We have added an additional hammer sale to our auction calendar, and it’s a very special one. On 25th September, we will be auctioning the remarkable collection of Tribal Weapons, Masks, and Artifacts assembled by Rodney Mandeville Alcock. Rodney’s exceptionally wide-ranging and scholarly knowledge, evident throughout the collection, was not the product of a privileged upbringing, but of his own passionate interest and curiosity. As a schoolboy, he discovered that museums were not just repositories of objects but gateways to exploring and understanding other cultures. In short, there was a world far bigger than the one prescribed by his parents.
During school lunch hours in the 1950s, Rodney could often be found in his local “sanctuary”, the Haslemere Educational Museum, where he was encouraged by Arthur Jewell, the then-curator, who became his mentor. After school came National Service. While some might have considered it an interruption, for Rodney it was yet another opportunity. Serving in Cyprus and Africa, including time in the desert, awakened him to other cultures and ways of life.
In 1964, he joined the Dorset County Museum with a brief to reorder and conserve its collections and revitalise its displays. He was involved in the excavation of the Roman villa at Dewlish, Dorset, developing expertise in lifting Roman mosaics, and later became Curator of the Weymouth Museum. Rodney’s curiosity led him to travel widely, to countries along what might be considered ‘The Silk Roads’, including Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, India, and China. His collection is a testament to his belief that objects tell stories, and that, placed in context, they can encourage connections across cultures and continents.
If you have items or collections you would like to sell, our friendly team would be delighted to guide you through the auction process. Get in touch today to discuss consigning to one of our future sales.
Lawrences are welcoming consignments for their forthcoming Fine Art sales
to include: Silver | Vertu | Pictures | 19th/20th Century Design
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without charge or obligation.
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