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.

WH Smith enamel advertising signs

WH Smith archive delivers high street nostalgia at auction

08 September 2025

A lot offering five WH Smith enamel advertising signs, c.1930, took the top price as memorabilia from one of the UK’s most enduring and recognisable retail brands came to auction.

Poole Pottery display plaque

Clarkson collection to be final Byrnes staging

08 September 2025

The final auction at Pullman House in Saltney, Chester, home of Byrnes since 2003, will be the remarkable collection of 20th century design formed by Philip Clarkson on September 15-16.

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New dealer launches in central London as Orpheus enters the gallery world

08 September 2025

Owner of Apollo Art auction house launches antiquities specialist firm in London’s Marylebone

Edvard Munch's lithograph Madonna

‘Landscapes of the Mind’: Hegewisch collection heads to Christie’s

08 September 2025

An important collection of prints and works on paper amassed by the German businessman Klaus Hegewisch (1919-2014) will appear at Christie’s in London next month.

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Greek bronze reward and a Roman relic coming up

08 September 2025

A “very fine” bronze helmet of Corinthian type, c.350BC, hammered from a single sheet, with a domed crown, almond-shaped eye cutouts and a prominent nose guard, sold for £32,000 at Apollo Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in London on July 27.

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Rebels who became royal favourites: stand-out lots among property from the Earls of Airlie

08 September 2025

Jacobite highlights from the Scottish Collected sale held by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh

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Second time lucky in Surrey as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac lyrics get away at £19,000

08 September 2025

Peter Green’s lyrics for 'Man Of The World' sell at regional auction house

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ATG letter: One East Sussex auction, three different items for discussion…

08 September 2025

Your Letters pages have recently featured the elaboration of two items purchased from the “contents of a Sussex manor house” auctioned by Burstow & Hewett of Battle, East Sussex, on May 28-29: a Tudor oak stool and a coquilla nut snuffbox depicting Benjamin Franklin (see Auction Reports, ATG No 2702 and Letters, No 2704 & 2706).

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British paratrooper helmet picked out in Exeter auction for £3900

08 September 2025

Second World War airborne memorabilia is another in-demand section of the militaria market.

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Comprehensive First World War uniform groupings catch the eye

08 September 2025

Halls’ (24% buyer’s premium) latest Militaria, Naval and Aviation Auction in Shrewsbury offered a tempting selection of lots such as First World War uniforms in decent condition.

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Just the thing for a day tripper

08 September 2025

Among the many ‘cheap and cheerful’ souvenirs made for fans of the Beatles in the 1960s were lunch boxes and flasks.

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Rare kit combinations score at auction with tabletopping Subbuteo teams

08 September 2025

When selling football memorabilia such as programmes and match-worn shirts, items linked to renowned and well-supported clubs such as Manchester United will often be the most valuable.

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Hang on, that fountain looks familiar

08 September 2025

An old Instagram posting from a dealer in Virginia helped Joe Holahan confirm the backstory of a French fin de siècle bronze and marble fountain consigned at the eleventh hour to a garden statuary sale at Kamelot (25% buyer’s premium) in Philadelphia.

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Westwood sale brings seventies punk spirit to rural Yorkshire

08 September 2025

What was thought to be the largest private collection of Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022) garments to be sold outside London went under the hammer at Tennants (24% buyer’s premium) in North Yorkshire on August 15.

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Barye bronze bounces back to US museum

08 September 2025

An 1843 cast of Antoine-Louise Barye’s (1795-1875) celebrated bronze Theseus Battling the Minotaur has returned to the museum that displayed the work for the last 18 years.

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Brooch brings memories of a military hospital

08 September 2025

Sold at £250, this brooch probably commemorates the opening of Hill House Military Hospital, also known as School Hill House Hospital, in Lewes.

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Screamadelica album sun cover art taken higher than estimate

08 September 2025

As an entire work, this huge oil on canvas by British artist Paul Cannell (1963-2005) might not seem that familiar.

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Better together: the new Olympia Auctions duo delighted by their debut achievement

08 September 2025

The first auction staged as a partnership between two renowned specialists produced a wide range of encouraging results

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Scottish silver and Wemyss pottery put under the spotlight

08 September 2025

The markets for Scottish provincial silver and Wemyss pottery both offer great opportunities for new collectors ready to take the plunge.

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Frink mosaic stands out in Ken Bolan sale

08 September 2025

Ken Bolan, the retired King’s Road, Chelsea, dealer, is having a second post-retirement auction.

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