Auctioneers

A welcome addition to the November 21 Asian Works of Art sale at Matthew Barton (24% buyer’s premium) of 25 Blythe Road in west London were 79 netsuke from the collection belonging to Edmund de Waal, author of the bestselling memoir 'The Hare with Amber Eyes'. London Japanese art dealer Max Rutherston helped organise the sale and took this section of the auction.

A rare photographic postcard sold via thesaleroom.com at a surprise £850 (estimate £30-50) at Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Washington, West Sussex on October 30.

The influx of Asian art buyers that accompanies the Asian Art in London initiative also encourages activity across the Irish Sea. Both Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Dublin, for the first time, and Sheppards (20% buyer’s premium) in Durrow held designated sales on November 3 and November 11 respectively.

In a specialist maritime and scientific instruments auction there were only three furniture lots at Charles Miller (24% buyer’s premium), but one of them led the day.

Raising around $11m including premiums, a November 15-17 comics and comic art sale held by Heritage Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Dallas included many of the usual super-hero star turns – but this time the big seller was something rather different.

For the first time in a decade, Sotheby’s Asian Art in London offering included a designated sale of Japanese art on November 6.

Despite the disparity in numbers, the market for Chinese and Japanese works of art are increasingly aligned.

Among the most desirable of all Royal Doulton Lambeth productions are those depicting scenes of flora and fauna from Australasia.

Has Bowie made a difference? This question has been doing the rounds in Modern British circles since 2016 when Sotheby’s offered the highly publicised collection of David Bowie.

Few events shaped British art more in the 20th century than war. As commemorations reached a pinnacle during the centenary month of the First World War, the November Mod Brit series presented an opportune moment to sell art directly related to the conflict.

Among the most coveted of all the standard Chinese export porcelain designs is the so-called ‘Rockefeller’ pattern or Palace ware.

Included in the sale at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne on October 11 was a brick from the Great Wall of China. It probably dated from the Ming period when Great Wall sections were widely built with fired clay bricks, adhered with lime mortar and sticky rice.