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gold rings

Gold increasingly destined for the melting pot as value hits a new high

07 October 2024

The gold fix in the UK rose above £2000 for the first time last week, continuing the strong increases recorded since the summer with prices rising by 9% over the last three months alone.

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Sculpture gallery carves out new base on New Bond Street

07 October 2024

Stuart Lochhead Sculpture will open its new gallery on Old Bond Street, coinciding with London Art Week in December.

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Meccano robot plays its cards right

07 October 2024

Its survival a mystery for years, a rare 1950s Meccano store display figure has surfaced in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

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‘Wandering hour’ watch found a home in Australia

07 October 2024

Any gold ‘wandering hour’ watch made prior to the introduction of the balance spring is a rarity.

Thomas Gainsborough Humphrey Tugwell C.1763. Photo Credit Dan Weill

Gainsborough portraits on public display for the first time

05 October 2024

Four Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) family portraits acquired under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme have gone go on public display for the first time.

Watercolour of the Great Lavra Belltower of Kyiv

Kyiv belltower view stands out as a Williams watercolour highlight

04 October 2024

A collection of watercolours amassed by Iolo Williams (1890-1962) which had been kept under a bed for over half a century raised a total of £89,150 at Olympia Auctions on October 2.

barniz de Pasto escritorio

Cabinet showing 17th century ‘globalisation’ in action makes over 90 times estimate

02 October 2024

Due to the fact that they represent a meeting of three continents and cultures, barniz de Pasto (Pasto varnish) boxes have recently been described by Jorge F Rivas Perez, curator of Latin American Art at the Denver Art Museum, as ‘some of the first works of a globalised world’.

Wedgwood George VI coronation mug

'Unique' yellow coronation mug sets record for a Ravilious ceramic

01 October 2024

A rare colourway of the Ravilious for Wedgwood coronation mug took a bid of £13,500 at Gildings – a record price for Ravilious ceramics.

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Ivory Act extension to pass ‘when time allows’

30 September 2024

The UK ban on the trade in antique scrimshaw and narwhal tusks has been delayed following the change of government.

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Punning box found among bric-a-brac makes four figure sum

30 September 2024

Plucked from a box of bric-a-brac brought in for a general sale, a Commonwealth gilt brass sealing wax box sold for £5200 at Lawrences of Crewkerne. A clever pun gives a clue to its maker’s identity - and perhaps his political leanings.

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Dealer Dickinson offers ‘early Michelangelo’

30 September 2024

London dealer Dickinson is offering what it says is ‘the one of the most exciting old master discoveries to have been made in recent decades, and is an important addition to the small group of extant drawings by Michelangelo’.

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Sock drawer discovery is medieval gaming piece

30 September 2024

A medieval walrus ivory gaming piece, recently found by a Gorringe’s valuer in a sock drawer, comes for sale in Lewes on October 8. As part of the Interiors & Decorative Arts Sale it has an estimate of £10,000-15,000

John Lavery painting

Lavery’s tennis match tops sale of works from Paisley Art Institute

27 September 2024

A selection of 96 paintings from the collection of the Paisley Art Institute sold for £1.1m at Lyon & Turnbull on the evening of September 26.

Congressional gold medal

Congressional naval medals show dramatic increase in value over two decades

27 September 2024

Five historic Congressional naval medals awarded during the War of 1812 excelled at Noonans latest sale of British, World Coins and Historical Medals.

London Underground Railways Underground, Electric Railways Company Of London (UERL), 1909. Courtesy Of The Map House

History of London Underground mapped out in exhibition

26 September 2024

Despite the success of London Underground's map, Harry Beck’s contribution was largely forgotten for decades. A new exhibition celebrates his place in design history

Portrait of Lucas Alexander Ionides by James McNeill Whistler

Early Whistler portrait makes £320,000 at Bonhams

25 September 2024

James McNeill Whistler’s (1834-1903) first portrait commission, a painting of his friend Lucas Alexander Ionides, drew a strong bidding battle at Bonhams earlier today.

Istock Metropolitan Police Sign

Important Assyrian artefact returned to Iraq after being held in UK for 22 years

25 September 2024

An ancient Assyrian artefact stolen from an archaeological site in Iraq in the early 1990s has been returned to the country after being stored for an extended period by the Metropolitan Police in London.

Irish fruitwood penal cross

18th century Irish penal cross brings demand in North Yorkshire auction

24 September 2024

Penal crosses take their name from the series of laws the restricted the rights of Roman Catholics and other nonconformists.

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Clock with orrery marks a moment in time and space

23 September 2024

The highlight of the sale of Fine Clocks, Barometers and Scientific Instruments at Dreweatts was this French mantel clock with orrery c.1810. Although unsigned, it is thought to be by the talented Paris clockmaker Antide Janvier (1751-1835).

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Classic Kemp-Welch artwork reunited with its preliminary sketches after museum’s purchase

23 September 2024

A landmark painting by renowned equine artist Lucy Kemp-Welch (1869-1958) has been reunited with the sketches she made to create the work thanks to a museum purchase from a dealer.

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