My life in history: international head of silver at Christie’s

As part of the 'My life in history' series, Harry Williams-Bulkeley talks about his role as international head of silver at Christie’s

Harry-Williams-Bulkeley sitting at a table with silver candlesticks

Published: August 16, 2024 at 8:30 AM

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How did you start working for Christie’s auction house?

I joined Christie’s as a graduate trainee in 1990, having been an intern on the valuations desk. I’ve always had an interest in art and studied art history at university, but it was after helping my mother, who created inventories for the National Trust in Wales, that I knew I wanted to work with artworks. She photographed and catalogued everything from a state bed to a pepper grinder.
I loved handling a variety of objects.

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What does your role entail?

My work has three intertwined centres of focus: our clients, my colleagues, and the silver we sell. I’m based in London and keep in close touch with specialists in New York and Paris to look after our clients, or promote sales and search for pieces that will appeal.

Buyers come to us for advice and we guide them through the auction process – what the best pieces are, what qualities they should look for, and what they should be wary of.

Is there something about silver that particularly interests you?

The research is fascinating, such as identifying the hallmarks to unravelling the heraldry. We can discover the craftsman and the year a piece was made, and then reconstruct its history across centuries, countries and collections. In rare instances, an object might be mentioned in a will.

Harry holding a Victorian silver stag

A Victorian silver stag from 1850 comes under Harry’s expert eye. (Picture provided by Harry)

Handling a huge range of works is immensely rewarding. I look at them in great detail, examining their construction and condition. We record their history or provenance, citations in reference works, and public exhibitions. For the more important and valuable items, it’s vital to explain the rarity of a piece and its historical context. Uncovering the past lives of a piece can make a great difference to its value.

Do you have a favourite piece that you have handled?

In 2017, I worked on a magnificent George III gold gem-set necessaire (ornamental case) from the JE Safra Collection. Formed as a Chinese pagoda, it contained everything a fashionable 18th-century lady might have needed: sewing implements, scent bottles, and even an ear spoon.

It had been bought in Geneva in 1995, but all we knew was that it had previously been sold by dealers of objets de vertu (objects highly prized for their craftsmanship that aren’t jewellery, such as cigarette cases or snuff boxes). This piqued my curiosity. I knew some important auctions were mentioned in The Times and found out that it had sold for £3,000 in Emile Wertheimer’s 1953 auction.

Where had he bought it?

The Times also led me to a sale in 1925 at Christie’s for Almina, Countess of Carnarvon – the wife of the Egyptologist earl who funded Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Almina was the god-daughter (and, in reality, the biological daughter) of collector Alfred de Rothschild.

Harry pictured with a Charles I silver inkstand from 1639, which sold in 2021 for nearly £2m.

Harry pictured with a Charles I silver inkstand from 1639, which sold in 2021 for nearly £2m. (Picture provided by Harry)

A magical name in the world of art, he collected the very best – and buyers treasure Rothschild pieces. A morning in the Rothschild archives uncovered his 1918 probate valuation, “A George III miniature cabinet wholly fashioned of gold and shaped as a pagoda”, and there was our necessaire! A spectacular object with no past was now a Rothschild treasure. It sold for just over $1.5m after strong bidding.

What would you say are the best and worst parts of your role?

It’s a privilege to work with incredibly knowledgeable and collaborative colleagues with a shared pool of expertise, and wonderful to share the fascination I have for objects with equally enthusiastic clients. In the most magnificent houses, I am usually in the less glamorous service rooms as silver has historically been kept in silver safes.

I don’t mind, as I have peace and quiet to value fantastic pieces, but my heart sinks if I see the spoons and forks secured by rubber bands. It takes ages to unwrap them and, worse, the rubber reacts with the silver to leave black stains that can only be removed by a restorer. So whatever you do, keep rubber bands away from your silver!

Harry Williams-Bulkeley is international head of silver at Christie’s in London. Founded in 1766, it is one of the world’s leading auction houses for art and luxury items. For more information, visit christies.com

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This article was first published in the August 2022 issue of BBC History Revealed

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