John Lennon’s Golden Rim Glasses for sale at UK Auction
Provenance:
"John Lennon wire glasses 1966 sunglass no lens, given to myself producer Nipon TV Network, at time translator for Beatles at Tokyo Hilton John Lennon wore sunglasses at Budokan for shows had silver glass too he gave me this I gave copper cups to him very nice man lens removed when he die (black) as I/we feel he see us after death in Japan. Regards Junishi Yore Producer NTV Tokyo Japan Nipon Television 1984".
The Famous Golden Rimmed Glasses
June 1966, The Beatles embark on their Far Eastern tour and arrive into a Far Eastern frenzy as a decision to allow them to play five concerts at the sacred site of Budokan caused offence. This leads to the four being holed-up in the Tokyo Hilton Hotel as virtual prisoners with only their translator and famous photographer and personal friend, Bob Whittaker for company. Their translator was Junishi Yore who was a television producer for Japanese Nipon TV. By the time The Beatles depart Tokyo John and Junishi had become close friends and at the end they exchange gifts. John gave to Junishi his trade mark gold rimmed circular sunglasses, immortalised by Bob Whittaker's portraits. For the following 14 years Junishi treasured his friend's gift but then in December 1980 when John Lennon was shot and murdered by Mark Chapman a devastated Junishi, honouring Japanese tradition, pushed the dark lenses out of the frames with his thumbs so that "he could see us after death". In 1984 Junishi Yore sold the glasses to a memorabilia dealer/shop in Japan, and a handwritten note from Junishi validates the provenance of these glasses and reads as follows:-
Then also in 1984 Mr Lawrence Warren purchased the glasses from the Japanese memorabilia dealer/shop and they remained in his ownership until 2007. With the glasses and Junishi's letter also comes a sworn statement from Lawrence Warren to his purchase and ownership of the glasses which was signed in the presence of his solicitor, Mr Ian Kay of Gregory Abrams Davidson LLP, 3 Speke Road, Garston, L19 2JX, dated 30th July 2007. The sworn statement reads as follows:-
In the intervening period of March 2008 until October 2010 the glasses were on loan and display at the major Beatles exhibition 'The Beatles Story', Britannia Vaults, Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AD. As far as we know these are the only pair of John Lennon's glasses from his Beatles days on the open market and are possibly the oldest surviving pair in existence. During the glasses loan and exhibition at The Beatles Story they have been consistently insured for a sum of £200,000 by Lloyds of London, Royal & Sun Alliance and Ecclesiastical Insurance. Frank Marshall & Company are proud to offer for sale by public auction John Lennon's gold rimmed round wire sunglasses from 1966, which offers collectors and investors a unique opportunity to own an extraordinarily rare and iconic personal effect with such a unique and full provenance and history tying it to what is arguably one of the 20th century's greatest and most adored musical heros and talents.
The glasses are being sold by Frank Marshall auctioneers on the 5th of July and are estimated to be sold at £10,000 - £12,000.
Daytime sale commencing at 10am – Antiques, Fine Art & Collectables, Vintage & Modern Motorcycles
Evening sale commencing at 7pm – Decorative Art & 20th Century Design
Bond blueprints for gadget-packed Aston Martin up for UK Auction
Blueprints for James Bond's legendary Aston Martin DB5 are being put up for sale - featuring the extraordinary sketches for all of Q's villain-busting gadgets.
The sleek silver motor, driven by original Bond Sean Connery, became one of the world's most famous cars thanks to a starring role in 1964 film Goldfinger.
Bond fans worldwide will have the chance to snap up this unique piece of memorabilia which gives special insight into the incredible gadgets contained in the car.
From the front-mounted .30 calibre Browning machine guns to battering rams on the bumpers, wheel-mounted tyre slashers and the oil slick sprayer, every exact detail can be seen.
Auctioneer Stuart Channon said: 'It's the first time in history authorised copies of the designers blueprints for the 007 Aston Martin DB5 are being sold.
'While the originals remain closely guarded by producers EON Productions, eight copies were released for book The Most Famous Car In The World by Bond author Dave Worrall.
'Offered here are seven of the actual copies used by Worrall - this is an incredibly unique find in the world of not only Bond but movie and Aston collectors too.
'This specific blueprint is truly exceptional and the only authorised copy.'
The design, bristling with gadgets, was the brainchild of Bond production designer Sir Ken Adams and is expected to fetch more than £15,000.
