Bonhams Skinner
American auction house Skinner was founded in 1962 by Robert W Skinner – an engineer with a passion for antiques. For 45 years it was run by partners Karen Keane and Stephen Fletcher (who was Skinner’s first employee), before the firm was sold to Bonhams in 2022. At that point the firm was rebranded as Bonhams Skinner.
In addition to its flagship Boston saleroom, Skinner also operates from Marlborough, Massachusetts; Coral Gables, Florida and New York City.
Bonhams Skinner holds regular sales across the year in more than 20 collecting areas, including categories such as fine art, American, Indian and ethnographic art, antique dolls, Judaica, textiles & couture and musical instruments.
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Eskimo baskets bring high demand at Skinner
31 August 2020One of the highest prices in the large 650-plus lot American Indian and Ethnographic Arts auction held by Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Massachusetts was the $4000 (£3075) paid against a $400-600 guide for a trio of Eskimo baskets woven from baleen.
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Tiffany pendant in Japanese style trebles estimate at Skinner
17 August 2020Japonisme, the craze for Japanese art first described by the French critic and collector Philippe Burty in 1872, became a key part of Tiffany & Co’s jewellery oeuvre from c.1877.
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Oak furniture rubs shoulders with Old Masters in Massachusetts single-owner selection
17 August 2020George Way (1950-2019) developed an early fascination with oak furniture. He was especially interested in seat furniture and at the age of 16 he began a half-century quest to build up the largest privately owned collection of 17th century chairs in America, assembling over 100 Dutch and English examples.
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Collection with a ruff appeal in Massachusetts
06 July 2020Massachusetts auction house Skinner will be offering over 200 pieces from the collection of George H Way in its sale of European Furniture and Decorative Arts to be held from July 20-28.
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‘Yongzheng’ lotus mouth vase passes £1m at Skinner
29 June 2020The latest sale of Asian Works of Art held online by Skinner of Marlborough, Massachusetts included this blue and white bottle vase with a Yongzheng (1722-36) mark.
![img_33-1.jpg](/media/56406/img_33-1.jpg?rxy=0.76687116564417179,0.7&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132373055160000000)
US saleroom Skinner reports record participation
22 June 2020US auction house Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) reported record levels of participation at its latest American & European Works of Art sale.
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Market for iconic Rolex 'tool' watches turns tropical
15 June 2020The market for vintage mechanical wristwatches, which began in earnest in Europe in the 1990s, is not yet fully 30 years old but is maturing rapidly.
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John Ruskin's sketch of French cathedral emerges at Skinner
18 May 2020Both American and European works are on offer in Skinner’s wide-ranging sale of paintings and sculpture to be held live online in its Marlborough rooms on May 31.
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Pick of the week: Pastiche clock is the real deal for buyer
20 April 2020This monumental English longcase clock sold in a Massachusetts auction is a remarkable exercise in antiquarianism.
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No dispute over its quality
09 March 2020Included in a recent sale of American and European paintings and works of art sale at Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Boston was this 7¼x 12¾in (19 x 32.5cm) oil on copper painting, 'The Dispute'.
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Strong supply of Wedgwood and Staffordshire among English ceramics at Boston sale
10 February 2020A good range of 18th and 19th century English ceramics is included in Skinner’s February 14 sale of European furniture and decorative arts in Boston.
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George Tinworth plaque stages a Shakespeare show in terracotta
27 January 2020This Doulton Lambeth terracotta plaque by George Tinworth will be included in the ceramics section of Skinner’s February 14 sale of European furniture and decorative arts in Boston.
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Rare example of chameleon stone alexandrite sells at Skinner
27 January 2020According to a popular story, alexandrite, one of the three main varieties of chrysoberyl, was discovered in the Urals by the Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld (1792-1866) and named in honour of the future Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
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Gifford takes the Grand Tour
20 January 2020A picture of a famous Italian Grand Tour view by one of the best-regarded artists of the American Hudson River school of painting is one of the highlights of a sale at Skinner in Boston on January 24.
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Boston enjoys the Etruscan revival
30 September 2019Among the best known of Castellani’s essays in the archaeological revival style is this ‘Etruscan’ gold and glass grapevine pattern necklace.
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Late career portrait by Jean-Baptiste Greuze emerges at Skinner
16 September 2019A portrait of an unidentified young man by the 18th century French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) will feature in the auction to be held by Skinner in Boston on September 27.
![Wedgwood Fairyland lustre vase](/media/45438/wedgwood-fairyland-vase-2403ieweb-29-07-19.jpg?rxy=0.49417637271214643,0.25457570715474209&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132085485530000000)
Fairyland lustre still sparkles from the rostrum
29 July 2019The market for Wedgwood ceramics may not be as bullish as it was three decades ago but this range of wares, produced from the First World War through the interwar period, continues to enjoy some of the strongest demand for the factory’s products which stretch across two and a half centuries.
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Signed photo is a Curie curiosity
17 June 2019Bid to a much higher than expected $23,000 (£17,970) in a Massachusetts auction was the signed photograph of Marie Curie shown here.
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John Singer Sargent later watercolours raise a combined $220,000 at Boston sale
20 May 2019The American artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is best known for the high-society ‘swagger’ portraits that had earned him fame and fortune, but the watercolours he produced in greater number are more commonly available at auction.
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Micromosaic panels in two US auctions
13 May 2019These two 19th century micromosaic panels feature in different US auctions this month.
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