Auctioneers

The final 51 lots of Woolley & Wallis’s sale on October 19 comprised the Fauconberg & Conyers Heirlooms.

The stock-in-trade and private collection of Maurice Turpin who died in March, will be sold by Christie’s in London next spring. Two sales, on March 9 and 14, will offer over 800 items and are estimated to fetch over £2m.

The second tranche of a private collection of nutmeg graters was offered at Woolley & Wallis’ October 19 sale.

“Someday,” wrote The Times in August 1912, “collectors will ransack the town for Martin’s artistic stonewares.”

The cosy Dorset town of Sherborne is not usually associated with bloody revolution and armed struggle, but Sherborne-based Charterhouse Auctioneers have unearthed two items redolent with memories of the American Revolution.

COIN dealers Noble Investments have announced the acquisition of Baldwin’s, the London-based coin dealers and auctioneers, in a reverse take-over.

The emerging class of wealthy Chinese buyers continues to boost the top-end of the art and antiques market in the Far East. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that Sotheby’s set a house record in this autumn’s Hong Kong series, taking HK$850.9m (£61.7m) from seven sales.

BY IVAN MACQUISTENROBERT Brooks has been nailing his colours to the mast in more ways than one in the past week.

Christie’s, the first Western auction house to establish a representative office in China in 1994, have joined forces with Forever, a newly-established Beijing-based auction house, to hold their first sale in mainland China next month.

Setting a new house record for Holloways of Banbury, this enigmatic alabaster urn shot to £170,000 (plus 15% buyer’s premium) on October 18.

THE 20th century fashion and accessories sales at Christie’s South Kensington (20/12% buyer’s premium) are not the firm’s biggest money-spinners.

Red tape continues to delay compensation payments in the Sotheby’s/Christie’s collusion case, despite assurances that they would be made by the end of September.

London coin and stamp specialists Spink have been awarded an additional Royal Warrant for their services in philately.

A French court has upheld the right of Paris auction firm Artcurial to use the name F. Tajan in their full title Artcurial Briest-Le Fur-Poulain-F. Tajan.

LVMH have sold their 49.9 per cent shareholding in auction house Bonhams 1793 back to Bonhams.

When Alex Butcher’s eye was drawn to this painting, right, he did not realise that part of the attraction might have been its familiarity.

Pictured right is a Yongzheng period (1723-1735) egg-yolk yellow ground ‘cranes’ bowl that was offered on the second day of a three-day sale conducted by Bamfords in Derby from September 13-15.

SOTHEBY’S Institute are backing a new web initiative to improve interest and knowledge in art and antiques.

Stained glass windows are not common fare in sales of English literature but the 2ft 8in (81cm) wide panel seen at Sotheby’s on July 12 merited inclusion on account of both its designer and its subject matter.

Antique coins trading company Noble Investments have appointed Stephen and Paul Hill as associate directors.