That is the view of the Antiques Trade Gazette’s senior auction reporter Chris Wright, who has been following the market for several years.
Initially it was thought that ceramics would not lend themselves well to selling via the Internet because of the difficulty of establishing reliable colour reproduction with online imaging as well as building confidence as to condition. Experience now seems to confound this – amongst other advantages, many ceramics are small and easily transportable, and so are suitable for sending long distances. Further details of Chris Wright’s report also point to UK dealers and collectors leaving commission or telephone bids after first being alerted to items via the Internet. Notably, in his report, there were bidders from Portugal and even as far away as Japan, the latter proving successful with their £710 bid for a c.1760 Box octagonal dish.
“Overall the pattern seems to be a three-way mix of old and new technology: view on the Net, request condition reports by fax, then bid on the phone,” reports Chris Wright.
Trends show up in ceramics auctions
The growth of the Internet, and the reluctance of the biggest auctioneers to deal with low-value goods, has helped provincial auctioneers win more business.
