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Carl Toms (British, 1927-1999) The Peacock Ball: (4) image 1
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Carl Toms (British, 1927-1999) The Peacock Ball: (4) image 3
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Lady Glenconner: My Life in Objects
Lot 73AR

Carl Toms
(British, 1927-1999)
The Peacock Ball:

19 November 2025, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£600 - £1,000

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Carl Toms (British, 1927-1999)

The Peacock Ball: A set of four costume designs created for Lady Glenconner, Princess Margaret, Tatiana Soskin and Susannah Constantine
two signed 'Carl Toms' (lower left); one signed 'Carl Toms' (lower right)
watercolour, pencil and gold pen on paper
43.5 x 30cm (17 1/8 x 11 13/16in).
4

Footnotes

The 1986 Peacock Ball was part of a series of lavish parties thrown by Lord Glenconner at his home on the island of Mustique on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The week's revelries culminated in the Peacock Ball which saw Princess Margaret crown Lord Glenconner 'the "King" of Mustique'.

Carl Toms, the British set and costume designer, was tasked with designing costumes for the 'ladies of the court' and, according to Lady Glenconner, Princess Margaret 'loved' her dress, saying that 'she'd been waiting all her life to wear a dress that made her feel like a princess.'

Nicholas Courtney recalls that Lady Glenconner 'was stunning in her peacock-blue dress, while [Lord Glenconner's] attire was chryselephantine - that is gold on white - with a crown and jewellery worthy of the "King" of Mustique.'

With thanks to Nicholas Courtney in the preparation of this footnote.

Literature
Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown, Hodder & Staughton, London, 2019, pp.184-187.

Additional information