Decorative Art

A Japonisme foo dog vase by Émile Gallé (1846-1904) hammered for $35,000 (£26,440) against a guide of $3000-5000 at Rago (27% buyer’s premium) in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Doulton figures and jugs depicting the famous and not-so-familiar include sought-after rarities

An extensive collection of art, antiques and silver from Corby Castle, one of Cumbria’s most historically important mansion houses, will go under the hammer in a three-day sale at Tennants from January 22-24.

Every one of the 300 vases and figures from German collection gets away on the day

It was little surprise that Kinsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna was given the legacy of Michael Kovacek, a specialist dealer in Art Nouveau and Art Deco, to sell.

Irish silver rarely appears at German auctions but when it does, it seldom goes unnoticed.

In his workshop records for the period October 1739 to January 1740, Johann Joachim Kaendler, Meissen’s most accomplished modeller, noted his creation of a “life-sized jay sitting on a trunk, naturally depicted, next to him is a life-sized squirrel seated on a branch, modelled in clay, along with other appropriate ornamentation”.

Many single-owner collections appeared in the pages of ATG this year, usually as they came up at auction. The silver collection of the late Michael Baggott and the art, books and memorabilia collection of the late Barry Humphries were among the stand-out sales.

The latest sale at Alastair Gibson Auctions in Kent was led by a stellar example of Meiji or Taisho era cloisonné: a pair of imperial presentation vases by Nagoya master Hattori Tadasaburo.

While the market for post-war Whitefriars has waxed and waned in the past three decades, in 2025 several very active collectors have driven saleroom prices forward once again. It has been a strong year for the Geoffrey Baxter Textured range in particular.

This horn casket was presented to King Edward VII on March 28, 1901 by the Worshipful Company of Horners.

The city of Newcastle enjoyed a long gold and silversmithing tradition.

Numerous pieces of British Aesthetic movement and Arts & Crafts silver were up for sale at Lempertz (26% buyer’s premium) in Cologne on November 21.

Sir Henry Doulton placed great importance on international exhibitions to promote the work of both of his factories.

Collector Michael Blood’s passion for Victorian tiles was ignited at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire when two 19th-century examples pressed into his hands during restoration first caught his eye.

The Zena Kwiatkowski Corrigan collection of tiles was sold by Kinghams (26% buyer’s premium) in Moreton-in-Marsh over 291 lots on October 30.