Auctions

The traditional pre-Christmas Old Masters auctions in London were something of a mixed bag this year.

A sledge and flag from the first expedition to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton have been saved for the nation.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

More than 70 lots of classical ancient pottery were included in the latest Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of European Furniture and Decorative Arts in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

This Venetian scene by Felix Ziem (1821-1911) depicting boats on the canal with the city in the background, will feature in Nadeau’s Auction Gallery’s mixed-discipline New Year’s Day sale in Windsor, Connecticut, on January 1.

Swann Galleries (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) held a Travel Posters sale where one of the best-sellers was a 1939 poster for Pan Am airlines.

The mixed-owner element of a recent Onslows’ sale included a William Russell Flint (1890-1969) LNER poster showing Bamburgh Castle.

This 1930s Soviet travel poster promotes Trans Siberian Express Shortest way between Europe and the Far East, for Intourist Moscow, Hotel Metropol represented by all main travel bureaus of the world.

Estimated at £800-1000 at Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) but sold at £10,000 was this International Watch Company Luftwaffe pilot’s watch, c.1940.

Americana, travel and natural history were billed as the main attractions of a sale at Bonhams New York (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium).

A notable source of ancient coins and historical jewellery appearing on the market in 2020 has been the soil. It is the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme that finders of ‘treasure’ are now encouraged to declare discoveries and share the proceeds of sales with the landowner.

Four lots of French railway posters attracted a good deal of attention at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) on December 9-10.

Bristol auction house sells mirror with an intriguing link to Marie Antoinette

Australian species pack into a Rowland Ward taxidermy tableau sold for £4000 in Guernsey auction.

Surviving records for the London instrument maker Smith & Beck state this superb microscope from the brass and glass era was purchased on September 2, 1853, by Francis Herbert Wenham (1824-1908) – the British engineer who became a key figure in the improvement of the microscope.

Simple folk art depictions stuffed full of charm prove highly attractive to buyers at Dreweatts' auction.

An array of affordable alternatives to the blue-chip names in Modern British art generated strong bidding at Roseberys' (25% buyer’s premium) auction.

Works by Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) were the highlights of the Koller (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) sale of Swiss Art, held in Zurich as part of its December auction series.

Selection of skiing posters focused on winter sports and travel is on offer at Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull.

In playing condition but with enough problems to be catalogued as ‘sold as seen’, a Nicole Frères brass inlaid music box was one of the unexpected stars of the first three-day sale to be held at Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob (22% buyer’s premium).