News

USA: The gloom created by disappointing results at this month’s Impressionist and Modern sales in New York was swept away last week by the strong performance of contemporary art at the three main auction houses and reports of good business being done by a number of dealers at The International Fine Art Fair.

UK: Two Victorian mahogany bookcases topped this Ambrose , Essex sale – a library model with four glazed doors and four panel doors, 5ft 8in (1.73m) wide and a straightforward double door bookcase with two frieze drawers, 4ft 6in (1.38m) wide, each attracting bids of £1250.

Not to all tastes, Bunnykins and PenDelfin figures are strong enough collectors’ items to justify launching a “Bunny Weekend” in Cobridge, Staffordshire by Potteries Specialist Auctions</b. (10% buyer’s premium) on April 28-29.

UK: Gathering new business from buyers unable to attend salerooms in Devon and Wales, these Wotton Gloucestershire rooms were one of a small handful to benefit from the foot and mouth plague.

UK: TRADITIONAL silver may be a dull market, but make the metal decorative, like the pair of London, 1860 candelabra offered at Peter Wilson auctioneers in Nantwich, Cheshire, and it will shine.

FRANCE: Sotheby’s and Paris auctioneers Maîtres Hervé Poulain and Rémy Le Fur have announced today an association to conduct three important sales in Paris on June 27, 28-29 and July 5, 2001.

IS it a toy? Is it a joke? For the uninitiated the world of Masonic-style fraternities and lodges remains an enigma, but it is full of weird and wonderful opportunities for collectors who understand what they are looking at.