Front Page and News

After a 23-year career at Christie’s, where he was a director and international specialist in Asian art, Jeremy Morgan has joined Woolley & Wallis.

The art market is “neither frothy nor depressed”, according to Sotheby’s chief executive Tad Smith.

Thieves in Chipping Campden have struck at the core of the Court Barn Museum’s collection of Arts & Crafts silver and jewellery.

Tim Goodman, former chairman of Sotheby’s Australia, is to relaunch his online auction house Fine Art Bourse (FAB) this month.

More than 400 copper, tin and ceramic moulds, collected by the late antiques dealer Andrew Cottrell, were dispersed by timed auction at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in Winchester on July 12.

Christie’s is weighing up options for the sale of the lease of its Old Brompton Road premises after it held its last sale before closing the popular South Kensington auction rooms.

Nic McElhatton, former chairman of Christie’s South Kensington, is leaving to set up his own business that will see him move between the worlds of auctions and private sales.

A large Qing blue and white bottle vase with a Yongzheng (1723-35) mark sold for £150,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Halls in Shrewsbury.

Roseberys has made a swoop for senior Christie’s South Kensington former heads as the south-east London auction house signals its mid-market ambitions.

Auctioneers and dealers will have to decide whether to absorb the cost of credit card transactions or pass them on to buyers in another form when a ban on all such fees comes into force in January 2018.

A superb set of decorated armour sold at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) is believed to have set a record. The £880,000 hammer price for the three-quarter-length cuirassier protection is believed to be the highest auction result for 17th century armour.

Campaigners against ‘British’ hallmarking overseas have welcomed the launch of a consultation on the issue.

The priorities, concerns and opportunities for the British art market are being taken directly to government with a new report launched this week.

New EU rules designed to improve checks on imports of ancient artefacts “will cripple the legitimate international trade”, warns Vincent Geerling, chairman of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art.

The completion of Mark Law’s deal to buy auction house Dreweatts from stamp dealer group Stanley Gibbons has been delayed due to a change in financial backing for the £2.4m purchase.

Among the eye-catching pieces sold during London Art Week (June 30-July 7) was this reversible games board made in the late 16th or early 17th century in the northern province of Portuguese India, probably Bombay.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to push ahead with a consultation on the trade in ivory before making any changes to legislation.

A dealer will offer what he believes is a Joseph Wright of Derby self-portrait at the LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair this autumn.

The art and antiques sector is a target for money launderers and the industry must be aware of new regulations, a leading anti-corruption group has said.

West London‘s Chiswick Auctions is to open a new showroom in South Kensington manned by at least eight former Christie’s staff.