The whimsical and the wonderful

1,000 objects collected by Stanley J Seeger, often hailed as the greatest art collector ever, to be auctioned by Sotheby's feature a range of quaint artefacts from India

From a 20 million-year-old dinosaur egg, Orson Welles' working draft of Citizen Kane and Al Capone's cocktail shaker to an 18th/19th century goose-shaped betel nut case from south India and a leaf from the Ragamala series dating to 1750, nearly 1,000 objects spanning over 250 million years of history from Stanley J Seeger's collection has been put up for auction by Sotheby's. A musician, bibliophile and an art collector par excellence, Seeger was known for acquiring exquisite, and sometimes quirky, objects from all across the world.

Titled 1,000 Ways of Seeing, the exhibition features an eclectic selection of objects from India dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. There is a folding campaign table from the Elgin Mills of Kanpur, then Cawnpore, a white waterslide intricately carved from marble, a detailed Jain diagram of the Jambudwipa from Gujarat, a picchavai of Srinathji from Rajasthan and a "Jungly" figure of Durga on a lion from south India. One of the most exquisite objects is an armchair with a rosewood, brass and cane seat rail and a brass plaque engraved with HB. It was crafted in British India in 1815.

"Seeger was one of the greatest collectors of our time. His sure sense of style, taste and often his sense of fun are reflected throughout his collection, including the Indian objects," says David Macdonald, a Sotheby's specialist who has explored and researched each of the 1,000 objects on offer. Seeger had accommodations across the globe, making it tough at times to locate his whereabouts. Macdonald recalls the various mansions and houses where these objects were placed. "The large processional elephant made in Rajasthan in the 19th century sat at the bottom of the great staircase of his Berkshire mansion, The Deanery. The house was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the famous architect who designed a section of Delhi," he says. "This is a perfect illustration of Seeger's humour and playful interest in historical resonance - he brought India to a Lutyens' mansion in the same way that Lutyens brought his sense of style to India in the early 20th century."

According to Macdonald, Seeger's love for animals and bold designs is also reflected in his collection of Indian pieces, which includes a fine drawing of a cockatoo from the late 18th century and a waterslide with sculpted fish, lizards and frogs. This he bought to protect his privacy and installed in front of a window of his lavish apartment at St James' Place, London.

Among other objects, you can check out Winston Churchill's armchair and Lord Nelson's teapot. Then there is Al Capone's cocktail shaker, a Christmas gift from the gangster's men, engraved with "To a regular guy, from the boys 1932". Another fascinating set of objects is a group of ten fossilised dinosaur eggs from the Jurassic period (100 million BC). Now, isn't that a good reason to book that ticket to London to get a piece of Seeger's eclectic collection?

The auction will be held on March 5 and 6, 2014 at Sotheby's London