I have tried to find information on the 1974 auction of her property (searching The Times archive). Lady Patricia Ramsay died in January 1974, and left an estate worth £903,134, which gave a huge tax liability of £240,914. It appears there was quite a lot of property auctioned. Her name is mentioned in the advertisements for all the following auctions:
Christie´s 15 May 1974 Important Jewels Christies 3 June 1974 Fine Continental Porcelaine Christie´s 4 June 1974 Important Drawings and Watercolours Christie´s 19 June 1974 English and Foreign Silver Christie´s 25/26 June 1974 Important Old Master Drawings Christie´s 26 June 1974 Highly Important English and Foreign Silver and Gold Christie´s 28 June 1974 Important Pictures by Old Masters Christie´s 1 July 1974 Fine Chinese Jades and Snuff boxes Christie´s 8 July 1974 Fine Chinese Export Enamels, Ceramics and Works of Art Christies´s 11/12 July 1974 Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture Christie´s 16 July 1974 Fine Clocks, Watches and Scientific Instruments Christie´s 16 July 1974 Fine English Prints, Drawings and Watercolours Christie´s 16/17 July 1974 Fine Japanese Ceramics, Print and Works of Art Christie´s 18/19 July 1974 Fine Pictures by Old Masters Christie´s 23 July 1974 Fine Victorian Drawings and Watercolours Christie´s 24 July 1974 Victorian and Early 19th Century Silver Christie´s 25/26 July 1974 Fine Victorian Pictures Christie´s 30 July 1974 Fine Civil and Military Uniforms, Paintings, Drawings and Prints, Militaria, Embroidery, Costume and Fans Christie´s 1 October 1974 Miniatures and Objects of Vertu. The Properties of the late Lady Patricia Ramsay and others. Christie´s 2 October 1974 Fine English and Continental Glass and French Paperweights Christie´s 3 October 1974 English Furniture, Objects of Art, Eastern Rugs and Carpets Christie´s 22 October 1974 Important Miniatures, Gold Boxes and Objects of Vertu Christie´s 5 November 1974 Fine Fans, Lace, Textiles, Embroidery and Costume Christie´s 7 November 1974 Continental Furniture, Objects of Art, Eastern Rugs and Carpets Christie´s 7/8 November 1974 Fine Pictures and Drawings of The Americas, Australasia and South Africa Christie´s 14 November 1974 English and Continental Oak, Pewter and Metalwork Christie´s 21 November 1974 Fine English Furniture, Objects of Art, Eastern Rugs and Carpets Christie´s 11 December 1974 Antiquities and Primitive Art
Jewels appear only to have been auctioned in the first auction. The Times 16 May 1974 has an article on this jewellery auction. (btw - according to the Christie´s advertisement, there was a printed catalogue for this auction, which might give more info).
… At Christie´s in London, yesterday, an auction of important jewels brought that rare but highly desirable, from an auctioneer´s point of view, result of every item sold. It is more than rare for every lot to find a buyer in a sale put together from many properties. But in the present harsh economic climate jewels have become som internationally desirable that almost every lot in the sale went beyond Christie´s expectations. The total was £195,965. The first 74 lots came from the late Lady Patricia Ramsay, late granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her antique diamond tiara brought the top price in the sale at £12,000 (Ullman). A set comprising a diamond open oval and bar link necklace with four matching bracelets (split into two lots) made £9,400. The pieces added up to some 32 carats of dimonds and at going rates could have been expected to make about £2,000. These were not uncommon pieces, which makes the descrepancy between expectation and outcome particularly striking. But there was another lot …
There is also the following two articles which mentions her property in other auctions.
The Times 2 July 1974 A sale of fine Chines Jades, snuff-bottles and other hardstone carvings at Christie´s yesterday brought highly competitive bidding and strong prices. Most jades are easily portable and the market fully international; in these troubled times these seem the ncessary criteria for strong prices in the market. The sale totalled £103,052, well above Christie´s estimated result. The moring was devoted to jades from the collection of lady Patricia Ramsay, Queen Victoria´s granddaughter, which contributed £83,839 of the total. Lady Patricia died earlier this year. She collected extensively herself and also inherited some pieces from Queen Mary. And more about the sale …
The Times 2 October 1974 At Christie´s … A sale of miniatures and objects of vitu made £42,241. A Swiss enamelled gold snuff box, which once belonged to the Duke of Connaught, was sold from the estate of Lady Patricia Ramsay for £546 (Kings).
on January 3, 2013, 6:39 am