Canterbury

In 1765 the engineer and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) visited Paris, where he observed first-hand the workshops of bronziers and the wares that were proving hugely popular with Georgian Britain’s elite.

With Storm Ciara getting under way (in pre-coronavirus days…) it was not, perhaps, the ideal time to launch the new weekend sales at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium).

The near dominance of Scandinavians among mid-20th century designers of wood furniture and artefacts was underlined at two sales at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in February.

An atypical visitor to a recent sale at Canterbury Auction Galleries (24% buyer’s premium) was a Norwegian silver gilt brudekrone dating from the late 18th or early 19th century.

Paintings by Leeds-born artist Louis H Grimshaw (1870-1943) are often overshadowed by his better-known father, John Atkinson Grimshaw (1863-93).

While individuals and pairs from the suite of five bronze cricketers by Joseph Durham (1814-77) are occasionally seen on the rostrum, it is rare to find all five appearing together.

American naval expertise and gallantry came as a big shock to the British, who had become used to the Royal Navy ruling the waves.

Amassed by one of the longest-serving members of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), a group of cricketing lots notched up a number of auction highlights last month.

A group of five rare bronzes by Joseph Durham (1814- 77) from the Gould collection will be offered at The Canterbury Auction Galleries on November 26-27.

When auctioneer Tony Pratt spotted a mysterious shape in the undergrowth of a back garden in Hythe he wasn’t expecting to uncover a very large pottery bear.

Works by Namikawa Yasuyuki underline how buyers are aiming at the very best when it comes to the Japanese market ahead of a series of UK sales.

The owner of an 18th century double-manual harpsichord, the only one of its type known to exist, has been temporarily prevented from exporting it in the hope a UK buyer can be found.

On the market for the first time in at least 60 years, and in some cases for more than a century, a small collection of 17th and 18th century silver accounted for a fraction of the lots but 20% of the total at the two-day winter sale at Canterbury Auction Galleries (24% buyer’s premium).

Work by the community of mid-20th century painters in Essex known as the Great Bardfield Artists fetches strong sums on the secondary market.

Putting a third major collection of highly specialist and highly priced material onto the market within little over three years might seem to be asking too much of a limited number of wealthy enthusiasts.