LONDON.- Emma, Viscountess Weymouth of Longleat, has revealed her strikingly beautiful contribution to Bonhams’ charity chair auction in aid of CHIVA Africa, a leading AIDS charity focused on improving the lives of children and teenagers living with HIV in South Africa.

More than 30 celebrities, artists and designers, including Made in Chelsea stars, Arsenal Football Club and Jonny Wilkinson, have made stunning hand-painted and upholstered one-off chairs for the event, which is titled Sitting Pretty.

Bids for each chair can be made on line at www.chiva-africa.org/sittingpretty from 26th February and will conclude in a live sale at Bonhams New Bond Street on 15th March.

Featuring two golden lions, Emma, Viscountess Weymouth’s chair is a fitting emblem both for the Longleat estate, which is famed for its safari park and this year celebrates its 50th year as a visitor’s attraction, and for CHIVA Africa’s work.

Emma, Viscountess Weymouth, comments: “I am delighted to lend my support and design skills to this amazing charity which does such worthwhile work among children and young people in Africa who are given a fighting chance of a good life thanks to them. I do hope you will join in bidding for these delightful chairs to enable a generation living with HIV to fulfill their potential.”

Further contributors include actress Maureen Lipman, hair stylist and fashioner designer duo Nicky Clarke and Kelly Simpkin, and the Aston Martin design team.

“It feels fitting for Bonhams to host this event and we are very proud to be working with CHIVA Africa,” said Giles Peppiatt, Bonhams Director of African Art and the sale’s auctioneer. “Bonhams is the global market leader in South African art and we are home to the only sales dedicated to modern and contemporary African art in the world. It feels right to give something back to a part of the world with which we have such a long-established relationship.”