Two Astons were built for Goldfinger and Thunderball.
One was stripped of gadgets, rebuilt as a normal road car and sold. But it was stolen in 1997 and has not been seen since.
American businessman Harry Yeaggy bought the other last year for £2.9million.
Stuart added: 'The female vendor received the blueprint copies some years ago and is offering them so a true Bond and Aston Martin connoisseur can enjoy and preserve them.'
The co-auction, by Channons Auctions and Bamfords Auctioneers and Valuers, takes place on Wednesday at The Royal Automobile Club's Woodcote Park clubhouse in Surrey.
Source: Daily mail
Audi R8 raise £620k for Elton John at UK auction
Two special Audi R8 Spyder supercars helped raise £620,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation last night.
MSN Cars Car of the Year 2011: Audi R8 Spyder
A star-studded auction at Sir Elton’s White Tie & Tiara Ball raised the hefty sum, which was boosted at the last minute thanks to Audi’s generosity.
Initially, just one ‘chrome finish’ Audi R8 Spyder was due to go under the hammer: this quickly sold for £250,000.
However, interest was so strong, the firm agreed to donate a second Audi R8 for auction. This car actually sold twice, too, as the initial bidder submitted it a second time for auction.
This helped boost the total sum to the headline £620k figure, which will go towards providing thousands of men, women and children across 15 countries with life-saving medication and other support.
“We are absolutely delighted to have been instrumental in raising such a magnificent sum for Sir Elton’s charity,” said Jeremy Hicks, director of Audi UK.
“We couldn’t, of course, have done so without the incredible generosity of Sir Elton’s guests, to whom we owe an enormous vote of thanks.”
Source: motoringresearch.com
Rare 16th Century Helmet Used by Opera House as a Stage Prop for Sale at Uk Auction
The collection is a perhaps strange interest for a man who spent his life dealing with damaged human bodies, but given that this stunningly beautiful material was designed to limit wound damage, not that surprising maybe. Photo: Bonhams.
Bonhams sale of Fine Antique Arms and Armour on July 20th at Knightbridge includes the life’s work of a medical doctor, Peter Parsons, whose passion was armour.
The collection is a perhaps strange interest for a man who spent his life dealing with damaged human bodies, but given that this stunningly beautiful material was designed to limit wound damage, not that surprising maybe.
Among the items in the sale is a 16th Century Saxon Electoral Guard Comb Morion helmet from Nuremberg, that bears figures of Mutius Scaevola and of Marcus Curtius leaping into the gulf, and the arms of Saxony and the insignia of the Arch-marshalcy of the Holy Roman Empire. It is estimated to sell for £8,000-12,000. This item is from the group of helmets made for the Trabantan guard of the Prince Electors of Saxony. A large number of these morions are believed to have been given to the Dresden Opera House in the 1830s to be used as stage props. They were subsequently acquired by astute dealers and many survive today in public and private collections.
David Williams, Director of Bonhams Antique Arms and Armour Department, comments: “It is increasingly rare to find antique armour of this quality. Besides the sculptural beauty and romance of the pieces, they are also of museum quality as Dr Parsons had the most discriminating eye and taste for this art form.”
Dr. Peter Henry Irving Parsons (1926-2010) was born in Abertillery, Monmouthshire. He began his medical studies at University College Hospital, London in 1944 and, on qualifying, carried out his National Service at various locations throughout the United Kingdom, attaining the rank of Captain. During this time he was immensely proud to have been part of the team caring for the officers and men of the Gloucester Regiment on their release from a Chinese prisoner of war camp. The regiment had been captured following the famous battle of the Imjin River, for his part in which their Colonel was awarded the Victoria Cross.
During the first half of the 1950s Peter served as Casualty Surgical Officer at the Royal Gwent Hospital, and as Orthopaedic Surgical Registrar in Cardiff from 1955 to 1958. In 1958 he moved to London and it was here, whilst serving as Surgical Registrar in Lambeth, that he met his wife Mary, a theatre sister at the same hospital. In 1960 Peter took up his post as Associate Specialist in the National Blood Transfusion Service and on his retirement in 1986, he was offered the position of consultant. This he declined, in order to be able to attend auctions and exhibitions devoted to antique arms and armour, and to enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts as far afield as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Peter’s interest in collecting European arms and armour started when he was a medical student and it was during this time, just after the war, that he came to know the irascible London dealer Percy German, from whom he acquired many of the pieces in this sale. However, prices asked for European weapons and armour were beyond the means of a medical student and as a result Peter started to collect the unappreciated and relatively inexpensive Japanese armour and weapons which could be readily acquired at that time. This was very opportune as some years later Peter accepted a generous offer for the majority of his Japanese collection, enabling him to concentrate on his true passion for European arms and armour.
