News topics

with buy-in rates exceeding 60 per cent at many sales, Russian Week in London proved this hitherto burgeoning market to be as vulnerable to the economic crisis as any other.

DEALERS in West London were relieved at the decision by Mayor Boris Johnson to abolish the western extension zone of the congestion charge introduced last year by his predecessor Ken Livingstone.

ANTIQUES dealers are being warned against using unfamiliar courier companies that they find through web directories.

A VOLUNTEER at the Royal Signals Regiment Museum in Blandford, Dorset, has been jailed for 12 months for stealing £33,000 of medals and selling them on eBay.

The collection of national treasure, writer and poet, jazz musician and eco-warrior, but most memorably of all, the Goon and tormented comic genius that was Spike Milligan, brought strong bidding at Bonhams on November 25.

FOUND hanging in a Boston bathroom, the whereabouts of this Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) illustration had been a mystery for more than 80 years. Entitled The Climax, and hanging in the lavatory alongside another Beardsley pen-and-ink drawing called A Platonic Lament, the owners had no idea of its significance.

THIS imposing but relatively plain 5ft 6in (1.69m) wide mahogany centre pedestal desk c.1760 was a last-minute entry to Addison's of Barnards Castle fine art and antiques sale on November 15.

WHEN Jeremy and Hotspur, two of London’s best-known furniture dealerships, announced in the late summer that they were shutting up shop and selling off their remaining stock, few could have predicted the ensuing market slump. Both dealerships, who intend to continue as consultants, must have had their fingers crossed at Christie’s on November 20, when the sale took place.

SOTHEBY'S keenly anticipated sale of the collection of the late Sir David and Lady Scott on November 19 provided a confidence-boosting result. Any pre-sale fears that the ‘unfashionable’ Victorian pictures it contained might damage results were soon put aside.

THE British Museum have credited the Treasure Act – which ensures treasure hunters are compensated for finds – for the significant increase in reported objects.

ENGLISH goldwork from the Renaissance period does not survive in great quantity. So the appearance of a 16th century Tudor gold livery collar on the market at Christie's earlier this month was a rare occasion.

DMG Antiques Fairs say they have increased security following the theft of £80,000 worth of jewellery at their Ardingly fair on September 3.

JUST over a year after they held the sale of the contents of The Savoy Hotel, Bonhams are to embark on a second refurbishment sale of a London landmark.

Latest results now prompt a rethink in London on English porcelain as East Anglian enthusiasts take pride in collecting local factory’s output.

The falling stock markets that have dented the wealth of Russia’s rich have yet to impinge upon the appetite for the output of Karl Fabergé.

Surrey fine art auctioneers Ewbank are selling architectural stonework from the Palace of Westminster that dates from before the buildings were destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 1830s.

THE latest series of contemporary art auctions in New York showed how much the market has fallen since its peak. With sale totals down well over 50 per cent from last year’s autumn series held at the height of the boom, the extent of the damage caused by the current economic distress and diminished confidence amongst buyers was manifest. The question now is will prices stabilise or fall further?

SPECIALIST New York lawyer Charles Goldstein and academic Mara Wantuch will be exploring the issue of Holocaust-related assets in a seminar at the Notre Dame Law Centre in London on November 19.

Liverpool World Museum’s Japanese holdings have been given a significant boost by the donation of 128 netsuke. The gift represents around half the collection of the late Jonas G Gadelius donated by his widow Gabita.

A Mary Fedden watercolour is among the items for sale on the philanthropic auction site www.buyoncegivetwice.co.uk