Auctioneers

The auction process is a key part of the secondary art and antiques market.

Firms of auctioneers usually specialise in a number of fields such as jewellery, ceramics, paintings, Asian art or coins but many also hold general sales where the goods available are not defined by a particular genre and are usually lower in value.

Auctioneers often provide other services such as probate and insurance valuations.

Francis II coin

Coin trove hidden in wall sells for more than £2.5m at auction

18 June 2025

A group of rare coins discovered hidden in a wall in a house in France sold at auction for €3m (£2.5m).

Alan Turing's On Computable Numbers (1936–37)

Alan Turing's major papers sell for six-figure sum at auction

17 June 2025

A group of Alan Turing papers smashed estimates at auction in Lichfield.

Flambé Carp vase by William Moorcroft

Record-setting Moorcroft vase heads back to the auction block

17 June 2025

A piece that holds the record for a Moorcroft vase at auction returns to the rostrum this week.

Bullock desk

Two Bullock desks sell at auction on same day

16 June 2025

Serendipity had it that two Regency pollard oak and ebony inlaid desks attributed to George Bullock (c.1762-1818) came for sale within a matter of hours on June 12.

Sector rule

Edmund Gunter rules the waves as brass rules makes 20 times estimate

16 June 2025

The Gunter rule was designed to help with the mathematical calculations necessary in navigation.

Baby House-style doll

Early doll coming to auction could be a royal memento gift

16 June 2025

A highlight of the The Dolls’ House, Doll, Teddy Bear and Toy sale taking place at Special Auction Services on June 24-26 is a mid-17th century wooden doll, just 5½in (14cm) high.

Arthur William Devis portrait

Devis in demand: ‘Relaxed’ portrait of a civil servant bid to £140,000

16 June 2025

Over recent years, works painted in India by Arthur William Devis (1762-1822) have become a valuable proposition.

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Brace yourselves for Brooker Part 2 at Olympia Auctions

16 June 2025

Foremost among Olympia Auctions’ several collections on offer in the June 25-26 sale are the 96 lots from Robert Brooker’s collection.

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Dashing cavalry helmet owned by a John Trotter

16 June 2025

A striking household cavalry officer’s 1817 pattern helmet offered at Antony Cribb (25% buyer’s premium) had the considerable bonus of retaining its “very rare” japanned storage tin with the owner’s name legible.

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Oh dear, I missed a couple of ‘0’s: musical box sings at US auction

16 June 2025

Lynbrook, New York auctioneer Phil Weiss of Weiss Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) admitted to a minor slip when cataloguing a silver gilt and enamel singing bird music box.

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Life’s rich tapestries: French silk and wool examples outperform estimates

16 June 2025

French silk and wool Coriolanus scenes go well over predictions in US auction

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Persian version of Voltaire’s Peter the Great sells at £14,000

16 June 2025

This extraordinary Persian manuscript sold by Roseberys (26% buyer’s premium) is a translation of 'Voltaire’s Histoire de l’empire de Russie sous Pierre-le-Grand' and his 'Histoire de Charles XII, Roi du Suede'.

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Armour of the winged warriors who saved Vienna

16 June 2025

Polish items were in high demand at German saleroom Hermann Historica (29.5% buyer’s premium inc tax) during the Spring Auction series.

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Hans up for sale then knocked down

16 June 2025

Scarce complete small pamphlets produced by the fairy tales author Hans Christian Andersen come to auction ‘for first time’

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Pair of pistols was ‘given to duke as diplomatic gift’

16 June 2025

The auction history of this highly decorative cased pair of Spanish 22 bore convertible ‘Madrid’ lock pistols goes all the way back to 1843 - with a royal connection.

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Helmet high achievers at Sussex auction

16 June 2025

A strong selection of 18th and 19th century British helmets impressed at East Sussex saleroom Wallis & Wallis (24% buyer’s premium) on May 29, many bringing strong four-figure sums well above estimate.

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Largest Tirzah Garwood group to emerge in one go sets a test of the market

16 June 2025

The most extensive selection of works to come on the open market provides an opportunity to assess the market for the Modern British print specialist

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Scimitar ‘presented by Napoleon’ stars in London specialist sale

16 June 2025

Sword linked to former emperor is one of the highlights at London sale held by maritime specialist

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May Morris embroidery auctioned in Chicago covers the wishes of a diehard Anglophile

16 June 2025

When a c.1890 May Morris for Morris & Co embroidery came up for sale at Toomey & Co (27% buyer’s premium), the timing was less than perfect for the midwestern lady who was destined to become its new owner.

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Sikh dome helmet designed to fit distinctive hair

16 June 2025

This distinctive domed form of this carefully forged helmet gives a big clue to its origin.

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