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Lawrences, Bletchingley Buyer’s premium: 12.5 per centTHE unceasing campaign among provincial auctioneers to bring the right material to the rostrum is, perhaps, tougher the nearer one is to London. However, salerooms outside the capital can compete both on vendors’ charges and by accepting pieces turned down by the metropolitan’s top three.

After five years of hosting the British Antiques & Collectables Awards, the chairman and board of BACA have cancelled the event for 2005. Issues of funding have led to the decision.

Damien Hirst’s tiger shark suspended in a tank of formaldehyde, once the centrepiece of the Charles Saatchi collection and arguably the best-known work by a late 20th century British artist, has been sold to an American collector for a price close to £7m.

The Elizabethan communion cup of St Peter-with-Bastwick, Repps, pictured right, was stolen from a safe on the weekend of January 1-2.

THE New Barnham Auction rooms have just held their first fine art and antiques sale – only five weeks after taking over the premises.

ATG have an update on the round-up of provincial sale totals for 2004 published in issue 1672, January 15.

Star billing at Christie’s King Street sale of selected English and Continental ceramics on December 6 went to three Meissen Augustus Rex covered baluster jars of 1740 with the AR monogram and Dreher’s marks XII to the base.

THE new year for Bloomsbury Auctions kicked off on January 14 with a general sale and opened with a selection of books on heraldry and genealogy from the estate of the late Michael Maclagan. Richmond Herald.

BOOKS, playbills and pictures from a collection formed by the late Gerald Tyler, an amateur actor and producer with the Leeds and Bradford Civic Theatres, founding chairman of the British Children’s Theatre Association and a man who was active in drama education, formed part of a January 8 sale held by Rowley Fine Art of Ely.

Two of the strongest performances in the December ceramics sales came from the glass sections offered at Bonhams Bond Street on December 8 and at Sotheby’s Olympia two weeks later.

Four antique clocks and two barometers were stolen in a raid on Chislehurst Antiques in Kent in late December.

A massive gulf exists between the very best quality Meiji period (1868-1912) works and the rest.

What makes a painting totally uncommercial one year and a sure-fire seller the next?Clearly, if there was a general principal of financial success to be learned in the art market there would be rather more dealers appearing in the media’s annual rich lists than there are now.

The Fine Art Auction Group have raised their buyer’s premium across their network of provincial salerooms.

The Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum have added two paintings by Joseph Southall (1861-1944) to their internationally recognised collection of British Arts & Crafts.

For the first time in its 19-year history, Atlantique City – New Jersey’s massive indoor antiques and collectables show – is going to allow shoppers through the Atlantic City Convention Center doors on a Friday.

British medals are realising ever higher prices and it seems that buyers almost invariably hail from these sceptred isles.

A new auction high for the Neapolitan Impressionist Vincenzo Irolli (1860-1949) was established by Sotheby’s (20-15.42% buyer’s premium, excluding VAT) last month in Milan when they offered this oil on canvas entitled La Pesca Fortunata (A good haul) in their sale of 19th century pictures on December 13.

Top Right: it may be badly damaged but this 4 1/2in (10.5cm) high Lowestoft blue and white teapot and cover is an exceptionally rare and documentary piece.

The Victoria and Albert Museum will open a new Portrait Miniatures Gallery on March 2.