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A Quick Look into the Kevin Harkin Estate Auction
Thursday, 05 July 2018 | Mike Leano
The late Kevin Harkin served Australia as a diplomat to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China for three decades. Throughout his travels around Asia and other corners of the globe, Mr Harkin gathered a fascinating trove of antique furniture, vases, Vanity Fair chromolithographs and many more.
Highlights of the sale
Mr Harkin's impressive stash was recently showcased and auctioned off here in ALLBIDS. Notable items in the estate sale included:
- A collection of vinyl records and EPs from U2, Eurythmics, Talking Heads, Warren Zevon, Dire Straits, The Cars and Elton John.
- A sizable assortment of cigarette cards in various themes, including trains, horse racing, maritime, automobiles, cricket, animals and military.
- A gorgeous Chinese wall panel made of timber that originally cost $899.
- A moon-shaped display stand made of Chinese elm.
- The Wren in Kallista oil-on-canvas painting by artist Ellsworth Overton.
- Two Chinese Han-style sculptured warrior heads.
- Several antique maps of citadels.
- An antique hand-crafted train.
- A collection of various fossils. Perhaps the most interesting among them is a fossilised ammonite (an extinct group of marine molluscs).
The estate auction comprised of over 300 items which Mr Harkin gathered throughout his lifetime, especially in his trips. During the auctions, ALLBIDS appraising specialist Angus Bowers noted that the compendium wasn't a common one.
"You don't get the opportunity to access such a unique collection every day, so I'm sure it will pique the interests of those who have a good eye for unique, rare and hard-to-find collectibles."
The estate collection was auctioned from the 8th to the 22nd of February.
About Kevin Harkin
Mr Harkin was a long-time resident of Weetangera. While he lived a private life, the estate auction offered a closer look into the things he appreciated, which encompassed history, artwork, music and Asian culture.