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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A Jacobean double portrait and a 1950s Bakelite telephone are among six lots to watch

12 December 2022

With estimates from £500, here are six previews of items coming up at auction this week.

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Bid Barometer: issue 2572

12 December 2022

ATG’s pick of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com, featuring both the highest prices over-estimate and the top prices paid online.

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Moonlight spotlight: classic Atkinson Grimshaw

12 December 2022

The last few months have been an interesting time for followers of John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93).

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Tiffany gift came with true royal approval

12 December 2022

Engraving on Tiffany pepperette reveals the provenance as a princely present in 1879

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Sizeable Chicago sale led by a huge 7ft wide city map

12 December 2022

The creation of James T Palmatary, the engraved and framed birds-eye view or plan of Chicago of 1857 pictured above is almost 7ft wide.

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Single-owner collection offers sizeable showcase of Lérat couple’s ceramics

12 December 2022

Jean (1913-92) and Jacqueline (1920- 2009) Lérat were artist ceramicists based in central France.

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George Richardson: a man with high standards

12 December 2022

The sale at Minster Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Leominster on November 24 included a copy of an important work on neoclassical interiors.

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Bidders desperate for daguerreotypes

12 December 2022

Found in a cigar box during an attic clearance and taken to Exeter auction house Bearnes, Hampton & Littlewood (25% buyer’s premium), seven framed daguerreotypes in poor condition provided one of the better sleepers of the year on November 22-23.

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Ugly, venomous but proves so precious

12 December 2022

Found by head of department Catriona Smith in a box of mixed jewellery, this rare 16th or 17th century gold ‘toadstone’ ring came for sale at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).

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Market conditions ideal if you want to move away from the ‘pale, male and stale’

12 December 2022

The philanthropist, retired businessman and one-time Olympian bobsledder for Canada, Sir Christopher Ondaatje, chose a good time to sell a painting depicting a young 19th century black woman.

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Rare Colombe goes to the Louvre

12 December 2022

Terracotta Virgin and Child joined a handful of other known works after 2010 attribution

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Moses sketch marks early Manet work

12 December 2022

This youthful work by Edouard Manet (1832-83) was the top-seller in the Modern and Contemporary auction at Tajan (26/21/14% buyer’s premium) in Paris.

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Brilliant Brunel – and a scandalous corset

12 December 2022

Commissioned by the 'Illustrated London Times' to document the construction of the mighty Great Eastern, the young photographer Robert Howlett (1831-58) took some of the most famous images of ship’s designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59).

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Family values of the Daniell duo

12 December 2022

Group of works by the uncle and nephew attracts significant Indian bidder interest

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Put in the hours for the rewards

12 December 2022

Illuminated manuscript c.1470 is a highlight in Gloucestershire saleroom

Books and works on paper auction calendar: December 13-January 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

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Butterflies send collectors all of a flutter

12 December 2022

A very fine Victorian butterfly collection formed between c.1880-1920 was offered by Minster Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Leominster on November 24.

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ATG letter: It is such a pity that these Troika moulds are now separated

12 December 2022

The collection of the original Troika moulds, referenced in ATG No 2564, failed to find a buyer in our monthly auction in October.

George Smart folk art

Folk art pictures star in our latest pick of six auction highlights

09 December 2022

ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a pair of portraits by a self-styled ‘Professor of Peculiar Art’ made from leftover scraps from his tailor’s shop.

Martin Brothers' spoon warmer

Martin Brothers' grotesque grinner is a winner at auction

05 December 2022

An old family collection of Martin Brothers stonewares, assembled with purchases from the Southall potters in the late 19th and early 20th century, was offered in Cambridgeshire.

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