Decorative Art

It is with great sadness that I was informed of the sudden death of my good friend and colleague in the trade Roger de Ville… thankfully he was at home and he passed away quickly at the amazing age of 86 years old.

It was not to high-end purist tastes, but ballet pioneer’s collection reeled in eager bidders

Aided by strong American bidding action, the collection of Andrew Crawforth, the late Portobello Road trader and leading authority on early metalware, turned base metal into gold when all 431 lots – offered wihtout reserve – sold at Bonhams’ (27.5% buyer’s premium) Edinburgh sale.

A “vanishingly rare” oil by Barnett Freedman (1901-58) showing a newly liberated Normandy town shortly after D-Day is among the star exhibits at the Winter Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia in London.

Andrew Muir bought his first piece of Clarice Cliff – a small and damaged candlestick – for £25 from a pub auction in 1989. Today he is an established dealer in 20th century ceramics and is showing his diverse stock at the latest edition of the Winter Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia (November 2-7).

Equestrian works by the British artist shine as ‘English country house meets Californian chic’

In reference to James Shaw’s letter published in ATG No 2513 (‘To ping or not to ping, that is the question’).

A rare 17th century elephant automaton clock was the star of the Christie’s New York Exceptional sale when it sold at $2.15m (£1.58m) to a private buyer.

The studio pottery collection of the late US dealer Dr John Driscoll will be offered at Phillips in conjunction with specialist Maak.

Including seafaring, tin, copper, studio potteries and fishing, a Penzance sale covered just about everything from the region bar pasties.

An extremely rare and early Italian maiolica dish, discovered broken in pieces in a drawer, was hammered down at just over £1m at Lyon & Turnbull.

With reference to the article headed ‘Derby duo ready for research’ in Auction Reports, ATG No 2509, referral to WD John’s William Billingsley 1758-1828 (1968) would seem to resolve the matter as to the artist and the lack of a Derby factory mark.

Adam and Eve charger takes top price in collection amassed by American couple

Anita Morgan, co-owner of The Hive in Cambridge, is an antique tile specialist and stands at the small annual niche tile fair in Nottingham organised by the Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society (TACS), which was held this year on October 2.

Auctioneer Will Farmer will move from the small to the big screen this autumn when he appears in a new feature film on the life of Clarice Cliff.