Art and antiques news from 2001

UK: FOLLOWING on from the success of the International section of the Seeger Collection in New York last month, high quality and low estimates once again proved a winning combination for Sotheby’s (20/15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) when on June 14 they offered works by British artists collected by Stanley Seeger over the last 20 or so years.

The Lie Became Great: The Forgery of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, by Oscar White Muscarella, published by Styx Publications, Postbus 2659, 9704 CR Groningen, The Netherlands. ISBN 9056930419 NG250. (approx £75)

THE British Antiques and Collectables Awards were presented at a packed ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London’s Park Lane on June 19.

The Fine Art Society Story (Part I 1876-1914), by Charlotte Gere, published by the FAS. £10

UK: THE most famous fortnight in lawn tennis is now upon us, and as a warm-up to the usual bazaar of champagne, strawberries and corporate hospitality, at Kempton Park on June 16 auctioneers Mullock and Madeley held aloft this Wimbledon trophy for the men’s doubles winners of 1919.

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, published by Oxford University Press on September 28, ISBN 0198150342. £25

UK: ONE rarely gets the chance to auction an auctioneer’s advertisement, at least in ceramic form, but this is what happened when Greenslade Taylor Hunt (15 per cent buyer's premium) offered this matched pair of early 19th century Derby figures, right, at their Taunton salerooms on May 31.

UK: QUALITY items eagerly contested, patchy bidding on low to middle-range entries – a familiar countrywide pattern was evident at Bristol but it was a very unfamiliar piece which led the day.

UK: ONE hundred and seventy five years of independent ownership is an awe-inspiring feat in an antiques market that has changed beyond recognition in the past decade. But this Manchester firm has moved with the times by issuing digital photographs and publishing their catalogue on the Internet.

UK: ONE of the more interesting features of the last sale at Sotheby’s (10 per cent buyer’s premium) on May 2 and 3 was the collection of German medieval coins formed by Beat Konrad Graf Reuttner von Weyl (d. 1969). This dispersal is interesting on two counts.

UK: CHRISTIE'S South Kensington (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) chalked up another strong result to add to their successful run of mixed- and single-owner Staffordshire pottery auctions with the sale on June 14 of 273 lots from the Oxfordshire dealer Robin Sanders and Sons. A selection that also took in blue and white pearlware and ironstone tablewares but majored on Staffordshire figures, it saw all but 13 lots change hands netting £145,000.

UK: TEA caddies and Tunbridgeware are both hot sellers at present and the combination in the form of this pretty piece, right, was irresistible to half a dozen bidders at the two-day sale held by Rendells (10 per cent buyer’s premium) at Ashburton on May 24 and 25.

UK: A HAMMER total of £94,350 from the 91 pieces to get away among the 109 offerings was an excellent start to the month when the Chester rooms could offer some real quality on a day dedicated to clocks and barometers.

NETHERLANDS: THE Laurens Schulman (15 per cent buyer’s premium) (established 1880) sales at Bussum, near Amsterdam are well worth watching by readers of the Antiques Trade Gazette. These sales offer predominantly Netherlands material but because the histories of Holland and Britain are so bound up there is often something that the UK collector should not overlook.

UK: PRICES for standard silver remain subdued but the 330 lots of plate and silver offered here did include nine four-figure bids and enjoyed an 86 per cent take-up and a total of £96,600.

UK: COLLECTORS’ sales are more insulated against market polarisation than most other areas with the niche appeal of the generally more affordable entries attracting greater numbers of private buyers. This sale, with most lots selling under £500, was no exception, with an 88 per cent take-up resulting in a £51,000 total.

NETHERLANDS: MEDAL collectors should watch Sotheby’s Amsterdam (20 per cent buyer’s premium) silver sales. For the second time this year this house has included medals of mainly Netherlands interest in a silver sale.

UK: THE market for travel posters is particularly strong with Christie's South Kensington frequently holding specialised sales. Another London house, Onslows (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium), of Fulham relished in the strength of posters at their sale at The Carisbrooke Hall, Marble Arch from May 16-17 when this advert, right, for Bournemouth designed by H.G. Gawthron in 1930 went over estimate.

Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries by Avril Hart and Susan North, published by V&A Publications. ISBN 18517772588 £19.95 pb

A major player in the US auction world is going on the auction block itself. Carol and Larry Farley, the majority owners of Dargate Auction Rooms of Pittsburgh, USA, are retiring and will sell the business at auction on September 7. The starting bid for the fixed assets, ongoing business, goodwill, Website, mailing list, trademarks, trade secrets, e-commerce relationships, archives etc. is $500,000.