North-east England

Getting the New Year off to a good start at Addisons of Barnard Castle, County Durham, a 20th century blue and white porcelain table screen by the renowned Chinese ceramic artist Wang Bu (1898-1968) improved upon an estimate of just £130-150 to sell for £34,300.

This Dinky pre-War delivery van advertising Maison De Bonneterie’s flagship department store in Amsterdam will appear at Vectis in Thornaby, near Stockton-on-Tees on October 17.

A pair of rugs signed Francis Bacon, and thought to relate to the artist’s early career as an interior decorator, have been withdrawn from sale for the second time in three years.

This Lalique ‘cire perdue’ vase was discovered by Anderson & Garland in a house just outside of Morpeth, Northumberland during a routine probate valuation.

A collection of work by the late Sid Pollard, a well-known Yorkshire furniture maker, will go under the hammer at Addison’s sale in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on June 2.

TWO Chinese works of art valued at £1.8m have been stolen from Durham University’s Oriental Museum in a night-time raid.

THE uplifting story of how West Auckland FC won ‘the first world cup’ has gone down in the annals of English football.

THE year 2010 ended as it began with spectacular prices for Chinese works of art.

THANKS to a clever bit of detective work by one of its curators, the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle has been able to reunite a porcelain cup and saucer that have separated for over 200 years.

NORTH East auctioneer Jim Railton has been fined £1000 after being charged over the sale of an Edwardian collection of birds’ eggs.

THE Northumberland auctioneer Jim Railton who was charged with offering and advertising 54 wild birds’ eggs for sale, has now been fined £1000 plus costs at Alnwick Magistrates Court.

ONE of the North East’s best-known auctioneers faces a substantial fine and a possible prison sentence after being charged over the sale of an Edwardian collection of birds’ eggs.

BRYAN Goodall, owner of the Hambleton Group which includes toy auctioneers Vectis of Stockton-on-Tees, has invested £600,000 in ArtsBank, a new gallery and arts centre in nearby Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

TO visit Vectis Auctions, the toy specialists based near Stockton-on-Tees with annual sales of £5m, is to catch a glimpse of the auction business as it might be in the future.

NORTHUMBERLAND auctioneer Jim Railton has taken over the Old Narrowgate Salerooms in Alnwick on a lease from the Duke of Northumberland.

THIS imposing but relatively plain 5ft 6in (1.69m) wide mahogany centre pedestal desk c.1760 was a last-minute entry to Addison's of Barnards Castle fine art and antiques sale on November 15.

Pre-war delivery vans advertising commercial brand names have long been the kings of the Dinky collectors’ market. This was reinforced on March 10 when Vectis of Stockton-on-Tees sold the so-called 5th Avenue Collection, which included examples bearing well known and long-forgotten brands.

“THE high point of my career,” was how auctioneer John Anderson described his most recent sale. He had waited 30 years but finally got the chance to offer the Lionel Jacobson collection at Anderson & Garland on March 11-13.

The increasingly prosperous North East of England will receive its first high-end antiques fair next February when 27 LAPADA or BADA dealers descend upon Linden Hall, near Morpeth in Northumberland.

JUDITH Lidell is celebrating the success of her first vintage fashion fair on her home patch of Newcastle-on-Tyne on Sunday November 19.