Throughout his life Peter was a dedicated member of many learned bodies including The British Medical Association, The To-Ken Society, The Arms & Armour Society and The Meyrick Society, of which he was a member for over twenty-one years, serving as Hon. Secretary from 1991 to 2002. In March 2004 his researches into Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick and his contemporaries culminated in an article, written with Claude Blair, published in the Journal of the Arms & Armour Society.
Items from the sale include:
Three 16lth and 17th Century helmets from England Germany and Italy are fascinating conversation pieces. A Rare English Civil War Period Siege Helmet, mid-17th Century, is estimated at £2,000-3,000.
And a North Italian (Milanese) 'Spanish' Morion Or Cabasset, circa 1580, estimated to sell for £1,500-1,800.
Danish, French and Flemish suits of armour would make arresting statements in a stately home. A blackened Cuirassier three-quarter armour, circa 1630, probably Danish, is estimated at £10,000-15,000.
A Cuirassier Three-Quarter Armour, circa 1620-30, probably French Or German, Estimated at £12,000-15,000.
And a Composite Cuirassier Three-Quarter Armour, early 17th Century, the Close-Helmet Flemish, third quarter of the 16th Century, estimated at £10,000-15,000.
Source: Art Daily Website
Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Jacket makes $1.9million at US auction
Part Of Auction Proceeds Support Wildlife Sanctuary Housing Jackson's Tigers
Beverly Hills, California (CNN) -- Over the weekend that is the second anniversary of his death, Michael Jackson's fans can bid on items the singer wore during career milestones: the sparkling shirt from when he unveiled the moonwalk on television, the leather jacket from when he filmed the world-renowned "Thriller" video and the wig from when he announced his comeback concert series This Is It.
CNN got an exclusive sneak peek at those pieces of memorabilia and more at Julien's Auctions, which will unveil an auction titled Music Icons on Monday.
The "Thriller" jacket, in all its red and black, winged-shoulder glory, is the big draw. Darren Julien, the auction house's president, calls it "the Holy Grail" of Jackson's belongings because it's one of the most recognizable and famous garments of the 20th century.
"It's the most iconic piece of pop culture memorabilia that will ever come up for auction," Julien said. "You see the jacket, and you know it immediately."
The jacket was given to Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, the singer's longtime costume designers, to use as a reference for concert performances of the song. It even includes an inscription to them on the jacket's lining, and the sleeve is signed, "Love Michael Jackson."
The estimated price is $200,000 to $400,000, but Julien refers calls that a "conservative estimate." He says people have expressed interest in purchasing the jacket for even more.
"Michael Jackson has an unbelievable fan base," Julien said, adding that he expects bids from around the globe.
Part of the proceeds from the jacket's sale will go to support the Shambala Preserve, a California wildlife sanctuary that has housed Jackson's two tigers, Thriller and Sabu. The tigers were moved there after the singer moved out of his Neverland Ranch in 2006.
Other auction highlights include a black Swarovski crystal-covered glove, estimated to go for $20,000 to $30,000, that Jackson wore to the American Music Awards in 1984, when he picked up eight awards for the "Thriller" album. Julien says the black shirt bedecked with rhinestones that he wore when breaking out the moonwalk during the "Motown 25" television special in 1983 is estimated at $8,000 to $10,000 but probably will sell for more.
One extremely personal item up for bid is the wig Jackson donned at a London press conference to announce his This Is It concert series in 2009, three months before his death.
There are a number of autographed mementos, from photos to fedoras, and even a pillow. Jackson apparently threw it to his fans from a German hotel room, with a message scrawled in black marker: "Let's burn all tabloids, mountains of them worldwide. Good night. I love you."
Another memento attainable by the highest bidder comes from Jackson's trash: the mailbox from the rental home where the singer died.
"This was a mailbox that a car had hit, so they had put it in the trash," Julien said, lifting the much-bigger-than-a-bread-box item. "A fan dug it out of the trash. It's a piece that will still sell for thousands of dollars because it was Michael Jackson's."
