The estate of the late Michael Ball AO, iconic adman and architect of Ogilvy & Mather in Asia who passed away last year, is going up for auction next month.
The listing runs to 423 items ranging from Chinese political posters to Scottish military drums, taxidermied exotic birds, fossils, 17th century artefacts, a bronze statue of a horse and a collection of marble balls.
On those balls, while Ball curated the collection with the auctioneers ahead of his passing, he is said to have quipped “they can come to see Balls' balls”, according to Paul Sumner, CEO of auctioneer Mossgreen.
Opening bids on some items begin at $200 stretching to $15,000 for one of the most expensive starting offers for a marble statue of a Roman maiden by Benjamin Edward Spence.
A pair of 18th Century Qing stone lions will start at $5000.
After spending much of his career overseas and in Asia, Ball's collection reflects his international life.
Ball, who was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Honours list last year, passed away in September 2016 after a battle with cancer.
At the time, long-time colleague and friend Tom Moult, founder of Walker Moult, told AdNews Ball was an “absurdly generous” gentleman and Gawan Rudder, of the Knowledge Consultancy, described him as a figure "we're not likely to see again in advertising”.
Items from the estate are being auctioned by Mossgreen Auctions in Bowral on 5 February.
The collection is listed in a glossy brochure, and within the pages Barry Humphries, a lifelong friend of Ball, penned a tribute.
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