Bonhams

Bonhams is an auction house with headquarters in the UK. It operates two London salerooms as well as others in Edinburgh, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. 

In 2000, Bonhams was merged with Brooks, a specialist Classic Car auctioneer, and Phillips Son & Neale not long after. US auctioneers Butterfields joined the group in 2002.

In September 2018, chairman Robert Brooks stepped down after selling the company to private equity group Epiris. In 2022, the firm went on a buying spree purchasing US auction house Skinner, Swedish saleroom Bukowskis, Danish saleroom Bruun Rasmussen and then French outfit Cornette de Saint Cyr.


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Treen unseen: the collector who bought on trust

02 December 2024

A “once-in-a-generation” collection of treen containing all manner of small turned objects, from a toasting dog to a decorated busk stay, was the major feature in a timed online sale of vernacular furniture, folk art and textiles at Bonhams Knightsbridge (28/27% buyer’s premium).

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Charming chimer or luxury Cartier to tick your boxes

02 December 2024

Pictured here are two very different timekeepers from sales held in Paris by Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium).

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Modern classics by female designers in focus

25 November 2024

The French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) started making jewellery in the early 1970s after she was introduced to the Italian goldsmith Giancarlo Montebello in Paris.

Buccaneers Of America

Early book on piracy in the Caribbean emerges at Bonhams

19 November 2024

'Buccaneers of America' by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin offered a rare glimpse into the eye-opening exploits of pirates in the Caribbean

Chinese dragon dish

Qing wares deliver strong performance at UK Asian art series

15 November 2024

The wider market is increasingly selective, but Qing mark and period porcelain continues to shine in the saleroom.

Mamluk mosque lamp

Bonhams sets new auction record for any glass object

13 November 2024

A 14th-century mosque lamp from Egypt or Syria achieved the highest price for a glass object at auction when it sold at four times estimate at Bonhams in London yesterday.

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Meissen slapstick figure highlights Merkle collection auction

11 November 2024

The second instalment of Meissen porcelain from the collection of German businessman Hadrian Maria Oskar Merkle (1942-2018) was sold at a recent sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr of Paris.

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News in brief including Bonhams offering a major Ming dynasty furniture collection

11 November 2024

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including news of the inaugural sales series at Bonhams new Hong Kong premises

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Camerer Cuss collection includes Thomas Tompion pocket watch

11 November 2024

Camerer Cuss watches carry a certain cachet.

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Limehouse cat find gives paws for thought

04 November 2024

Leading Bonhams’ Fine Glass and British Ceramics sale in London on November 26-27 is a recently discovered Limehouse porcelain cat.

Penicillin Mould V2

New record for an Alexander Fleming ‘mould that made penicillin’

01 November 2024

A medallion of mould used in Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin’s antibacterial properties achieved a record price of $76,000 (£58,500) including buyer’s premium at Bonhams’ History of Science and Technology sale in New York.

Forlani Map

Copy of the earliest map dedicated to North America appears at auction

30 October 2024

Paolo Forlani's map was not only the first to focus primarily on North America but among the first to depict the Strait of Anian, separating America and Asia

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Perfect chairs to go with a round table

28 October 2024

The sale of Vernacular Furniture, Folk & Naive Art and Textiles held online by Bonhams in Knightsbridge from October 4-22 included this extraordinary set of 13 Edwardian or George V ‘Antiquarian’ chairs.

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A case of Dismorr the merrier

28 October 2024

Large group of works by the Modern British artist from a single-owner source finds a warm welcome

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Merkle collection showcases slapstick scenes of the Commedia dell’arte to a Parisian audience

21 October 2024

On October 31 Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr of Paris will be holding the second instalment of its dispersal of Meissen porcelain from the collection of Hadrian Merkle.

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Cup and saucer from Nelson service surface

21 October 2024

Nelson was a great admirer of porcelain and he and Emma Hamilton owned several services.

17.10.24 Webpv Rory Gallagher Guitar

Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster rocks auction

17 October 2024

The Irish musician’s guitar collection, including his famous Fender Stratocaster, appeared at a dedicated Bonhams sales

L'Arbois, Sainte-Maxime by David Hockney

Hockney makes 10-fold return for vendor leading London’s Frieze week auctions

16 October 2024

The glut of auctions held during the week-long period of the ‘Frieze London’ and ‘Frieze Masters’ fairs generated an overall £184m including premium, roughly in line with the total from the equivalent sales last year.

Portrait of Lucas Alexander Ionides by James McNeill Whistler

Early Whistler portrait makes £320,000 at Bonhams

25 September 2024

James McNeill Whistler’s (1834-1903) first portrait commission, a painting of his friend Lucas Alexander Ionides, drew a strong bidding battle at Bonhams earlier today.

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Roll up, roll up for a great sale

23 September 2024

Exhibited in New Bond Street over the summer, Bonhams’ auction titled The Greatest Show: The Fairground World of Ross Hutchinson was held over two days earlier this month: 150 lots at a live auction on September 10, with a further 150 through a timed online sale concluding the following day.

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