News topics

This portrait of Maria Luisa Maldonado, Marquesa de Torneros (1907) by the Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) is a highlight of the next auction series at Ansorena to be held from July 17-19.

It was the last flickerings of the dynasty which took salvage from the demolition site and put it back into the drawing room.

Like many artists, hands held a strong fascination for British sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986), and he came back to the subject numerous times in his career.

Bids of £100 and upwards bought bidders a history of the English hearth and home among the Crowther lots at Cheffins on June 13-14, where 80% of the lower-priced items went to private buyers.

An Edwardian Carlton House satinwood desk of the type which was once a best-seller at auction, but an early casualty of the furniture slump, was back in favour at the Hartleys (17.5% buyer’s premium) summer sale in Ilkley.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales including a painting by a pioneer of Iraqi modern art.

The Meissen model of Count Bruhl’s Tailor was a major attraction at Hampshire auction house Jacobs & Hunt (26% buyer’s premium).

For Paul Nunn, founder of antique clocks and barometers dealership Olde Time, the virtues of fairs and the internet have always been secondary to that of the physical shop.

MADAM – News that the British Museum is to accept the donation of more than 500 Chinese ivory figures from the Sir Victor Sassoon collection, mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries, is to be welcomed… to a degree!

Pitched at £100-150, a small North American Native woven pouch attracted interest from London, Continental and US specialists at Tennants’ (23% buyer’s premium) Militaria & Ethnographica offering at Leyburn.

From lighthouses and ships in distress to labourers and landscapes, the two exhibitions at The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh this month celebrate three centuries of Scotland’s art.

From the same source which provided Sotheby’s success with a fine collection of Scottish Colourist works (ATG No 2347), a large late 19th version of the Medici Vase led the two-day Glasgow sale at Great Western Auctions (23% buyer’s premium).

MADAM – I am writing to counter the simplistic view espoused by Niall Milligan concerning the banning of ivory (Letters, ATG No 2348).

Art Deco bronze and ivory figures continue to do well – despite the imminent legislation that could render some of them illegal to sell.

Designer Vicki Ambery-Smith is regularly selected to show at the prestigious annual Goldsmiths Fair at Goldsmiths Hall in London.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period June 21-27. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

It was catalogued as 19th century, with a replaced plate, later back batons, small chips and wear, age cracks and the gilt painted surface was thick and not original.

To celebrate 30 years in the business, Jonathan Cooper Gallery of Chelsea hosts a group exhibition of figurative painting, drawing and sculpture by contemporary artists.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 3-12, 2018.

Tributes have been paid to the late Paul Whitfield by Christie’s and Bonhams.