Fine Arts: A life’s work in collecting art up for auction at Bonham’s

Jim Lennon’s silver, ceramics, antiques and curiosities, collected over 40 years, are for sale at Bonham’s this week

Chinese Cloisonné enamel quail censers, late 18th century/early 19th century (€940-€1,400). Picture: Gilberto Martinez

“What’s going to happen to all that stuff when you are gone?” is a question Northern Ireland collector Jim Lennon is frequently asked by friends and family. “I did have a plan,” he says. “I was going to win the lottery and open a museum and I am still at a loss as to how that plan went wrong.”

In the event, his plan B is to send the fruits of 40 years collecting to ...