Auctioneers

Auctioneers make commitment to future of South Kensington salerooms

Bonhams have become the latest saleroom to open an office in Moscow, a further indication of the growing importance of Russian buyers in the international auction market.

Among the many unique and important pieces of English pewter in the David Little Collection sold by Christie’s in King Street on May 1 was this mid 17th century broad-rimmed pewter charger.

JP Humbert auctioneers of Towcester have purchased Harp auctioneers of Northampton.

After five years of preparation, work has now begun on Sworders’ new saleroom. The building, which employs state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly construction techniques, is expected to be completed by spring 2008.

There’s been plenty of speculation about who might have paid £1.7m plus 17.5 per cent premium for the two recently-rediscovered Fra Angelico (c.1395-1455) panels of Dominican saints at Duke’s of Dorchester on April 19.

For the second time in the space of a week a UK provincial auctioneer was celebrating a million-pound sale of works by one of the world’s most famous artists.

When asked in an interview of 1906 which of his works he valued most, pâte-sur-pâte master Louis Solon responded: “If the whole of my production were doomed to be destroyed, and I was asked to point out a few specimens that, in my estimation, deserved to be spared, it is from the works made at Minton during my last years there that I would unhesitatingly make my selection.”

Christie’s, who are currently reviewing the future of their collectables department in South Kensington, have closed their American Indian art department in New York. Their May sale at the Rockefeller Center has been cancelled and Delia Sullivan, department head since 1999, has left the company.

Dublin fine art auctioneers James Adam’s are to join forces with premier bloodstock sales company, Goffs, to host Ireland’s first specialist sporting sale in October.

after months of pre-sale coverage in the media, the two recently rediscovered panels of Dominican saints from Fra Angelico’s celebrated 1438-40 high altarpiece for the Church of San Marco in Florence finally came under the hammer at Duke’s of Dorchester last Thursday, when they fetched £1.7m.

One of the highlights of the recent Islamic sale series in London was this 2ft 4in (74cm) high, mid-19th century signed white marble bust of Maharajah Duleep Singh by John Gibson RA.

Bonhams have joined the push for Middle Eastern business by announcing the opening of a sales office in Dubai with a first auction scheduled for early November.

The future of Christie’s South Kensington’s collectibles department is currently under discussion.

Sotheby’s will launch a premium credit card later this spring. The Sotheby’s World and Sotheby’s World Elite cards are the product of a partnership between Mastercard and American finance house GE Money who hope to use Sotheby’s status as a luxury brand to attract high-net worth cardholders.

The Asian art juggernaut thunders on with little sign of any slowdown in the market. If anything, the pace seems to be intensifying.

After months of speculation, the fate of Dumfries House, the Adam-designed and Chippendale-furnished Scottish Palladian house and estate in Ayrshire looks to be sealed.

The subject matter of this mid-14th century gold ground may be unfamiliar to many, but that is no surprise – the treatment is thought to be unique in early Italian painting.

Building work is expected to begin soon at Summers Place, Billingshurst after planning permission was granted to convert the former Sotheby’s saleroom into residential dwellings and office space.

The Birmingham industrialist and designer Matthew Boulton was the toast of the Paris salerooms last week when this impressive ormolu-mounted fluorspar vase was sold at Drouot Richelieu for €170,000 (£121,430) plus premium.