Decorative Art

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including exhibition devoted to the Victorian art potter William De Morgan at auction house Kinghams.

Flightless bird walks away with a new owner as silver novelty rarities catch the eye at Kinghams

An auction titled China 500 Years held by Mayfair orientalist firm Plakas (29% buyer’s premium) on March 19 included elements of two rare Kangxi (1662-1722) blue and white porcelain wall sconces. They were estimated at £2000-3000 but contested to £17,000.

An historic piece of Georgian silver – the ‘pair’ to the famed Walpole ‘seal salver’ in the Victoria & Albert Museum – is being offered for sale following its recent rediscovery in New York.

In 1869, under the terms of the will of John Davy, brother of the celebrated chemist Humphry Davy, the Davy Medal was established in his name.

The unknown maker of this commemorative creamware mug produced for the coronation of King George IV seems to have been in a rush.

Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was known as a monumental collector.

Founded in 1751 at the behest of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, ‘The Royal Prussian Asiatic Company in Emden to Canton and China’ aimed to profit from the trade between Europe and China.

The Flemish designer Henry van de Velde excelled in many fields, working as a painter and architect, before he devoted himself to creating a multitude of designs, from cutlery to furniture, from wallpaper to porcelain.

An interview with antiques dealer Jeremy Astfalck of The Old Corkscrew, Franschhoek

Single-owner collection reflects both the port’s position linking trade routes and the artisans it attracted

The March 3-4 sale at Chorley’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire, was topped by a good example of Qing imperial needlework: a yellow ground silk and metal thread cushion cover.

Generating plenty of competition at Bonhams Skinner (28% buyer’s premium) was this lot of three pieces of Elkington & Co silver plate.

Lacklustre pre-sale activity leaves Canadian auction house concerned but all 17 lots sell successfully

Despite events that seemed to be conspiring to make life difficult, TEFAF Maastricht remains a must-visit

Though leeches do remain in the pharmacopeia, they’re no longer stored in the ceramic jars and urns common to pharmacies of the 18th and 19th century.

For some who are thinking of a visit to TEFAF Maastricht, the cost of staying over and paying for a hotel can be offputting and Maastricht appears too far away.

The first mention of plans for a Wedgwood earthenware chess set occurs in a bill from a 30-year-old John Flaxman dated March 8, 1785.