Other music legend memorabilia includes an Elvis Presley original "TCB" necklace, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" denim jacket, Ringo Starr's wool cape from "Help!" and a 25-year-old custom Jaguar that belonged to Frank Sinatra.
"As a car, it's worth right around $10,000 or $20,000. That's the presale estimate," Julien said. "But anticipate that because Frank Sinatra is so collectible that it will sell for a lot more.
The auction will be held June 25 and 26.
Source: WCTI12
Estate of Gainsborough Stalwart goes Under the Hammer at Uk Auction
RARE paintings, antique jewellery and Masonic memorabilia are among more than 200 valuable items on sale at a county auction.
Items from the estate of a high-profile Gainsborough proprietor Fred Stennett are to be sold at auction on Thursday, June 30.
A LOT OF INTEREST: Drewery and Wheeldon saleroom administrator Karen Taylor with two paintings by local artist William Edwards Millner.
WELL-KNOWN: One of the pictures of Fred Stennett in the collection.
The collection of items became available after Mr Stennett's widow, Kathleen, passed away earlier this year.
The most valuable lot at the auction, which is taking place at Drewery and Wheeldon in Gainsborough, is a pair of paintings by the famous 19th century Gainsborough artist William Edward Millner.
The agriculturally themed pictures, dating from about 1875, feature images of horses and livestock.
Millner's work, some of which is on show in the Tate Collection museum in London, is respected by art collectors around the world.
Simon Carrick, saleroom manager at Drewery and Wheeldon, said the auction would be very appealing to regional art and antique collectors.
He said: "The items will be of interest because they are by a well-known local artist.
"Mr Stennett was also a very well- respected local man, and there will be a number of surviving local people in the area who could remember when his market was running in the town.
"These pieces will help them to reminisce about the old times in Gainsborough. There really is a very wide range of items."
A well-known public figure, Mr Stennett was also a provincial grandmaster of the Masons and owned the company Stennett Auction Mart.
During his life, Mr Stennett collected a huge number of items from the town's history.
Also available to buy is memorabilia from the Gainsborough Operatic Society, including photographs and programmes, household items and vintage postcards.
Hillary Hammond, director at the Bend in the River art gallery in Gainsborough, said there was a strong market for oil paintings, similar to those in the auction.
She said: "Landscape paintings have always been popular with the British public. There is an enduring passion for the Lincolnshire countryside and these types of paintings are as popular as they have ever been.
"There is always a market and a strong appreciation for landscape paintings.
"The best place to view paintings of this era is in the Usher gallery in Lincoln, which has a very impressive collection of works from across Lincoln- shire."
There will be a viewing of all the items in the auction on Wednesday, June 29.
For more information, call Drewery and Wheeldon on 01427 616118.
Source: this is lincolnshire Website
Princess Diana’s dresses up for auction after Florida woman who bought them for charity goes bankrupt
- Canadian auction house expects the 14 dresses to fetch around $4million
- Tampa businesswoman racked up around $2.5m in debt trying to exhibit them around the world
- They include the iconic dress Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta
When she bought 14 of Princess Diana's dresses at Christie's in June 1997, Maureen Rorech Dunkel had no idea that in just three months, they would become virtually priceless.
After Diana's death in a Paris car crash, the Florida businesswoman set up a charitable foundation which was supposed to display the gowns around the world and continue the princess's legacy.
But instead Ms Dunkel racked up at least $2.5million in debt through failed exhibitions, and tomorrow faces the embarrassment of auctioning off all 14 dresses to pay off her creditors.
It's a sad end for the historic dresses, which include the stunning midnight-blue Victor Edelstein gown the princess wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985, and two used in her iconic Vanity Fair photoshoots with Mario Testino.
Sad end: Tampa businesswoman Maureen Dunkel poses with one of the dresses on display at Toronto's Design Exchange ahead of the auction tomorrow. The proceeds will help pay off Ms Dunkel's debts
Ms Dunkel, 50, hopes to make around $4million from tomorrow's auction in Toronto, which comes ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official visit to the country next week.
She filed for bankruptcy in 2010, after using the dresses as collateral to secure a $1.5million loan for a housing project which ended in failure.
