Art finance

UNDERLINING the impact of the market for Chinese works of art on the UK auction landscape, Salisbury auctioneers Woolley & Wallis posted total hammer sales in 2010 of £23.36m.

THE latest antiquities series at the major rooms in New York produced strong selling rates, a slew of high individual prices and two blockbuster results.

MUNICH saleroom Ketterer Kunst enjoyed a record year in 2010, posting annual sales of €21.6m (€26m including premium).

A DEBT-plagued university in Boston has entered into an agreement with Sotheby’s to lease rather than sell off works from its museum’s $350m art collection.

WHAT the latest Asian auction series in Hong Kong lacked in terms of headline-grabbing 18th century Imperial blockbusters, it more than made up for in solid performances across the board.

DAMIEN Hirst and juggled dates have severely skewed Sotheby’s third quarter results for 2009, contributing to a fall in revenue of 41 per cent year-on-year to $44.9m.

LEADING UK fine art auctioneers Dreweatts have established a separate company governed by independent directors to handle clients’ money.

SCOTTISH auctioneers Loves Auction Rooms of Perth appear to have ceased trading, leaving vendors unpaid.

THE price of silver rose sharply over the course of last week, up almost £1 to £7.75 per ounce by Friday.

DELOITTE, the leading accounting and business consulting firm, has recently turned its attention to the antique furniture market and concluded it is a good time to acquire a “proven asset at a low price”.

Christie’s have announced a premium-inclusive £1.2bn ($1.8bn) in sales for the first six months of 2009, down 35 per cent on the same period last year, when results were £1.8bn ($3.5bn).

Second quarter results for Sotheby’s in 2009 show operating revenues down almost half to $167.3m on the first three months of the year thanks largely to the decline in auction totals.

THREE weeks after cheque-bouncing dealer Tony Nowaosad vowed to settle his debt at Durrants Auction Rooms, he has still not done so, say the auctioneers.

THE campaign to persuade the government to extend business support to the antiques industry has set out in detail exactly what it wants to achieve.

SEVERE belt-tightening is the order of the day at Sotheby’s as the company ride out the downturn and position themselves to take strong advantage as the market recovers.

LEADING independent private and commercial foreign exchange providers Currencies Direct are hosting two seminars for LAPADA members to help them get better value on their foreign payments.

The Arts Council have reported that over £10.5m worth of arts and crafts sales have been generated by its Own Art programme since the scheme's April 2004 launch.

More details have emerged regarding the ‘breach-of-contract’ lawsuit which claims that Christie’s backed out of a $40m guarantee made to secure a Francis Bacon self-portrait for sale.

A LEGAL dispute in the US Federal court over auction guarantees could lead to a tightening of the terms and conditions under which they are issued.

LIVEAUCTIONEERS have posted figures for their first quarter as a stand-alone online auctions platform.