Riding into spring

LAST month, the Edinburgh auctioneer Lyon & Turnbull included items whose provenances from Scottish aristocratic collections attracted strong bidding; further research might add still more to their interest.

Which member of the Kerr family, marquesses of Lothian, brought two elaborate Ottoman saddles, complete with their velvet and silk saddlecloths, home to Newbattle Abbey? Such saddles appear on the market from time to time and, contrary to rule of thumb, here the older was the less expensive, at £9,375. It. Five years ago, Christie’s took £134,500 for an 18th-century silver-gilt mounted saddle.