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.

An Anglo-Indian silver trophy

Trophy hunters: A selection of silver highlights with maritime interest

05 June 2026

Henry Piddington (1797-1858) was an English sea captain who sailed mostly in East India and China.

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Klee and Kirchner meet at last

05 June 2026

In 1934, a meeting of two great modern painters took place in Bern. One of them was the Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, who had left Germany shortly before the end of the First World War.

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Buyers make room on shelves for Woolf works

05 June 2026

Both the first and the first trade editions of A Room of One’s Own (1929) were among a collection of eight Virginia Woolf lots included in the April 16 Rare Books, Autographs, & Maps auction at Doyle (28% buyer’s premium) in New York.

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Inscribed by Nietzsche to his close friend

05 June 2026

An “exceedingly uncommon” signed and inscribed photograph of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) earned top-lot honours in an Autographs sale held at Swann.

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Indian modern art buyers seek new names to collect beyond the usual 'stars'

05 June 2026

Collectors are looking for lesser-known artists beyond the top targets in a notably strong market

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Vase originally bought by Dr Dropers to remind him of Japan

05 June 2026

This 10½in (26cm) high Meiji period cloisonné vase from the workshop of Namikawa Sosuke came for sale at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on May 6 with a primary provenance.

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Bidding fuelled by a big oil dispenser

05 June 2026

This Carless, Capel and Leonard London forecourt oil dispenser cabinet rubbed bidders up the right way at The Aladdin’s Garage: A Private Collection of Petroliana, Automobilia and Advertising Signs sale.

A silver sugar or spice box

Connoisseur’s collection comes to the market for the first time in decades

05 June 2026

A true connoisseur’s collection of early silver greeted those who viewed the Woolley & Wallis (27/26% buyer’s premium) Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu sale in Salisbury on April 28-29.

Edwardian kangaroo scent bottle

Novelty appeals to the ‘unconventional mind’

05 June 2026

As pre-sale Instagram posts go, the promo for the auction at Martel Maides (20% buyer’s premium) in St Peter Port, Guernsey, on May 1 was inspired.

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Swiss watch swings it for Dunhill price

05 June 2026

The Dunhill ‘Unique’ B lighter, along with its smaller-sized sibling, was introduced into the firm’s line in the late 1920s.

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Doubled Darwin print run reaped the rewards

05 June 2026

Book owner’s son realised the impact this landmark work would have

Thomas Gainsborough drawing

‘A remarkable insight into Gainsborough’s extraordinary skill in the early part of his career’

04 June 2026

A drawing by Thomas Gainsborough, dating from 1748 when the artist was 20 years old, will go under the hammer at Cheffins this month.

Wilton House Aphrodite

Wilton House Aphrodite provides allure as sculpture triples estimate

02 June 2026

A Roman marble bust of Aphrodite, formerly in the celebrated collection of the Earls of Pembroke at Wilton House in Salisbury, has sold for £280,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.

Paulus Moreelse portrait

Dutch Old Master portrait turns heads at Gloucestershire auction

02 June 2026

The Dutch artist Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638) was a major figure in Utrecht.

Dapping on Lough Mask, County Mayo by Paul Henry

Paul Henry tops Irish art sale at Whyte’s

01 June 2026

A painting by Paul Henry (1876-1958) of Lough Mask, a vast natural limestone lake stretching between Galway and County Mayo in Ireland, led the latest sale of Irish art at Dublin saleroom Whyte’s.

Sue Tilley, the sitter in Lucian Freud's painting

Lucian Freud’s ‘benefits supervisor’ portrait emerges from the Lewis collection at Sotheby’s

29 May 2026

One of Lucian Freud’s (1922-2011) most famous portraits will appear at Sotheby’s sale of the Lewis collection in June.

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William Wordsworth house contents up for auction in the town where he was born

29 May 2026

Furnishings and personal items from Rydal Mount, the final home of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, will be offered at auction this month.

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Tile once adorned Kashmiri gateway

29 May 2026

The cuerda seca (dry cord or kashi) technique of decorating tiles was developed in Central Asia during the latter part of the 14th century.

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Charlie Watts' bird box on song at Exeter auction

29 May 2026

This 19th century gilt metal and enamel singing bird automaton that took £17,000 was among the highlights of the Charlie and Shirley Watts collection sold by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood.

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Beaker, boarding house and a Russian empress

29 May 2026

The story of this late 19th century Russian beaker goes back to a boarding house in Harrogate in 1894.

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