Edinburgh

Pictures formed a prominent part of Lyon & Turnbull’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) Kirkton House sale earlier this month as the contents of the Regency manse near Montrose were dispersed from the auction house’s Edinburgh saleroom.

Formerly in the collections of a distinguished English bibliophile, Major John Roland Abbey, a copy of Luigi Mayer’s well-known set of Views in Egypt, Palestine and the Ottoman Empire was one of the highlights of a recent Scottish sale.

At a time when catering for niche interests is a profitable path for auctioneers, recent sales in Scotland, Ireland and England have shown that the furniture market can still come to life – provided it meets three criteria.

A private collection of more than 30 pieces of Pilkington’s Lancastrian lustre excelled when offered at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on October 10.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The feast from the east that that has put bread (and some Michelin-starred meals) on the table of dealers and auctioneers for more than a decade continues to do so at sales from Scotland to Surrey.

One of the smallest but most eye-catching lots at the Oriental sale at Bonhams Edinburgh (25% buyer’s premium) was two 4¼in (11cm) high Manchu officials’ bronze seals.

In the year of the 150th anniversary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s birth, Lyon & Turnbull has sold the very key used to open his design masterpiece, The Glasgow School of Art, in 1899.