Glasgow Burrell Collection, Bonhams

One can usually expect to see exquisite things at Bonhams, one of London’s esteemed auction house triumvirate with Sotheby’s and Christie’s. This Christmas season is no exception as the Glasgow Burrell Collection prepares to exhibit 50 spectacular objects on New Bond Street.

Who was Sir William Burrell?

Shipping heir Sir William Burrell (1861-1958) amassed a startling collection of 9,000 treasures during his life, which has never before left its native Scotland. Burrell was no dilettante. He used his sensitive knowledge to sniff out a bargain: the most he ever paid was £14,500. That said, he should be regarded as one the great collectors alongside the likes of Andrew Mellon and Samuel Courtauld.

What will we see?

In the Bonhams showroom you’ll discover highlights such as Auguste Rodin’s pensive, bronze male nude, The Thinker (1903) and Rembrandt’s astonishing 1632 self-portrait at 26 in which he experiments with a bourgeois guise and delves into the look of the human. Look out also for Cézanne’s portrayal of Emile Zola’s house in The Chateau of Medan (188) and a Ming ewer (15^th century).

With the law forbidding the international lending of the collection overruled by Scottish Parliament this year, this surprising exhibition in London is an unprecedented chance to see some of Burrell’s hidden gems.