Scotland

Two leading regional auction houses – Lyon & Turnbull and Dreweatts – are trying new format sales this autumn in the hope of increasing demand for traditional European art and antiques. Both are creating room sets for viewing works.

Auction house Lyon & Turnbull hails the encouraging return of American interest at its September 5 sale.

August is the month when Scotland takes it up a notch while the rest of the art world has a breather.

This watercolour, below, by Frederic Whiting (1874-1962) took a multi-estimate £2500 at Thomson Roddick’s (15% buyer’s premium) Edinburgh saleroom on August 9.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

August can be a quiet time for exhibition-goers as dealers head off home or on holiday following the busier days of June and July. But some galleries take the summer as an opportunity to display an assortment of stock.

Not every Victorian silver tea and coffee service was sold for scrap in the great meltdown of 2011– when at one point the price reached almost £30 per oz.

One of a collection of ornithological and other natural history works from a country house library offered in an Edinburgh sale was a scarce, complete copy of a work that created a bitter fall-out between author and illustrator.

Galloway Fairs’ last event at Arley Hall featured the sale of a silver epergne from Highland Antiques for a five-figure sum. Hopes are high that a similar result will be achieved at this month’s fair at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh.

Like many artists, hands held a strong fascination for British sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986), and he came back to the subject numerous times in his career.

From lighthouses and ships in distress to labourers and landscapes, the two exhibitions at The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh this month celebrate three centuries of Scotland’s art.

From the same source which provided Sotheby’s success with a fine collection of Scottish Colourist works (ATG No 2347), a large late 19th version of the Medici Vase led the two-day Glasgow sale at Great Western Auctions (23% buyer’s premium).

Once-fashionable drum tables took a big hit during the furniture slump and while the best can do well, others can be picked up cheaply.

Chinese ceramics tend to dominate Asian sales in the UK, but occasionally other mediums get to share the limelight.