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Pictured here is a prime example of the work of the as-yet unmasked Rowlandson faker who has been very active over the last two or three years, placing his forgeries in several high-profile country auction rooms.

This enigmatic, 7in (18cm) high, early 18th century delftware plaque featured in Sotheby’s November 21 sale at Bond Street where it fetched a mid-estimate £26,000, selling to London dealer Jonathan Horne.

Snowfall may be sparse across the Alps this season, but it didn’t stop the storm of buyers at the tenth annual ski poster sale at Christie’s South Kensington on January 18 from raising their paddles.

Dramatic rise in threshold points to battle royal for top end of market

A STRING of auction houses have come forward to tell of unpaid lots by rogue bidder Mark Wilson since ATG reported the issue.

Wessex Auction Rooms, a new purpose-designed saleoom, has just opened on the outskirts of the Wiltshire market town of Chippenham.

THE Metropolitan Police have defended their decision to cut funding to the art and antiques unit by 50 per cent.

ROBERT Noortman, the high-profile Maastricht picture dealer and one of the founding fathers of the TEFAF Maastricht fair, has died of a heart attack, aged 60.See next week's ATG for a full report.

WE regret to announce the death on January 5 of long-time exhibitor and chairman of TEFAF Maastricht Dave Aronson. He was 60.

Already 2007 looks set to follow 2006 as the year of the dealer’s stock sale. As reported last week, renowned international style guru and interior decorator Keith Skeel is to follow in the footsteps of Partridge, Dick Turpin, and John Jesse by selling his collection of ‘antiques and eccentricities’ at auction.

19th century furniture may not be the height of fashion, but this wine table is one of only a handful known to carry the label of Anton Seuffert, New Zealand’s premier cabinetmaker and inlayer. Many of the timbers seen to the 23in (58cm) diameter top are timbers native to New Zealand.

The Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race runs for four and a half miles along the River Thames, starting at The Old Swan Inn at London Bridge, finishing at The Old Swan at Chelsea, and passing under 11 bridges en route.

After four consecutive years of falls, the Antiques Collectors’ Club’s annual Antique Furniture Index stabilised in 2006, suggesting a bottoming out of antique furniture prices.

Helped by their stunning November series of New York art sales, Christie’s announced 2006 sales of £2.51bn including auction premiums. The figure – that includes more than £137m in private sales – is the highest in art auction history.

Aynsley China has a history stretching back to 1775 when John Aynsley first started producing ceramics in Longton, Staffordshire. Its enduring reputation is for its bone china tablewares decorated with floral sprays or fruit in the manner of Royal Worcester, or for its commemorative pieces. They remain very affordable and even Aynsley’s well-painted cabinet plates featuring British landmarks usually cost less than £100.

MARK Wilson, the man at the centre of the bidding controversy reported on this page last week, has told ATG that he will not bid for antiques at auction again.

Dublin and Edinburgh rooms all but double sales totals as Bonhams raise stakes in Scotland

LONDON-based specialist book auctioneers Bloomsbury Auctions enjoyed a successful inaugural sale in Rome on December 6 where a total of €801,000 (£545,000) was realised.

Christie’s confirmed their Paris dominance in 2006 by posting sales of €200.8m (£135m), up 74 per cent on the previous year.

Auctioneers owed thousands in spree that went on for years