A bronze chandelier that hung for decades in a Hampstead music room has gone under the hammer for nearly £3 million.

Alberto Giacometti's unique piece for art collector Peter Watson originally hung in the Bloomsbury offices of Horizon Magazine.

Dismantled when the publication folded in 1950, Sonia Orwell (nee Brownell), who met her husband, the writer George Orwell while working at the art and literature review, was tasked with putting the effects into storage.

But 15 years later, the chandelier turned up in a Marylebone antiques shop and was recognised by artist John Craxton, who was supported by Watson early in his career.

This Is Local London: Craxton Studios in Kidderpore Avenue is hired out for film shoots and music rehearsalsCraxton Studios in Kidderpore Avenue is hired out for film shoots and music rehearsals (Image: Courtesy of Craxton Studios)

He bought it for £250 and hung it in the music room of his parental home in Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead. Under successive generations of his musical family, it was a hive of creative activity, with visitors from Benjamin Britten to Sir John Betjeman and Yehudi Menuhin passing beneath the chandelier.

Today the arts and crafts house is occupied by his niece Jane, who rents it out for music rehearsals, and film shoots including Ricky Gervais' Afterlife, and The Theory of Everything.This Is Local London: The chandelier hung for decades in the music room before it was removed for safekeepingThe chandelier hung for decades in the music room before it was removed for safekeeping (Image: Courtesy of Craxton Studios)

After John Craxton died in 2009, he left his belongings, including the chandelier, to a trust that removed them for safe-keeping. When its value was revealed last year to be in the low millions, Janet told the Ham&High: "It didn't mean much to me. I didn't realise it was a significant piece of art."

The chandelier was a highlight of Christie's 20th/21st Century art sale on Tuesday, alongside works by Picasso and Lucien Freud. Scillonian Beachscape was painted while Craxton and Freud visited the Scilly Isles. The pair shared an intense friendship and a studio in Abercorn Place, St John's Wood - funded by Peter Watson - before falling out over the sale of a picture.This Is Local London: Dancer Margot Fonteyn and John Craxton in Greece, 1951. According to Ian Collins' biography John Craxton, A Life of Gifts the pair had a brief affairDancer Margot Fonteyn and John Craxton in Greece, 1951. According to Ian Collins' biography John Craxton, A Life of Gifts the pair had a brief affair (Image: Costas Achillopoulos)

Michelle McMullan, co-head of the Christie's sale said: "We were delighted with the result for Giacometti’s iconic Chandelier for Peter Watson. It is incredibly rare for chandeliers by the artist to come up at auction and we know there are only seven such objects recorded on Giacometti’s database, marking this as a once in a generation opportunity to acquire the work.

"Giacometti didn’t distinguish between design items and his sculptures and this quality, together with having once belonged to a figure whose influence could be felt across the European art world, sparked international interest during the sale.”

Exhibitions are taking place to mark the centenary of John Craxton's birth with plans for a display in Hampstead in 2024.