Iconic: Princess Diana wore this stunning midnight-blue Victor Edelstein gown when she famously danced with John Travolta at a White House dance hosted by Ronald Reagan in 1985
'After these dresses are sold, her creditors will be paid first. And the dresses are far more valuable than what she owes.'
She bought the gowns at Christie's in New York in June 1997, when Princess Diana auctioned off 79 of her dresses, raising $3.25million for her favourite charities.At that time they cost Ms Dunkel $670,000. Tomorrow, many will go for that sum each, with the iconic Edelstein expected to fetch around $1million.
All but one of the dresses were made especially for Diana, and half were designed by Catherine Walker.
They include a black halterneck dress she wore at Versailles (left), which is expected to fetch up to $275,000, and an elegant red dress and coat in which she attended the 1990 première of Steel Magnolias.
There is also a Bruce Oldfield gown, in dramatic black velvet, which she wore to the première of Les Misérables in London in 1995 and is listed at $175,000-225,000.
Shortly after Diana's death in September 1997, Ms Dunkel announced her plan to take the dresses around the world, hoping to inspire young girls and make millions for charity in an exhibition entitled Dresses For Humanity.
She set up the People's Princess Charitable Foundation, which intended to 'perpetuate the charitable objectives
Up for auction: Princess Diana wore this Catherine Walker tartan dress at a ball in aid of the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital in 1991
But the foundation was already running into trouble as expenses began to mount. In the first year alone, Ms Dunkel spent more than $1milion on legal fees, public relations consultancy and building the exhibits, and she had to loan it $1million of her own money just to keep it going.
'The exhibit was shown at three venues, however none provided a profit.'
She loaned the exhibition to Kensington Palace for a short time in 2002, but her attempts to hold a glamorous charity fundraiser at Diana's former home failed miserably when sponsors failed to materialise.
The foundation lost $115,878 in preparing for the event, and had to refund $47,250 in ticket sales.
In a 2004 tax filing seen by the St Petersburg Times, the foundation borrowed $38,000 from the Bank of Tampa, and another $50,000 from Patricia Sullivan, whose former husband founded Outback Steakhouse.
Two years later she decided to turn to real estate development, and borrowed $1.5million from HRH Ventures - using the dresses as collateral - to fund a housing project.
Sold! A Christie's auctioneer celebrates in 1997 when the iconic blue velvet dress Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta is sold in New York
By the time she filed for bankruptcy in January the following year, Ms Dunkel owed around $3.5million, including $1million to Sumter Homes, Bank of Florida, Holland & Knight, Bank of America and Northstar Bank.
With auctioneers estimating the 14 gowns could make as much as $4.15million, Ms Dunkel will at last be hoping the dresses can bring her financial help rather than woe.
In the auction catalogue, she wrote: 'It is time to close the "Diana Dress" chapter of my life and focus on my greatest love, my desire to use my time, talents and treasure to serve God.'
Source: Daily Mail Website
Hitler’s Goblets Sold At UK Auction For £3,000
Four goblets believed to have been owned by Adolf Hitler and used at his Berlin bunker have sold at auction for £3,000.
The goblets were expected to fetch more than twice their eventual £3,000 price
The engraved receptacles, edged in gold and etched with the Nazi eagle, a swastika and the initials AH, were expected to sell for around £8,000.
But the Specialist International Militaria sale in Towcester, Northants, saw them snapped up for just £3,000 by a buyer in Sweden.
Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert, of JPHumbert Auctioneers, said the price was still reasonable for an item with no written proof of its background.
"Anything Nazi can be a little bit awkward to place and although we had an immense amount of worldwide publicity people were very cagey about expressing pre-sale interest," he said.
"They sold to someone from Sweden who bid via the internet. They have no paperwork, no written provenance, it was really based on the hearsay from the vendor in America."
An American soldier in Hitler's bunker after the war ended in 1945
He said the goblets belonged to the vendor's late father, a highly respected militaria dealer.
He said the man apparently also once owned one of Hitler's swords, believed to have sold for one million dollars.
"He had the sword and his father only owned the best and it was his understanding that his father had bought them as having come from the Berlin bunker" he said.
There is no documentation establishing the goblets' provenance
"We were really pleased to be able to place them at all, £3,000 is a very respectable price for four glasses with no substantive written provenance."
The Berlin bunker effectively acted as the headquarters of the Nazi regime in the three months before Hitler killed himself in April 1945.
