Fine Art

The Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 AD), founded by the nomadic Tuoba clan, was the most long-lived and most powerful of the northern dynasties prior to the reunification of China under the Sui. Most importantly for Chinese art history, the ruling royal family were converts to Buddhism.

A group of three watercolours depicting Indian scenes attributed to Major General John Brownrigg Ballasis (1806-90) attracted interest at a timed sale held this summer by 1818 Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium) in Milnthorpe, Cumbria.

It was catalogued as 18th or 19th century but this 2½ x 3½in (6 x 8.5cm) ivory plaque was more probably a product of medieval Christendom.

An intriguing Indian miniature portrait drew strenuous competition against an estimate of just £30-50 at Clarke’s (18% buyer’s premium) in Shaftesbury, Dorset.

Exhibition focuses on photographer famed for his celebrity subjects from musicians to actors

A two-day sale of works from an Atlanta estate home, White Oaks, will take place at Ahlers & Ogletree in Atlanta, Georgia on September 12-13 featuring a wide range of European and American fine and decorative art.

MADAM – Hadleigh Old School in Suffolk is reopening as a concert hall in 2021. A former Victorian boys’ school, it became an arts and music venue in the 1970s under maestro Thomas McIntosh, the famous American pianist and conductor.

Indian miniatures are a common sight at UK auctions. With a keen, dedicated and often very knowledgeable collecting base, they remain a somewhat independent but active sub-set of the art market.

Among the contents of the home of the late Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-93) and later her son, Lin Jammet (1958-2017), offered at auction last week, was the sculptor’s Royal Academy diploma.

A drawing by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) sold to a phone bidder for £32,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Chiswick Auctions last week.

Wider spectrum of buyers means presenting catalogue entries in greater detail can pay off

Delay due to lockdown turns out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of consignments

Two pictures with animal appeal generated decent bidding at a North Yorkshire auction.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Harry Clarke.

Belgrave St Ives is moving from its premises of 22 years to operate as an online gallery from September 1. Formerly using a space on Fore Street, it will now run out of its studio and art store in nearby Towednack, where individual viewings may be arranged.

An extraordinary cache of garden statuary, unseen for decades, comes for sale at Summers Place Auctions next month.

While Sotheby’s and Christie’s shifted their main Old Master offerings to the end of July, Bonhams (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) maintained its auction earlier in the month with a sale in New Bond Street on July 7-8.