Front Page and News

This month’s Asian art series in New York could be the last sales to avoid the new trade tariffs that have been imposed by the Trump administration.

This terracotta group of Bacchus and Ariadne was once associated with the Florentine late Baroque sculptor Giambattista Foggini (1652-1725) but is now thought to be his contemporary Giuseppe Piamontini (1664-1742).

The Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 AD), founded by the nomadic Tuoba clan, was the most long-lived and most powerful of the northern dynasties prior to the reunification of China under the Sui. Most importantly for Chinese art history, the ruling royal family were converts to Buddhism.

The fine art department of Cumbrian firm Penrith Farmers’ & Kidd’s is to close with auctioneer Michael Roberts joining Mitchells in Cockermouth.

A fighter pilot helmet made for Tom Cruise’s character Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun topped the recent Entertainment Memorabilia auction at Los Angeles’ Prop Store, proving that there is still plenty of love for the classic aviation drama.

Derbyshire auctioneer Charles Hanson has purchased the assets of two struggling UK salerooms: Charles Ross Auctioneers in Woburn and Holloway’s in Banbury.

An unexpected but welcome entry to Bonhams’ latest sale of Fine Books, Atlases, Manuscripts & Historical Photographs was a pair of 17th century linen, leather and black silk shoes.

A pair of spectacles, by repute once owned by Mahatma Gandhi, were hammered down at £260,000 at East Bristol Auctions.

Among the contents of the home of the late Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-93) and later her son, Lin Jammet (1958-2017), offered at auction last week, was the sculptor’s Royal Academy diploma.

It is not unusual to see Victoria Crosses making huge sums at auction, but last week the man who made these medals of gallantry was the one in the spotlight.

A drawing by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) sold to a phone bidder for £32,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Chiswick Auctions last week.

Art market businesses will have more time to register under the 5th Money Laundering Directive.

Asian Art in London (AAL) has rescheduled dates for its new-format Indian and Islamic art focus this autumn.

A rare Rolex ‘Milsub’ – an enhanced version of the brand’s classic diving watch the Submariner – set a new record for a watch at Fellows last week with a hammer price of £140,000 (£165,200 including premium).

This Martin Brothers stoneware model of a tortoise with a mirthful face was a very welcome discovery for auctioneer Rupert Toovey on a post-lockdown valuation in the Surrey Hills.

Bonhams is closing its Glasgow office and has restructured its sales schedule and specialists in Scotland.

According to his family, this French imperial naval eagle was purchased by the dealer Jack Webb (1923-2019) from a ‘totter’ in the early 1970s over the counter at his shop in Camden Passage.

A vast collection of Victorian kitchen antiques formed by a dealer from Kent has found a new home in North Yorkshire.