Having sold a painted sideboard by Traquair for £68,000 in 2000, the Edinburgh saleroom were well-positioned to compete against one of London's major houses for five pieces by the artist that again came direct from her descendants in Aberdeenshire.
Offered on August 7, the quintet was competed by a small coterie of collectors from Scotland, Ireland and America. In favour was Love and the Chalice, top right, a gold leaf, gesso and oil painting in the quasi-medieval style completed in 1909. Measuring 8 1/4 x 6 3/4in (21 x 17cm) and housed within its original plain oak frame, it features two scenes: an angel issuing the Cup of Life to a kneeling mortal and a smaller composition of two kneeling figures reaching out towards the river of life which winds its way into the distant landscape.
Estimated at £15,000-20,000, it was competed by two Scottish private collectors to £25,500 (plus 15 per cent buyer's premium).
Also in this archive was The Life of the Virgin, bottom right, a 9in (22cm) high enamel triptych on stand of 1906 demonstrating the artist's skill as an enameller following her perfection of the technique in 1901. It sold to the same buyer at £12,000.
