This summer, Sotheby’s London will offer for sale a group of works from our collections.

Reflecting both the history of the house and the tastes of the extraordinary men who built and shaped our collections, the works to be offered at Sotheby’s span a range of periods and media, from Roman antiquities to Old Master paintings and 17th-century Italian furniture. They will be auctioned in Sotheby’s London Old Masters and Treasures sales in London on 8th July, with a combined estimate in excess of £10 million.

For generations, members of the family have been among the leading patrons and collectors of their time, beginning with the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, whose vision and daring resulted in the building of Castle Howard. Later, the 9th Earl, himself an artist, formed a famous collection of 15th and 16th-­century paintings, many of which were gifted on his death to the National Gallery in London. Each generation has contributed in its own particular way to the magnificence and breadth of our overall collection.

The items include:

• One of no fewer than 15 works commissioned or bought by the 4th Earl from Bernardo Bellotto (1722-­1780), Venice, A View of The Grand Canal Looking South From The Palazzo Foscari
• A pair of Italian pietre dure inlaid cabinets produced in Rome in the 17th century.
• A fine example of 17th century Dutch painting is to be found in Ferdinand Bol’s Portrait of a Boy.
• Also acquired by the 5th Earl are two exceptional white marble busts, produced in France in the 17th century.
• A powerful depiction of King Henry VIII, from the studio of Hans Holbein (1497-1543).
• A masterful rendering of the 6th Duke of Devonshire, or “The Batchelor Duke” by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
• A monumental quartz diorite vase with graceful leaf-shaped handle terminals, from Roman Egypt, circa 1st Century B.C., from the Baths of Augustus in Rome.
• A carta pesta relief of the Virgin and Child, early 16th century, Florentine, from the workshop of Jacopo Sansovino.