A Case For Interpol… Was Lord Glenconner’s £1Million Antique Hoard ‘Stolen Goods’? By Colin Maximin and Marc Horne
He was the aristocrat whose outrageously extravagant parties attracted both royalty and rock stars.
But now Lord Glenconner has once again become embroiled in controversy, more than three years after he died at his Caribbean home at the age of 83. An auction of the colourful peer’s belongings from his estate raised more than £1 million in 2011.
However, St Lucia’s official heritage body is claiming many of the items which were sold were national treasures that had been ‘pilfered’ by Glenconner. The organisation is calling for Interpol to track down the artefacts and return them to the people of St Lucia.
Glenconner, a close friend and confidant of Princess Margaret, lived out his final years on the tropical island where he amassed a collection of valuable antiques, art and historic artefacts.
But the St Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society insists the items are of national cultural significance and has demanded they be repatriated. Eric Branford, the secretary of the government backed heritage organisation, claimed the artefacts should never have been auctioned in London.
He said: ‘These items tell the story of St Lucian history and they should not have been taken out of the country and sold. ‘They belong to the people of St Lucia and should be on display in our national museum. ‘There is a lot of anger over this and it is very disappointing that this sort of thing is still taking place in the 21st Century. ‘It is nothing short of pilfering.’ Mr Branford, a UNESCO conservation adviser, said he would be calling on Interpol to retrieve the items, which were sold to a range of private buyers. He added: ‘When American soldiers took historic Iraqi items back to the US,Interpol forced them to return them. We want to see the same thing happen here. ‘The sales of these artefacts needs to be fully nvestigated and international assistance and support will be sought.’
St Lucian land owner Peter Alternor was equally outraged. He said: ‘We need these old-time treasures here in the island.‘The British and the other Europeans took a lot of our stuff back in the day and we would like these antiquities to be returned.’ St Lucian items which went under the hammer include a root wood tray dating back to the 1600s, which sold for £3,750, a rare mahogany desk chair which fetched £6,000 and a collection of 12 hand-coloured engravings of Caribbean scenes from 1837, which went for £15,000.
The aristocrat, who was born Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, caused a posthumous shock when it emerged he had bequeathed his entire estate not to Lady Anne – his wife of 54 years –but to Kent Adonai, his St Lucian manservant and constant companion. However, a spokesman for the Glenconner estate said:The sale enabled the estate Colin spent so much time developing to be maintained and ensured it continues to provide a livelihood for many local people.’
The one-time member of the SNP,who counted Mick Jagger and David Bowie among his friends,was renowned for his bohemian dress sense and hedonistic nature.On his 50th birthday in 1976, Glenconner was crowned ‘king’ of the Caribbean island of Mustique,which he turned into a playground for the rich and famous.
In recent years Interpol has sent teams to Iraq, Mexico and the US to track down pillaged treasures. A spokesman said: ‘The illicit traffic in cultural heritage is a transnational crime that affects the countries of origin, transit and final destination.’
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