LONDON.- After 40 years of trading at the top end of the business, legendary English antique dealership, Sampson and Horne, are to sell their entire stock, comprising nearly 800 lots, and attracting a pre-sale estimate of £1,000,000, at Bonhams on 28th April 2010.

Widely considered as the leading dealer in British pottery and country furniture, the Mayfair-based company, whose clientele include important private collectors and international museums from the UK and the US, is closing due to the ill health of its founder Jonathan Horne, and has chosen Bonhams, with its record of successful single-owner sales and leading ceramics department, to sell the exceptional collection.

The sale will feature 17th and 18th century fine and rare British pottery, country furniture, decorative and unusual period items, needlework and paintings.

John Sandon, who directs Bonhams British ceramics department, has known Jonathan Horne, and his late business partner Alistair Sampson, as major customers and friends for more than three decades. “During that time no one has done more than Jonathan and Alistair to encourage the study and collecting of early British pottery and English country furniture,” he says.

“They only bought interesting, rare and special pieces and, as a result, this sale presents a remarkable opportunity. Many wonderful objects will be offered with sensible estimates to encourage bidding and inspire a new generation of pottery collectors. This will be the legacy of Sampson and Horne.”