Willem Dolphyn (1935-2016), a Dutch still-life painter who exhibited regularly at the Gladwell Patterson gallery in Knightsbridge, would annually visit his favourite dealers to fuel a wide-ranging collection that included Chinese porcelain and Venetian glass.
Most of the 80 lots on offer are samurai blades. Examples date from the Kamakura (13th-14th century), the Muromachi (16th century) and the Edo (17th-18th century) periods, many signed and embellished with a range of metalworking techniques.
A highlight is a 17th century 20in (51cm) blade, or hizen wakizashi, that includes the inscription Motte Kore Tsukuru (Made using iron from Holland). Complete with an iron tsuba (guard) inlaid in brass with a dragon and a lacquer scabbard, it is estimated at £5000-7000.
Accompanying these are a range of Japanese sword fittings and items of armour.
Perhaps the most visually impressive lots in the collection are two Edo period suits of samurai armour (one pictured here) estimated at £4000-6000 each.
