Keys

Keys is an auction house in Aylsham, Norfolk which was founded in 1953 by Geoffrey Key. Originally a livestock auctioneer, Keys soon began regular furniture sales before adding art and antique sales to its calendar in the 1960s.

In 2019, the auction business split from its estate agency parent company after a management buy-out was led by fine art director Kevin Lines and new managing director David Broom.


img_16-1.jpg

Pay for it when the war’s over

02 September 2024

A recent sale at Key’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Aylsham included a Second World War prisoner of war Rolex 3525 Oyster chronograph offered together with the original owner’s medals, dog tags and personal wartime diaries.

Antique brush washer

Chinese brush washer makes 200 times estimate in Norfolk

16 July 2024

A Chinese monochrome brush washer in one of the most prized glazes of the Song dynasty sold for an unexpected £120,000 at auction in Norfolk.

img_22-2.jpg

Trevelyan inspired by the stony landscapes of Malta

01 July 2024

Forming part of a small body of work relating to Malta, this vibrant oil by Julian Trevelyan (1910-88) was the runaway star in a Modern Art & Design sale at Keys (22% buyer’s premium).

img_20-1.jpg

Royal portrait rescued from a jumble sale is sold for £16,000

08 January 2024

Tiny portrait thought to show a Spanish noblewoman was bought at a local school in the 1970s

Lowestoft porcelain jug

Friends reunited? Estranged Lowestoft jug and cover to appear in same auction

20 November 2023

Two rare documentary Lowestoft lots - both made for a Norfolk farmer - could be reunited after years apart. Both have been consigned to Keys in Aylsham.

img_15-4.jpg

Shell out for Calcedonia

02 October 2023

This Calcedonia glass turtle made by Murano master Dino Rosin comes for sale at Norfolk auction house Keys on November 22-24.

img_32-1.jpg

Munnings stands and delivers

04 September 2023

With the traditional hiatus in the UK auction market typically stretching across the month of August, a number of notable picture highlights appeared slightly earlier this summer at sales around the country.

img_25-5.jpg

The second sleeper in Colchester: an intaglio ring emerges at auction

04 September 2023

The north European Mannerist bronze sold for £550,000 against a guide of £250-350 was not the only spectacular sleeper in the August 8 sale at Reeman Dansie (22.5% buyer’s premium).

img_16-7.jpg

Sip soup from a Minton boar’s head

28 August 2023

The boar’s head tureen with matching stand is considered the rarest of all the game tureens made by the Minton factory in its colourful majolica range.

img_14-2.jpg

Bidders cotton on to Egyptian medals appeal

07 August 2023

The esteem in which British botanist William Lawrence Balls (1882-1960) was held is obvious from lots offered at Norfolk auction house Keys (25% buyer’s premium) on July 26-28.

img_18-2.jpg

Festive cheer from royalty

01 May 2023

This Christmas card sent by the royal family was offered among a small group of memorabilia at Keys (22% buyer’s premium) of Aylsham on March 29-31.

img_32-4.jpg

European works on paper fly high over guides at regional sales

20 February 2023

A couple of late 19th or early 20th century works on paper by northern European artists caught the eyes of bidders recently, flying over lowly estimates

img_16-1.jpg

Bidders on the alert to find Chinese sleepers

31 October 2022

The cylindrical brush pot or bitong appears to have been introduced into the repertoire of Chinese ceramic forms in the late 1620s.

Obituary: David ‘John’ Lines (1940-2022)

10 October 2022

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden but peaceful passing of John Lines.

img_33-2.jpg

Clutterbuck’s temple benefits from Indian summer

19 September 2022

Most watercolours by Violet Esther Drury Clutterbuck (1869-1960) tend to fetch a few hundred pounds or less at auction.

img_12-1.jpg

Ceramics: 18th century Lowestoft rarities sell well among local collectors

29 August 2022

Collecting 18th century English porcelain is still a popular pursuit – but there’s no doubt that the core collecting audience is smaller than it once was.

img_16-1.jpg

Chinese Daoguang era ‘hundred boys’ vase takes £38,000 despite obvious condition issues and repairs

22 August 2022

Famille rose vases decorated with ‘Hundred Boys’ scenes are among the most commercial of all Qing ceramics.

img_28-1.jpg

Indian pieces including jewellery owned by the mother of the Maharajah Duleep Singh attract bids at Bonhams

25 April 2022

The Islamic and Indian Art sale at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) on March 29 was topped by a diamond and emerald set gold pendant from the collection of Maharani Jindan Kaur (1817-63).

img_24-4.jpg

Very special Fleming 007 at Keys

31 January 2022

One of 250 copies of a ‘Special’ and signed first edition of Ian Fleming’s 'On Her Majesty’s Secret Service' is shown here.

img_30-2.jpg

Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze tops seasonal Asian art sales in UK regions

17 January 2022

The highest single price posted in the regions during the autumn series of Asian art sales was the £380,000 bid at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Dorchester for a monumental Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze devotional figure of Tara broadly dated to the Qing period.

News

Categories