UK

ATG’s weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

As with many collectors and dealers, the antiques passion started in an auction room. As a child, some of Amanda Allinson’s earliest memories are of sitting with her grandma in the County Durham rooms of Addisons Auctioneers in Barnard Castle, the town where she grew up.

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.

This work above by the popular cartoonist Max Beerbohm (1872-1956) was a highlight of Mallams’ library sale on June 21.

A scarce collection of watercolours by Biggles creator WE Johns (1893-1968) sold beyond expectations in Sworders’ (22% buyer’s premium) June 27 sale in Stansted Mountfitchet.

At just after 10am on July 19, William Porter – the first of four carefully chosen auctioneers – climbed the rostrum to a ripple of applause from an audience of two dozen staff and a dozen or so buyers. “Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Christie’s South Kensington and welcome to the Interiors sale.” Long pause. “For the last time,” he said. “Boo,” heckled a voice from the front.

ATG’s weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

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

Helped by a revival of interest in traditional music, the market for the best antique concertinas has accelerated in recent years. Prices for some models have trebled across the decade.

ATG’s weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

The pretty Suffolk coastal town of Southwold is well known for its delightful pier, Adnam’s brewery, multi-coloured beach huts and a Grade II-listed lighthouse in the middle of the town.

The interest in studio pottery goes beyond the premier names in the field. Three pieces by Waistel Cooper (1921-2003), a Scot who worked first in Porlock in Somerset and later from the Barbican Pottery in Penzance, generated plenty of bidding at Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s (19% buyer’s premium) July 6 sale in Taunton.

ATG’s weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

This shagreen, silver and enamel cigarette box and cover, made for Liberty and Co and attributed to Manx designer Archibald Knox (1854-1933), doubled its estimate to sell for £10,500 at Halls (20% buyer’s premium) in Shrewsbury on June 21.

Gary Halford of Guildhall Antique Fairs is anticipating upwards of 150 stallholders at his annual antiques and vintage event at the Rutland County Showground, Oakham.

With the disappearance of Christie’s South Kensington the London market is in a state of flux. ATG looks to the future and considers the opportunities for the firms that seek to take its place.

Possibly made for a member of the French monarchy, this post-medieval gold ring combines the heraldic fleur-de-lis motif with blue kite-shaped sapphires.

Despite their function, stirrup cups in the form of equine heads are a little harder to find than those of dogs and foxes.

The summer fairs and markets scene is cranking into high gear, so here is a short selection over the next two weekends.

August is traditionally the month when most of the auction world takes a breather. But in Scotland, where well-heeled holiday-makers tread, there is no let-up.