Robert Kyme: English country radicalism

Months ago, on a transatlantic flight, I found myself sitting next to a well-known London writer. She had written a review of a book I was reading and we talked for a while about it. She asked me about my work, and the first thing she said when I explained what I was doing was, "Are you going to participate in the Robert Kyme auction? Would anything make a big profit?" I mulled over this conversation until my flight and the excruciatingly long cab ride to my hotel. I should have been surprised, but I wasn't.

Kime was one of the leading decorator-dealers who began work in the late 1960s and radically changed the look of the traditional English country house.

Their strong style profoundly changed the way ofdesign generation and influenced design concepts from East Acton to Eaton Square.

Kaim and his colleagues traveled at a time when many people did not, scouting the remains of empire and reveling in the magic of Islamic design and architecture.

They had a deep interest in Egypt, Turkey, North Africa, India, and dragged carpets, textiles, and tiles from the many Oriental souks they generously distributed to the country homes of rock stars and young aristocrats. The heavy, mahogany-filled rooms decorated for a generation during the war gave way to a light, hypnotic and playful style.

The prices at the Kaima auction earlier this month were unsurprising, as the stick passes from one generation to the next slowly.

Interiors are undergoing a slow change, a culling of style that reveals what shines and what will forever be boring. Kime's rigorously antique look shone brightly: you're unlikely to find much of it again. In this context, with such an impeccable provenance story, the price is almost irrelevant. As an indicator of generational taste, the auction was priceless. Next time you look at your ikat lamp or Moroccan rug, you can smile knowing where it all began.