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.

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Holbeinesque jewellery: Inspired by the Northern Renaissance

06 March 2026

Holbeinesque is the term used to describe Victorian jewellery inspired by the Northern Renaissance and the jewels shown in the paintings and sketches of Hans Holbein.

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Best wishes to housekeeper Phyllis from Agatha Christie

06 March 2026

A first edition of Agatha Christie’s Five Little Pigs published by The Crime Club (Collins), London 1942, was consigned to Wessex Auction Rooms (24% buyer’s premium) by the family of Phyllis Rice, housekeeper to the author at Greenway House.

Alex Branczik of Sotheby’s

Works from ex-Spurs owner Joe Lewis boost Sotheby’s white-glove auction

05 March 2026

Four ‘London school’ paintings from the collection of Tottenham Hotspur's former owner Joe Lewis were among the headline lots at Sotheby’s latest Modern & Contemporary art evening sale in London.

A Shrimper by George Sherwood Hunter

Unseen works by Newlyn artist Hunter draw interest in Newcastle auction

05 March 2026

A large group of works by George Sherwood Hunter (1846-1919) that had remained in the artist’s family for over a century were dispersed at two sales conducted by Anderson & Garland (25% buyer’s premium) over the last six months.

Arts and Crafts chest of drawers

Stanley Webb Davies furniture taken to new price territory in North Yorkshire

04 March 2026

A chestnut bedroom suite by renowned Lake District furniture maker Stanley Webb Davies has sold for a total hammer price of £26,100 at Tennants in Leyburn.

Terence Cuneo industrial scene

Terence Cuneo industrial scene brings strong contest in Newbury

03 March 2026

When it comes to Terence Cuneo (1907-1996), it’s all about the trains right? Well… not quite.

Olympic medal

Winner’s medal from first Olympic Games in Athens takes six-figure sum at auction

02 March 2026

A winner’s medal from the first Olympic Games which took place in Athens in 1896 took a hammer price of £105,730 (or £135,334 including buyer’s premium), three-times its estimate.

oak coffer

Dealer Paul Fitzsimmons' 'Life in Oak' told through 700 lots at Woolley & Wallis

27 February 2026

Woolley & Wallis is conducting a single-owner sale of early furniture and sculpture over two days on March 10-11. The auction, titled Paul Fitzsimmons – A Life in Oak, offers 708 lots from the proprietor of specialist oak dealership Marhamchurch Antiques that opened in Devon in 1991.

Lady Jane Grey letter

Letters at auction recall reign of tragic ‘Nine Day Queen’ Lady Jane Grey

27 February 2026

An extremely rare survival from the nine-day reign of Lady Jane Grey, one of the more dramatic episodes in English history, came to market on February 25.

Dutch genre painting

Painting showing archduke's gallery visit now attributed to Antwerp artist after research

27 February 2026

After receiving a photograph of this 17th century Dutch genre painting, Lille auctioneer Hugues Watine contacted Old Master specialist Cabinet Turquin.

Praxinoscope

Rare Praxinoscope combining moving images and music flies over estimate at Plymouth auction

27 February 2026

French inventor Charles-Émile Reynaud (1844-1918) was responsible for the first projected animated films.

Evacuation

West London valuation day leads to mass evacuation after live shells, ammunition and landmine emerge from a Harrods bag

27 February 2026

A routine valuation day at Chiswick Auctions led to an evacuation of the venue and the surrounding estate after live shells, ammunition and a landmine were brought in.

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Get a Viz No 1 and a free ice cream too

27 February 2026

All of the first half-a-dozen issues of Viz comic are rarities – each penned by teenager Chris Donald from his bedroom in his parents’ Jesmond, Newcastle, home with help from his brother Simon and friend Jim Brownlow.

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'Perhaps the most significant private collection of British comics ever assembled'

27 February 2026

What is being promoted as “perhaps the most significant private collection of British comics ever assembled” is coming to market with two separate auction houses involved.

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Gentileschi’s Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy acquired by American gallery

27 February 2026

Coinciding with the latest Old Master auction series in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, announced the acquisition of Artemisia Gentileschi’s Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy.

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Bidding battle for battered teaching book shows rising demand for social artefacts

27 February 2026

Pristine first editions from sought-after authors or documents written by the luminaries of times past are usually the ones that command the greatest attention at book auctions.

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Where the 2000AD action starts – the story of the short lived but inspirational predecessor comic

27 February 2026

Fifty years ago a now little-known comic launched that spawned a much more successful title still going strong

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Take it to the bridge: Boney ready for painting

27 February 2026

A preparatory drawing for a famous painting of Napoleon Bonaparte that is in the Palace of Versailles is to go under the hammer.

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This could be a ‘transformational era in comic collecting’ says US auction house

27 February 2026

Records continue to tumble in the vibrant US market. Hardly a week goes by without another new marker being established as comics thrive in a remarkably buoyant collectables collecting scene, or sought-after high-grade copies attract rocketing prices.

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Boxwood sculpture triptych tickles a buyer’s fancy at French auction

27 February 2026

Fantastically detailed boxwood sculpture can be traced to the couple who commissioned the work

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