Source: Sky News Website
From Sunken Treasure to Uncovering Gold in Lichfield
A rare collection of gold and silver coins unearthed in Staffordshire are expected to sell for up to £5,000 when they go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers a Uk Auction on 13 July. The coins discovered in a Lichfield home by auctioneer Charles Hanson, manager of Hansons Auctioneers and as seen on BBC1 Bargain Hunt are a varied collection spanning over 500 years. Highlights in the collection will include a large Spanish Philip IV silver crown which was recovered from the East Indies ship Keergesteijn which was sunk off the coast of Africa in 1702 A rare English Elizabethan silver sixpence coin is dated 1562 an is in relatively fine condition. The collection includes many gold coins ranging from an Austrian 1915 100 Corona to an 1873 Amerian 10 dollar piece. Sovereigns and half sovereigns are also included in the auction alongside a 1979 Isle of Man four piece gold coin set including £5,, £2, sovereign and half sovereign set which is expected to realise up to £1000. The market is so buoyant for gold and silver on the market at present remarked Charles Hanson. Interest in coins is strong. The collection which was uncovered in an old tin box belonged to our clients late husband remarked Charles Hanson. He was a private gentleman and even our client was surprised to learn of the value of the coins. Hansons auction will take place at The Mackworth Hotel, Derbyshire on Wednesday 13 July at 10am,.
For furthr details please email Hansons at sevice@hansonsauctioneers.co.uk or telephone 01283 733 988
Hansons hold monthly antiuque valuation days in the Methodist Church Hall, in Alrewas once a month
Rossetti: Pre-Raphaelite muse pictures at UK Auction
Lachesis: Study of Jane Morris seated in a chair sewing (1861) is being sold at Christie's
For a young group of painters later to achieve fame as the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, the summer of love came in 1857.
It was in that summer Dante Gabriel Rossetti met his muse, Jane Morris, who was Jane Burden at the time, and who came to embody the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty.
And at the same time she met her future husband, Rossetti's friend William Morris.
For Harriet Drummond, curator at Christie's: "The enduring popularity of Pre-Raphaelite images is underlined by the popularity of the images we see today reproduced on cards, calendars, posters and book covers."
After passing down generations of his family, one of Rossetti's paintings of Jane Morris is now up for auction for the first time.
Proserpine, unfinished, was painted nearly two decades after they met, when they had become lovers.
Sitting alongside it in the auction is a far earlier picture.
Placing the two next to each other charts the tumultuous development of the relationship between painter and muse.
Proserpine, unfinished (1872) is said to show a more voluptuous image of Jane Morris
Over the summer of 1857 three Oxford undergraduates, Rossetti, Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, shared rooms in George Street.
They spent a hedonistic summer painting the Oxford Union debating chamber.
Rossetti and Burne-Jones spotted Jane at the theatre and asked her to become one of their models, who they nicknamed "stunners".
Ms Drummond said: "It was over one summer holiday. They're literally at the beginning of their careers."
Rossetti was already engaged to Lizzie Siddell, another great pre-Raphaelite beauty.
Jane married his friend William Morris, later to gain fame as a socialist writer and artist.
The poet Swinburne, also at Oxford, wrote of her: "The idea of his marrying her is insane.
"To kiss her feet is the utmost man should think of doing."
But after Siddell's death, Rossetti and Jane Morris began an affair that spanned most of her life.
Voluptuous lips
At the top of a Rossetti painting of Morris, he wrote in Latin: "Famous for her poet husband, and famous for her face, may my picture add to her fame."
The two pictures now at auction recall her fame again.
In the 1861 drawing, Rossetti depicts Morris as Lachesis, one of the three mythological fates, spinning the thread of life.
The auction house said it could be seen "as a hidden allusion to her power to determine his destiny on both personal and artistic levels".
By the time of the painting from 1872, never before sold, Rossetti's depiction of his lover as Proserpine was far more sexualised.
"You see the distinctive voluptuous lips.
"It's not a finished study - you can see the blue underdrawing, showing his technique", Ms Drummond said.
'Queenly' manners
The woman in the pictures represented a triumph of re-invention.
She was born Jane Burden in St Helen's Passage off Holywell Street in Oxford, now marked with a blue plaque.
She was the daughter of a stableman who worked at Symond's Livery Stable.
Her mother was illiterate - a far cry from Morris' later fluent French and Italian, coupled with a notoriety for having "Queenly" manners.
Source: BBC News Website