Latest News Articles by Laura Chesters
Appeal for lost sweetheart brooch and stolen rings
21 July 2026Two people are appealing for help from the antiques trade and auctioneers after a lost brooch and a theft of rings occurred this month.
LAPADA Fair boosted by high-end dealers signing up
16 July 2026A clutch of high-end dealers have signed up to exhibit at the LAPADA Fair in Berkeley Square this autumn, building on momentum started last year.
Tyrannosaurus rex specimen takes record $43m at auction
16 July 2026One of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered was hammered down at $43m (£32m) at Sotheby’s after a 10 minute bidding battle between seven bidders.
Christie’s and Sotheby’s report stellar half year results
15 July 2026Christie’s has reported its best first-half results in five years while Sotheby’s posted its highest ever figures for the same period.
Rare documents discovered under the seat of a sedan chair
15 July 2026Gregory Ebbs has a reminder for fellow dealers and auction houses: “Always check underneath the seat – you never know what history might be waiting to be found”.
New guidance published for latest anti-money laundering rules
14 July 2026Last month The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 came into force, updating the 2017 rules.
Photo special: Alfies Antique Market 50th birthday party
10 July 2026The well-known London antiques centre celebrated its birthday in style.
Parliamentary proceedings as dealer snaps up 'seminal document' at auction
10 July 2026A “seminal document of Parliamentary history” has been purchased at auction by dealership Philip Mould & Company for a hammer price of £62,000.
Plea for the return of 27 jewels stolen from The Lalique Museum in France
09 July 2026Thieves broke into The Lalique Museum in the early hours of July 5 and stole 27 items of jewellery valued in the region of €4.5m.
Plea to UK museums to raise funds to keep Palaeolithic handaxes in the country
07 July 2026Two 500,000-year-old flint handaxes discovered in Norfolk have been blocked from export in the hope a UK institution can raise the funds to keep them in the country.
Hill House comes home to Kensington
03 July 2026Hill House Antiques & Decorative Arts is returning to Kensington after two years away.
Queen Esther returns home after more than a century away
26 June 2026One of a group of seven 16th century tapestries that hung in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk until they were sold at auction in 1924 has returned home after the National Trust bought it from an antiques dealer following TEFAF Maastricht last year.
BADA dips toe into Rutland for the first time
26 June 2026A new venue for an art and antiques fair is a big bet.
Latest appointments: Phillips bolsters Modern art team and Catherine Southon appoints new valuer
25 June 2026New appointments at auction houses Phillips and Catherine Southon
Fake or Fortune? returns to screens in July with new series
24 June 2026The BBC show presented by art dealer Philip Mould and broadcaster Fiona Bruce will launch the first episode in a new series on Thursday, July 16.
Tudor tapestry rediscovered at TEFAF Maastricht returns to National Trust home in Norfolk after a century away
19 June 2026One of a group of seven 16th century tapestries that hung in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk until they were sold at auction in 1924 has returned home after the National Trust was able to purchase it from an antiques dealer following TEFAF Maastricht last year.
Dealers lose Ivory Act exemption appeals in a ‘laborious and very costly’ process
19 June 2026The impact of the Ivory Act continues to be felt across the antiques trade as another dealer lost an appeal against the government this month.
Mengs self-portrait emerges ready for Classic Art London
19 June 2026A rediscovered self-portrait by a famed Saxon Court enamel miniaturist will be on display for the first time since 1912 at Classic Art London.
Get your Skates on if you want a blooming good show
19 June 2026South London auction house Roseberys opened a gallery and showroom at 26 Pimlico Road in April and triumphed in Belgravia in Bloom the very next month.
Missing Royal Doulton finials by Arts & Crafts sculptor fly home after fundraising appeal
17 June 2026Two decorative sculptures of blackbirds that once sat atop washing line posts in a north London housing estate have returned home following a fundraising campaign launched by a local museum.