857 |
| Title | The Queen's Knight |
| Author | Martyn Downer |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2007-05-07 |
| Number of pages | 480 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |