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.

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Tests of faith and legal learning in East Sussex

27 March 2026

English religious manuscript and Italian academic diplomas catch the eye

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Focus on art from unusual angles

27 March 2026

Works in demand at auction do not always reflect the subjects and themes that artists are best known for

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No jacket, no big problem for a first edition Hobbit

27 March 2026

A first edition, first impression of The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is a valuable proposition even without its dustjacket.

Stepney Tyres sign

Huge automobilia ‘barn find’ was more of a ‘two-barn find’

27 March 2026

A record price will always stand out, but this comprehensive collection also boasted a much wider range of strong prices underlying a buoyant market

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Long-distance flight moves from experiment to reality thanks to pioneers such as Lombardi

27 March 2026

A rare surviving group of unseen early aviation photographs documenting the pioneering long-distance flights of Italian pilot Carlo Francesco ‘Francis’ Lombardi (1897-1983) was offered at Roseberys (26/25/20% buyer’s premium) in south London on March 11.

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Motor oil can fuels a £1700 auction price

27 March 2026

This British Aero Lubricants AMG No 1 motor oil can estimated at £100-150 sold instead via thesaleroom.com for a £1700 hammer price.

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Lalique car mascots out of financial reach? Maybe try an Ashay instead

27 March 2026

With the most sought-after Lalique glass car mascots making prices up to tens of thousands of pounds at auction, collecting in that market can become very expensive very quickly if you want a wide range.

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Nancy Mitford's Pursuit of Love made an immediate impression

27 March 2026

First editions of the books that made Nancy Mitford’s name – The Pursuit of Love (1945) and Love in a Cold Climate (1949) – sold for £1600 at Reeman Dansie (25% buyer’s premium) in Colchester.

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The collection of dealer Paul Fitzsimmons: a life in oak told across 700 lots in a Salisbury saleroom

27 March 2026

Specialist dealer sells items from his collection in two-day auction as he heads towards semi-retirement

Bacino di San Marco painting

Venice provides allure as Cotswolds estate yields series of pictures to Kinghams

26 March 2026

A group of Venetian scenes were among the lots bringing interest at the latest Fine, Decorative Arts & Design sale at Gloucestershire saleroom Kinghams (26% buyer’s premium).

Michael Rand at home with family

Collection from former art editor and director of The Sunday Times Magazine comes to auction

26 March 2026

Part of the private art collection of Michael Rand (1929-2025), the art editor and director of The Sunday Times Magazine, will be offered at Sworders.

World championship match 1972

The Arbiter’s Archive: Sotheby’s to auction extraordinary chess collection

25 March 2026

In the world of chess, few names command as much quiet authority as Lothar Schmid.

Hans Baldung drawing

French government declares Old Master drawing National Treasure ahead of auction

24 March 2026

The auction of a rare and unpublished drawing by Hans Baldung (c.1484-1545) that was due to take place in Paris on March 23 has been postponed after the work was declared a National Treasure by the French government.

Regency table

Pick of the week: Bullock table boasts quite a tale

20 March 2026

A Regency table that probably featured in George Bullock’s ‘Finished Stock’ dispersal of 1819 sold for £80,000 (plus 26.5% buyer’s premium) at Sloane Street Auctions just over two centuries later.

Illustration by Arthur Rackham

Rackham art originals deliver deluxe qualities at Stockport auction

20 March 2026

The sale of Antiquarian & Collectable Books at Capes Dunn in Stockport on March 17 included a group of deluxe editions of popular classics illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).

Fantastic Four #1

Huge comics collection comes to light after Stockholm basement discovery

20 March 2026

An archive of over 90,000 comic books amassed over five decades by an “eccentric collector and publisher” and unearthed in a Stockholm basement is being sold via a series of auctions held by Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s (SGB).

Beatrice Campi.

Beatrice Campi joins Essex saleroom Sworders

20 March 2026

Indian and Islamic Art specialist Beatrice Campi has joined auction house Sworders of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.

Red chalk drawing by Ferraù Fenzoni

Fenzoni drawing fires up professor’s selection

20 March 2026

The specialist sale of Prints & Works on Paper at Forum Auctions in London on March 31 includes nine lots from the collection of the late Prof David Davies (1937-2022), an expert in Spanish Old Masters.

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Newcastle silver tankards toasted as ‘a real pleasure’ by west London auctioneer

20 March 2026

Specialist from west London saleroom delighted to handle not one but two Newcastle rarities in a year

Mary Anning letter

Dorset museum launches fundraising campaign for letter from pioneering fossil hunter Mary Anning

20 March 2026

The Lyme Regis Philpot Museum has launched a fundraising campaign in the hope it can secure a letter fragment written by the English fossil collector and palaeontologist Mary Anning (1799-1847). It is being offered at a Bonhams auction this month.

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