Dealers

A government plan to end VAT-free shopping for international visitors next year will impact the UK art and antiques trade, say dealers.

Download our maps showing participants in the East Asian section of Asian Art in London, October 29-November 7.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Following on from the nominees for the best Indian and Islamic object (published in ATG No 2463), an equivalent shortlist has been announced for pieces in the East Asian category.

Vincent Page, owner of Antiques on High centres in Oxford and Sidmouth, reports that trade in both shops has been good with “a significant increase in Sidmouth, on numerous days taking more than AOH in Oxford”.

Focus on two events that have been staged successfully and boosted dealer confidence

Asian Art in London dealer Joost van den Bergh is launching a new website devoted to Art Deco and Modernist Japanese art to coincide with the event.

Robert Aronson runs Dutch family business Aronson Anitquairs, which launched in 1881 and today specialises in Delftware.

The rare Ankwe terracotta figure is attributed to ceramicist Azume of Goemai, who died c.1951. Her figures were made for women and important locals, and two other examples – the only others known – currently reside in The British Museum.

The firebreakers, circuitbreakers, alerts and tiers have made recent weeks feel chaotic. But dealers are carrying on regardless, devising new and different ways to sell their stock safely, whether online, through catalogues or in person.

While galleries remain open during Asian Art in London, the ever-changing world of Covid-19 restrictions means the internet has also become an important resource for doing business

A selection of previews from dealers taking part in the East Asian section of Asian Art in London.

Turin dealership Caretto & Occhinegro Gallery has sold a previously unpublished oil by Jan Matsys (c.1510-75) to the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.

A 16th century German weight-driven turret wall clock is offered as a prime example of Renaissance horology at New Orleans gallery MS Rau’s exhibition 'Time Across Time: Clocks and the Art of Timekeeping'.

Dating to the second quarter of the 16th century, this stained-glass moon comes from northern France and is offered now by St James’s dealership Colnaghi.

Monica Cardarelli is co-director of Laocoon Gallery, which is part of London Art Week’s focus on female artists this month. Cardarelli has curated the gallery’s ongoing exhibition of Futurist artist Marisa Mori (until January 15).

Tim Bryars’ enthusiasm for the “democratisation of travel” extends well beyond the railways.

At a recent PBFA fair, dealer John Underwood sold a collection of albums of mosses compiled by the naturalist Frederick DuCane Godman (1834-1919) to Horsham Museum & Art Gallery.

“Bradshaw becomes first-hand for any sort of railway guide – you can argue whether or not he was the very first to create them, but he was the first to be successful. It is a bit like everyone calling vacuum cleaners Hoovers.”

Natalie Smith opened the 30-cabinet Woodbridge Antiques Centre in 2007 and 13 years later she has been enjoying further success at a challenging time through internet sales.