Auctioneers

In 2018 Tennants of Leyburn recorded a hammer turnover of £13.3m – an increase of roughly £1m from the previous year.

Among the most eagerly-contested lots in the Paul Reeves: An Eye For Design sale at Lyon & Turnbull was this set of Royal Worcester porcelain wall brackets, c.1865, allegorical of the four seasons.

Two fine examples of Meiji period cloisonné brought similar multi-estimate sums at regional auctions earlier this month.

That rare beast – a good old-fashioned single-owner sale – is a format that seldom fails to produce decent results.

A painting by one of Picasso’s mistresses drew considerable interest at Halls (20% buyer’s premium) of Shrewsbury on February 6.

Drawn from sales held in the last days of January in the UK and US, an artistic device of framing a view with trees in the foreground is demonstrated in the two plates reproduced below.

Shown below is a page from an 1897 Paris edition of Robert de Flers’ 'Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli' in which the text is framed by 132 coloured litho illustrations, borders and other decorations by Alphonse Mucha.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales below £900, including a David Bates view of the Wye.

Two examples of a celebrated Declaration of Independence copy hit new highs a month apart.

Two fine examples of scrimshaw were eagerly contested at the David Duggleby (21% buyer’s premium inc VAT) Scarborough auction of maritime antiques and instruments.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Animalier bronzes will be on offer at Drouot in the coming weeks.

Auctioneer and valuer Michael J Stainer FSVA, based in Dorset, passed away peacefully on February 4, surrounded by his family.

A 49-lot sale of antiquities, Asian and tribal art from the collection of New York and Hollywood talent agent Jeff Hunter goes under the hammer at Freeman’s in Philadelphia on March 13.

It is a quarter of a century since ATG’s first overview of London’s numismatic auction market. Here we review the heads and the tails of 2018.