Auctions

Large quantities of antique, vintage and second-hand jewellery have been sold at auction, both during and after the lockdown. ATG reviews some of the highlights and notes a change in buying habits

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions, August 18-September 3, 2020.

George Way (1950-2019) developed an early fascination with oak furniture. He was especially interested in seat furniture and at the age of 16 he began a half-century quest to build up the largest privately owned collection of 17th century chairs in America, assembling over 100 Dutch and English examples.

A collection of over 30 pieces by the Brazilian modernist jeweller Haroldo Burle Marx will be a focus of the August 20 Boutique Jewels auction to be held by Freeman’s in Philadelphia.

Estimated at just £30-50, a late 19th century sampler sold via thesaleroom.com for £1850 at Wotton Auction Rooms (18% buyer’s premium) in Gloucestershire. A clue to the appeal is the inscription 'M Mountain, 5 Orphan House, Ashley Down, Bristol, 1879'.

Collected by a Scottish enthusiast, 26 railway station totems – the enamel signs introduced across the UK by newly nationalised British Rail in 1948 – gained UK-wide interest at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) in Glasgow.

A highlight of the Summer’s Bounty Auction held by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (17%/20% online buyer’s premium) of Maine was this British reverse glass painting dated to the late 18th century.

Nestlé, today a Swiss multinational corporation, was a much smaller company when this rare lithographed showcard was made.

A terracotta sculpture of Mary Seacole (1805-81) sparked fierce competition at Dominic Winter.

A mid-16th century 54-bore south German breech-loading wheel-lock holster pistol trebled its top estimate to take £75,000 at a recent sale held by Thomas Del Mar.

The linocuts produced by artists from the Grosvenor School provided an ideal medium to portray speed and movement in the inter-war machine age – and were perfect for sport subjects too. Those created by Sybil Andrews, such as her classic speedway image, are the best known on this theme.

Victor Mee Auctions’ Irish Pub Memorabilia & Collectibles sale on August 12 will offer Irish football and hurling lovers and collectors the chance to bid on three advertising figurines, estimated at €200-450 each.

Pictured here are three good examples of Worcester hard-paste porcelain from the early decades of the 19th century – at which time there was a trio of factories operating in the city.

While Manchester United and early FA Cup match programmes often make the big money at auction, a group on offer at a West Sussex saleroom showed that far less famous names can also make the running.

Pair thought to be Derby are rated as Gilbody rarities by specialist and dealer who competed