Features

The collection of Tiffany jewels offered by Christie’s New York (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on June 20 was the finest at auction in recent memory.

Bonhams’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale in Knightsbridge on June 14 included a group of pieces attributed to the British Arts & Crafts jeweller and designer Dorrie Nossiter (1893-1977).

Stealing all the headlines at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) Fine Jewels sale in London on June 7 was the £540,000, 26ct ’tenner’ diamond, bought by the vendor at a boot fair in the 1980s. However, among the 370 lots were items with more illustrious provenances.

Tiaras have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, particularly in Russia and the Baltic States where jeans and a diamond fascinator are de rigueur at informal high-society events.

Indian design was a prolific influence in Carlo Giuliano’s style. Already seen at the 1851 Great Exhibition, interest in technicolour jewellery from the sub-continent rose to new levels when Victoria became Empress of India in 1876.

This medieval gold posy ring with a Lombardic inscription is a type that was common in England and France in the 13th and early 14th centuries. After around 1350, Gothic script became popular.

Ancient pottery is the most abundant and diverse collecting field to have survived from antiquity. As the first synthetic material created by humans, it spans the entire ancient world, encompassing a wide variety of styles, shapes and colours. From functional household objects to highly prized ceremonial pieces, pottery appeals to both entry level collectors and seasoned buyers. Here ATG puts ancient pottery in the spotlight with a selection of highlights coming up at auctions, fairs and galleries in London this summer.

ATG previews a couple of upcoming lots at London auctions.

The antiquities trade’s packed summer schedule got off to a bright start at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in London. The ancient art sale was the second to be held since the auction house reopened its London unit in 2016. Over the last two decades, Sotheby’s had sold ancient art through its New York saleroom only.

Catalogued as ‘after the antique’, this marble figure of Aphrodite was the unexpected star of Chiswick Auctions’ June 14 sale of antiquities and tribal art in London.

‘How Western Art Collectors are Helping to Fund Isis’ (Guardian), ‘Broken System Allows Isis to Profit from Looted Antiquities’ (New York Times), ‘How Antiquities are Funding Terrorism’ (Financial Times). In 2015, news of looting and the destruction of ancient sites in the Middle East by the fanatical Islamic terrorists Isis began to gain worldwide attention.

Mixing ancient and new is all the rage. The contemporary art boom has drawn new faces into the antiquities market, changing the way the trade think and display ancient art.

Charles Ede has bowed out of this week’s Masterpiece London in favour of the trio of TEFAFs. ATG meets two of the directors to find out how a synthesis of ancient and modern can benefit this long-standing family firm.

“I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon”. Arguably the most famous words in archaeological history, they were supposedly uttered by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 as he unearthed a gold mask at Mycenae. Some 140 years later, portraits from antiquity remain powerful reminders of our ancient past.

Delivery of art and antiques is highly competitive as suppliers vie to provide customers with a better, faster experience. But there are still complexities to iron out, not least expectations on cost.

On Twitter last week, auctioneer and TV pundit Paul Laidlaw vented about a high quote for delivery that far exceeded the cost of the object he was buying.

Among several unusual clocks included in the 328-lot dedicated auction to be held in Paris on June 26 by Chayette et Cheval is this 3¾ x 2¾in (9.5 x 7cm) reveil briquet (lighter alarm clock).

In recent years, Bonhams has uncovered several previously unrecorded English Golden Age clocks and at the sale of Fine Clocks on June 29 it will be presenting a recently discovered longcase clock by London maker John Fromanteel.

In 1953 Pan Am Airlines approached Rolex with a request for a watch that could show the time simultaneously in two different time zones.

Figural clocks combining novelty and automaton features were very popular in the 19th century, many of them being of French manufacture.