Lyon & Turnbull

An unusual number of high prices for pictures has been recorded outside London this season.

Gavin Campbell (1851-1922), the 7th Earl of Breadalbane, was a prominent society figure and Liberal politician in the Gladstone administration but is best known in collecting circles as the owner of a vast array of silver.

This huge porcelain breakfast service was made to welcome Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their first visit to Scotland in 1842.

Extensive cross-section of design-themed objects offered in Edinburgh and London by same auction house

Lyon & Turnbull’s Lalique sale had been displayed at the Mall Galleries in London with posters from the Shell Heritage Art Collection as a backdrop.

The Five Centuries sale at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on May 20 included a sensational example of medieval art – a 14th century French gothic ivory casket or coffret.

This Fijian kava bowl, or daveniyaqona, carved in the form of a shallow figure, would have been used for both the consumption of kava (yaqona – the intoxicating liquor of the pepper plant) by priests during religious rites and to hold sacred oil.

London’s art world between the wars was a surprisingly diverse community.

Lyon & Turnbull’s May 14 sale in London includes this flambe glazed pear-shaped bottle vase that carries a Qianlong mark and may be of the period.

On April 29, Lyon & Turnbull, in partnership with poster specialist Tomkinson Churcher, will present Design on the Move: Selected Posters from the Shell Heritage Art Collection.

Talented amateur artist enjoyed riding excursions with the author to antiquarian sites

A wax seal matrix bought at auction by National Museums Scotland has revealed how James V of Scotland (1512-42) treated one of his illegitimate sons.

This Neo-classical silver tea service combines the talents of two giants of the Regency era.

With classic watches usually priced in five or six figures, it is worth discovering the less well-known brands and especially those from the 1980s, says newly appointed Lyon & Turnbull specialist Sarah Fergusson

An increasing number of salerooms are now holding specialist sales dedicated to Post-war and Contemporary art with demand at primary market level driving auction opportunities

Back in 2004-6, a boom occurred in the prices for Jack Vettriano (b.1951) and a host of works made six-figure sums at auction. These included his most famous work 'The Singing Butler', which sold for a staggering £660,000 at Sotheby’s in April 2004, still a Vettriano auction record.

In his book 'Oriental Rugs' (1998), textiles scholar Murray Eiland Jr lamented the challenges in dating and identifying carpets woven in south-east India.