Latest News Articles by Alex Capon

Introduction to the coinage of the Empire of Trebizond

Byzantine scholar’s entire collection stolen after break-in

16 February 2018

The entire coin collection of Byzantine scholar Simon Bendall was stolen from his home near Victoria in London during a break-in earlier this week.

Antiques dealer Geoffrey Harley

5 Mod Brit highlights from dealer Geoffrey Harley’s collection sold at Woolley & Wallis’ auction

16 February 2018

Modern British art from the estate of the late antiques dealer Geoffrey Harley raised a total of £626,000 at Woolley & Wallis.

Royal Mint in Llantrisant

Royal Mint continues commercial drive launching a coin valuation service… for a fee

14 February 2018

The Royal Mint is expanding its interest in the historical coin market by launching an authentication and valuation service which is available via its website.

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Gulf in price for record Daniel Egerton Mexican view

12 February 2018

A view of coastal Mexico was knocked down at £280,000 at Bonhams’ latest Travel and Exploration sale in Knightsbridge – a record price at auction for British topographical painter Daniel Egerton (1797-1842).

Vincent van Gogh still life

London dealer to offer Vincent van Gogh still life at TEFAF Maastricht

10 February 2018

London dealership Connaught Brown will be taking a still life by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) to TEFAF Maastricht next month.

Claude Lorrain drawing

6 highlights from New York’s Old Master series – including star lots from the Barnet collection of drawings

08 February 2018

Now billed as ‘Master’ week, as opposed to ‘Old Master’ week, the traditional winter auction series in New York posted a solid performance whatever its title.

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‘No other auction house does this much business online’ says Heritage

05 February 2018

Heritage Auctions says more than half of its sales are now made through the internet.

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Pick of the Week: Samuel Palmer view of Shoreham picks up a record

05 February 2018

The most eye-catching price at the latest series of Old Master and 19th century art sales in New York came at Sotheby’s separately staged auction of drawings from the collection of the late Howard and Saretta Barnet.

Heritage Auctions app

Heritage Auctions expand mobile app with PCGS tie-up

05 February 2018

Collectables specialist Heritage Auctions has announced a number of new developments to the Heritage Auctions app.

Heritage Auctions app

The low-down on Heritage Auctions’ mobile coin app

05 February 2018

Texas-based fine art and collectables specialist Heritage Auctions announced a number of new developments to its mobile app last month. Advances included one-touch mobile bidding and an extension to the barcode scanning facility for coins.

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Fresh Old Master mastiff discovery bounds into auction

05 February 2018

A previously unrecorded painting attributed to Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, the Italian Old Master known as il Guercino (1591-1666), has been consigned to Cambridge auction house Cheffins.

Il Guercino dog portrait at  Cheffins auction

7 reasons why this portrait of a dog looks set to get tails wagging at Cambridge auction

01 February 2018

A previously unrecorded painting attributed to Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, the Italian Old Master known as il Guercino (1591-1666), has been consigned to Cambridge auction house Cheffins. It will be offered its sale on March 7-8 with an estimate of £80,000-120,000.

Stephen Whittaker of Fellows auction house

German frogman’s Panerai watch sells for £41,000 at Birmingham watch auction – video

01 February 2018

The star lot at Fellows’ latest watch auction in Birmingham was a rare Panerai military diver's wrist watch which had been acquired by a British soldier in the Second World War from a Kampfschwimmer (German frogman).

Silver tea caddy

Saleroom selection: 5 silver tea caddies at upcoming auctions

30 January 2018

Silver tea caddies come in many different shapes and sizes, but also range in price from the few hundreds to the few thousands with differences in terms of marks, makers, rarity and condition influencing value. Here, we pick out a selection of items available in the next fortnight, with estimates ranging from £100-5000.

Roadworks by Evelyn Dunbar

Market for Evelyn Dunbar continues to grow as Cheffins sells ‘student’ work for £19,000

29 January 2018

Works by Evelyn Dunbar (1906-1960) rarely occur on the market but when they do they are now making remarkable prices.

Adam Shum and Ahmad Qamar of Thread Genius

Sotheby’s buys AI start-up in bid to connect images with buyers

27 January 2018

Sotheby’s have purchased a New York-based artificial intelligence company that specialises in image recognition and ‘recommendation’ technology.

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Unfinished business – Eight works testing the market for ‘incomplete’ Old Masters

25 January 2018

Do unfinished pictures appeal to connoisseurs? On the one hand you can argue that they show the working methods and creative process of the artist. On the other, they could be considered scraps left over by a painter or a remnant of a long-abandoned project that surely few collectors could want?

Antiques dealer Joel Chen

Dealer Joel Chen gives a tour of his collection ahead of Christie’s auction – video

24 January 2018

Furniture and decorative arts dealer Joel Chen has been in the antiques business for 40 years. He started out with a $6000 loan but, after branching out from his initial focus on Chinese works of art, he expanded to a point where he now runs a 30,000 sq ft showroom in Los Angeles, offering everything from archaic bronzes to contemporary lighting.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir drawing

London Art fair announces string of sales at latest run

24 January 2018

Dealers at the London Art Fair reported a number of notable sales of both Modern British and Contemporary art at its latest run at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Sotheby’s to “vigorously challenge” Russian billionaire over legal action in UK

22 January 2018

Sotheby’s have said they will “vigorously challenge” any attempt by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev to bring a claim against it in the UK.