The delicate beauty of the late Victoria de Rothschild captivated me the minute I set eyes on her. We met in the 1970’s on a racecourse through our husbands, who had a mutual love of horse racing.

Victoria was born and spent her formative years in the sunshine of Florida; the warm rays and the life-style of Palm Beach brought her a freedom of spirit that remained with her throughout her life and informed and shaped her taste. Later the family moved to Manhattan; her mother, Marcia Lou Whitney Schott, was a woman of great poise and style and remained a huge and lasting inspiration to her daughter.

After coming to London, as a young adult, to dip her toe into British culture, she went back to the US and gained a degree in economics at Trinity College Hartford. Three years later, through mutual friends she met and married Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. They returned to the UK and made their homes in London and in the Rothschild family house in Buckinghamshire; Victoria bringing to the formal landscape of these two houses a transatlantic chic and her own particular quiet exoticism. The history of collecting in the Rothschild family is meticulously documented and was well known to Victoria, it was music to her ears. She continued the tradition and over a period of 40 years gathered together a remarkable and eclectic collection of furniture, glass, china, silver and jewellery. She bought instinctively and decisively; in later years the collection was curated by her great friend, decorator and dress designer, Tomasz Starzewski.

There was nothing that Victoria enjoyed more than entertaining her friends and giving them exquisitely wrapped presents. In her last flat, she had a room entirely set aside for present wrapping. It was here that she kept exotic Japanese tissue papers in graded shades, antique rolls of striped ribbons and haute couture silk ones, ready for when a friend had a birthday. Entertaining remained one of her greatest pleasures, and she did this on two levels: the very large dinners for 200 or 250 people, to the more intimate events for family, friends, children and grandchildren. Whatever the circumstances, like an impresario rising to the challenge, she would set to work, with an awesome attention to detail that seemed effortless; she was brimming full of ideas. I remember in particular one birthday dinner when the ceiling of the dining room was covered with hovering aubergine coloured balloons, echoing the violet napkins below. Her large-scale entertainments were memorable; there was an anniversary dinner at Lords Cricket Ground, where the tablecloths were made of white cricket flannel and boiled brisket was served, so simple, witty, understated, whilst Rory Bremner provided the cabaret. On the occasion of her daughter’s 21st birthday, she transformed the Royal College of Art into a replica of the 20th century nightclub ‘El Morocco’ in New York for the evening, with Manhattan taxis waiting outside to take the guests home.

Victoria’s greatest talent however was in creating tablescapes. This was almost like choreography, and there was always an element of the unexpected. The starting point was a textured fabric - her version of a tablecloth - be it a woven Kente from Ghana, a patchwork quilted sari from India, or a gossamer light runner; the variety of texture and colour enthralled her. She would lay the table, instinctively moving glass, silver, porcelain and flowers around, embellishing, intermingling traditional and contemporary, searching for a harmony that lived up to her own perfectionism. At times she would choose her favourite 18th century Chantilly porcelain plates - even when there were children present - with delicate blue sprays, surrounding a centrepiece of fifteen to twenty Chinese tulip vases. There were never side plates or bread knives - it was a pared down aesthetic, not an excessive one. White Murano goblets and Georg Jensen contemporary silver pitchers would add sparkle and freshness; the result looked like a 16th century Dutch still life. At other events, the table would become a playful study in the juxtaposition of colour, using her gently multi coloured 50’s retro plates, Balinese silver rimmed lacquered bowls and glass tutti-frutti tumblers, made by the Rothschilds’ cousins, the Brandolinis, in Venice.

The drinks trays in all her houses will stay in my memory for many years to come. Victoria’s signature Baccarat decanters would stand proud; around them a cluster of delicate early 20th century glasses engraved with the Rothschild crest. Highly polished Elsa Peretti silver condiments and mother of pearl spoons would be ready for the preparation of cocktails and various delicacies like caviar and creme fraîche spread on toasted blinis.

This same inimitable style informed the way Victoria dressed; her simple elegant way of presenting herself, almost Japanese in its restraint, allowed her to wear Philip Treacy hats and trademark modernist necklaces; Angela Pintaldi and Jacqueline Ryan with her theme of lapis lazuli sticklets were amongst her favourites. 

In many ways she was the forerunner of the new movement of luxury dining at home that has strengthened during Covid; dinner services, silver, table adornments are becoming more and more popular, and many young designers are turning their attention to tableware - Victoria’s delicate daring aesthetic has paved the way.

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Auction Details

Tuesday 8 & Wednesday 9 March | 10.30am
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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VIEWING:

• Viewing in London (Jewellery, Watches and Silver highlights only):
  16-17 Pall Mall, St James's, London SW1Y 5LU
  • Tuesday 22 & Wednesday 23 February: 10am-5pm
• Viewing in Donnington Priory (full sale):
  Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE
  • Thursday 3 & Friday 4 March: 10am-5pm
  • Sunday 6 March: 10am-4pm
  • Monday 7 March: 10am-5pm
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