Trio could set auction records
Sotheby’s is staging a three-lot sale of exceptional items from the collection of luxury shoe designer Stuart Weitzman this summer.
Together a US gold coin, British Guiana stamp and ‘Inverted Jenny’ plate block are estimated to raise up to $37m (£26.6m). If they achieve their predicted prices at the sale on June 8, the three objects would set auction records in their respective categories.
Weitzman, who will donate proceeds from the sale towards medical research, higher education and art projects, said: “I had a life-long dream of collecting the single greatest rarities in the two great collecting areas of stamps and coins.”
The three lots are a 1933 Double Eagle 20-dollar coin, a 1856 British Guiana one-cent Magenta (both estimated at $10m-15m each) and a 24-Cent ‘Inverted’ Jenny plate block, pitched at $5m-7m.
Art weekend announces dates
Mayfair Art Weekend has announced new dates for its upcoming events.
The Mayfair Sculpture Trail will run from June 2-27, a special late evening viewing with galleries open until 8pm will take place on June 25, and then the full MAW will take place on June 25-27 with free talks, tours, performances and family activities across the participating galleries.
The full programme of live events will be announced on the MAW website in June and will be planned in line with government guidelines.
Olympia backs cultural institutions
Olympia Auctions is planning to raise money for cultural institutions suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic. A percentage of the commission from the sale of lots will be donated by the firm to a number of charities.
The three auctions that are part of the charity campaign are in April, May and June.
Benef iciaries will be Westminster Abbey, The Wallace Collection (to support ongoing research into the collection of arms and armour from India, Iran and the Ottoman Empire) and The Grange Festival in Hampshire.
Antiques Roadshow ready to roll
The BBC’s Antiques Roadshow has released the locations for the recording of its programmes this summer. It is taking only online submissions for items that potential guests wish to bring. If an item is shortlisted for filming, a member of its team will contact the person to discuss dates.
The locations listed are: Aston Hall, Birmingham; Dyffryn Gardens, Cardiff; Ham House, Richmond, London; Portchester Castle, Fareham, Hampshire; Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh; The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset; Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra, Belfast; Woodhorn Mining Museum, Ashington, Northumberland.
Scotland: lockdown easing detailed
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the phased ending of lockdown. From April 5 click and collect services from non-essential retail can operate. From April 26 non-essential retail, museums, galleries will reopen.
From May 17 small-scale indoor and outdoor events can resume subject to capacity constraints and from early June attendance at events can increase, subject to capacity constraints. Numbers at events will be able to increase from the end of June and some office staff will be able to return.
For more details visit the Scottish government website.
Wright promoted by Bonhams US
Leslie Wright of Bonhams.
Bonhams has promoted Leslie Wright as chairman, North America, overseeing Fine Arts, Luxury Lifestyle and Collectables. She joined Bonhams in 1994. She built the US Trust and Estates team and has been involved in the consignment of many of the major estates Bonhams has sold.
In 2008, Wright assumed responsibility for Bonhams, West Coast team and added new sale categories.
Biennale replaced with an EX factor
The new name and dates for the replacement art and antiques fair after the demise of Paris Biennale (Biennale des Antiquaires) has been announced.
The new event will be called EX.Paris and will run from November 27-December 5 at the Grand Palais éphémère (a temporary exhibition hall in the Champ de Mars). The venture was put together by The Arts and Fine Crafts Foundation with event specialists Alexis Cassin, Fabienne Lupo and Henri Jobbé Duval, Patrick Bazanan and SNA vice-president Mathias Ary Jan.
Most read
The most viewed stories for week March 11-17 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Pick of the week: Mouseman figures squeak for themselves
2 Antiques Roadshow locations released for summer 2021 but coronavirus guidelines remain
3 Designer Stuart Weitzman’s treasures at Sotheby’s could set records for any coin and stamp
4 Consultation on exemption process for Ivory Act launched
5 The Open Art Fair loses court appeal over early closure
In Numbers
A ‘doll’ Easter egg received in 1924 sold at Hansons on March 12 for £800.
97
Number of years an Easter egg given to the late Christine Lilian Metcalf has remained uneaten. The ‘doll’ egg had been given to her when she was two years old by her Aunty Poll in 1924. Lilian’s son and daughter decided to sell it at Hansons on March 12 with an estimate of £200-300. The egg was hammered down at £800 to Torquay museum Bygones, which houses more than 100,000 items from the Victorian era to the 1960s.
