Latest News Articles by Terence Ryle
Chair’s Elisabeth Frink link
23 December 2019Items from the estate of the Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-93) were included in the Charterhouse (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Sherborne, Dorset, on November 14-15.
Ring sheds light on Jewish soldiers in Roman army
23 December 2019A Roman bronze ring offered for sale by Pax Romana (15% buyer’s premium) in London on November 24 appears to shed light on a little known aspect of the imperial army: the contribution of Jewish soldiers.
Charity shop rewarded for auction decision on donated ring
17 December 2019Charity may begin at home, but sometimes it ends in the saleroom. A ring brought into a charity shop nearly doubled its top estimate at auction in Surrey.
Vincennes rarity in Norfolk
16 December 2019Although catalogued as Sèvres, a porcelain cup and saucer sold by Keys (20% buyer’s premium) of Aylsham for an unexpected £5500 (estimate £100-200) on November 27 was by the factory’s precursor at Vincennes. The saucer had the date letter A for c.1754 and the cup B for c.1755.
Restoring pride in Rockingham
16 December 2019Preview held in imposing stately home helps to boost interest ahead of first sale section.
Battle scene panels beat estimate at Fonsie Mealy
09 December 2019Consigned from a scholarly collector in New Zealand, a pair of relief-carved ivory panels was the among the highlights of Fonsie Mealy’s (22% buyer’s premium inc VAT) Castlecomer sale on November 26.
Fine Finnish: Aalto in Hull
09 December 2019Rising in inverse ratio to the decline in classic English furniture has been the interest in 20th century design pieces such as the silver birch table and four chairs sold at Spicers (20% buyer’s premium) in Driffield on November 29.
Good resort result for travel poster in Penzance
09 December 2019A collection of vintage travel posters included a number with the added advantage of local appeal when offered by Penzance auction house David Lay (18% buyer’s premium).
Bus toys take the saleroom route
09 December 2019Part toy, part biscuit tin, the crossover appeal of a 1929 Huntley & Palmers product helped it to star at Hansons’ (20% buyer’s premium) five-day 2100-lot marathon antiques and collectors sale.
Rare offering of fountain pens draws bidders in Cornwall
09 December 2019In a large collection of fountain pens offered at Cornish auction house Barbara Kirk (15% buyer’s premium) most well-known makers were represented, but among the rarer ones were no fewer than 19 by the Italian manufacturer Omas.
Export chairs created from 18th century English design sell well in the modern world
09 December 2019It’s been a challenging couple of decades for classic English furniture but early winter has witnessed a few stars across the provinces, be it classic English or more exotic overseas material, to offer some gleams of encouragement.
Greco-Roman marble torso of Aphrodite draws admirers in West Sussex
09 December 2019Adding a classical touch to a highly successful five-day sale at West Sussex auction house Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) was a 1st century AD Greco-Roman marble lower torso of Aphrodite.
Treasures of the natural world (but in skeletal or stuffed form…)
02 December 2019Extinct for 65 million years, dinosaurs continue to rule the world of children visiting the National History Museum, of multi-million dollar movie makers – and of bidders at the Evolution Sales at Summers Place Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).
Silver table toppers draw strong trade interest
02 December 2019Exuding the exuberant confidence of pre-1914 Britain, this 21in (52cm) long silver table centrepiece, below, was a natural target for the London trade at the Anthemion (17.5% buyer’s premium) November 20 sale in Cardiff.
18th century doll’s dress brings big price
02 December 2019The height of fashion nearly three centuries ago, this 18th century doll’s dress caught the eye at C&T’s (20% buyer’s premium) specialist sale in Tunbridge Wells.
Registered bidders at London studio ceramics sale come from wide array of countries
02 December 2019Two November sales underlined the current strength of the field of British studio pottery.
Studio ceramics sale gets to the art of the matter
02 December 2019Specialist Philip Smith, head of the 20th Century & Modern British Art departments at the London outlet of Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium), believes studio ceramics should be classed as art.
Battle of the sexes: opposing sides of the Suffragette struggle
02 December 2019Less often seen than Suffragette propaganda and considerably less PC these days, a brass and enamel fob badge for the National League for Opposing Woman had its international admirers at Ipswich auction house Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium).
Cartier cigarette case and presentation trowels give echoes of the First World War at Cirencester auction
25 November 2019Differing echoes of the First World War attracted bidders at Dominic Winter’s (20% buyer’s premium) Cirencester auction in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday.
Not just cigarette cards but the packs too
25 November 2019The huge and ongoing task of cataloguing thousands of cigarette cards and other ephemera from a deceased collector’s home – he had walls pasted with beer mats instead of wallpaper – paid off for Bristol auctioneer Gavin Aplin.