Auctions

News and previews of art and antiques sold at auctions throughout the UK and overseas, from multi-million-pound blockbusters to affordable collectables.


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Coronets emerge at Shrewsbury sale

20 June 2012

The fine pictures, silver and jewellery auction at Halls of Shrewsbury on June 27 will offer for sale the coronets and accompanying robes bought in the second quarter of the 19th century from Garrard & Co Ltd and worn by the Earl and Countess of Cavan.

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Chinese crane set to take flight

20 June 2012

This Chinese cloisonné enamel crane from the Qing Dynasty (18th-19th century) will be offered in Dreweatts’ Donnington Priory sale on June 27.

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Vampire kit comes to light

20 June 2012

A 19th century vampire-slaying kit will be just one of the unusual pieces for sale at Tennants on June 22.

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Aviator’s collection flies into the saleroom

20 June 2012

Jacobs & Hunt of Petersfield, in association with consultant John Cameron, will offer the collection of the late record-breaking aviator Peter Twiss at auction on June 22.

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Great Dane leads the way at £1.5m

18 June 2012

Sotheby’s latest sale of European Paintings in London proved a seminal event for the work of Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) as five paintings by the Danish painter topped the sale, led by a record price at auction for both the artist and any Danish work of art.

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1823 catalogue shows dark arts of auction marketing have long history

15 June 2012

If you thought the sometimes dark art of auction marketing was a new phenomenon, think again. A revealing snapshot of the business from two centuries ago was provided by a rare piece of auction ephemera sold for £300 at the Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham on May 1.

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Dettingen battle standard is remarkable survivor

12 June 2012

A remarkable survivor from a landmark battle in British military history is coming up for sale at Thomas Del Mar in West Kensington on June 27.

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A £20m key to The Lock by Constable

08 June 2012

In response to the exhibition of The Lock at the Royal Academy in 1824, The Morning Post wrote: “Mr Constable contributes a landscape composition which for depth, sparkling light, freshness and vigorous effect, exceeds any of his works.” Christie’s will offer the picture for sale as part of their Old Master & British Paintings evening sale on July 3.

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How Burges remembered a star pupil

06 June 2012

The small Wiltshire firm Jubilee Auction Rooms – opened in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee year in 2002 and soon to move to larger premises in Pewsey – received inquiries from all over the world when it emerged they had unearthed a remarkable jewel-decorated flask by William Burges (1827-81) in a routine house clearance.

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US regional sales mirror UK booming example

30 May 2012

The auction business often runs counter-cyclical to wider economic fortunes, so it’s no great surprise that the strong results posted in 2011 by many of Britain’s regional auctioneers have been mirrored across the Atlantic.

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Titanic medal surfaces at auction

29 May 2012

London auctioneers Morton & Eden, in association with Sotheby’s, have included in their May 31 sale this silver medal awarded to a steward aboard the RMS Carpathia for his help in rescuing passengers from the Titanic.

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Yorkshire furniture maker’s collection to be sold

29 May 2012

A collection of work by the late Sid Pollard, a well-known Yorkshire furniture maker, will go under the hammer at Addison’s sale in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on June 2.

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Rhino with royal connections

29 May 2012

What may be a record price for the Poole artist Guy Sydenham was achieved at Cottees of Wareham when a stoneware model of a baby rhinoceros sold for £5000 at their latest sale.

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US bidder wins battle for £6900 stereoscope

25 May 2012

This Victorian achromatic cabinet stereoscope was one of the more unusual offerings among the 540 lots offered at Dee Atkinson & Harrison’s recent sale at Driffield and proved the stand-out seller.

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Warhol’s Brigitte Bardot with added Sachs appeal

24 May 2012

Sold at Sotheby’s in London this week, this Andy Warhol (1928-1987) portrait of Brigitte Bardot was formerly owned by her ex-husband, the German billionaire Gunter Sachs whose collection of art and furniture came to auction following his suicide last year.

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Online bidders propel Staffordshire success

24 May 2012

A couple of pieces of Staffordshire pottery set the Banbury rooms of Holloway’s buzzing back when online bidding took off.

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Evidence of a dealer’s dedicated eye

23 May 2012

Duncan Campbell was a remarkable and unconventional dealer. His gallery in Thackeray Street, Kensington, was packed with pretty much anything that caught his eye, whether it was paintings, prints, pottery, furniture, or tribal art.

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Fresh Norris woodworking tool interest is plane to see

22 May 2012

David Stanley Auctions offered the second part of the collection of woodworking tools formed by David R. Russell, renowned for the rarest and finest Norris planes.

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Bainbridge’s £3m return to China

21 May 2012

For the second time in three years Middlesex saleroom Bainbridge’s turned up the most talked-about consignment of the recent Asian art sales.

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Dragon sideboard in Bristol

21 May 2012

This Chinese export sideboard dating from the late 19th century is estimated to fetch £800-1200 at East Bristol Auctions on May 26.

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