Auctions

News and previews of art and antiques sold at auctions throughout the UK and overseas, from multi-million-pound blockbusters to affordable collectables.


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Single-owner Mod Brits head into Winchester saleroom

16 July 2018

More than £35,000 worth of Modern British art from a single-owner collection sold at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in Winchester on June 27-28.

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Saleroom selection: under £1000 at Sworders' anniversary sale

16 July 2018

In terms of lot numbers, the major single contribution to Sworders’ anniversary sale (see main Auction Reports this edition) on June 19-20 was the estate of the late Annabelle Comery, an inveterate and wealthy collector who had lived on Alderney in the Channel Islands.

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh teaspoon from Glasgow commission sells in Derbyshire

16 July 2018

Four days after fire gutted the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, this silver-plated teaspoon, below, designed by the great man was offered by Derbyshire auction house Hansons (20% buyer’s premium).

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Scottish Colourist shows market appeal at auction

16 July 2018

A still-life by Scottish Colourist George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931) not seen on the market for nearly half a century took £72,000 at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium).

British and Irish book auctions: July 17-28, 2018

16 July 2018

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 17-28, 2018.

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London’s slice of Marly Rouge

16 July 2018

Bonhams’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) main summer sale of European ceramics took place at its Bond Street rooms on July 5. On offer were 245 lots which raised a hammer total of just under £600,000, with a 62% take-up.

Shogo pen

Vintage pens from Switzerland to Japan are scripted for San Francisco auction

14 July 2018

US West Coast auction firm PBA Galleries is holding its first sale dedicated to writing instruments in its San Francisco rooms on July 19.

Willy Wonka

Record set for Sir Quentin Blake illustration as 40-year collection sells at auction

13 July 2018

Watercolours and drawings from the personal collection of artist Sir Quentin Blake (b. 1932) have been sold at Christie’s for over £750,000.

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Soviet spy camera disguised as fag packet sells for £29,000 house record at Dudley auction

12 July 2018

The cost of smoking is going crazy – someone has just paid £29,000 for a packet of cigarettes in the West Midlands.

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Menu signed by all four Beatles from a flight when getting high was the refreshment

12 July 2018

Reporter: “Well John, how was the trip over, did you all get bored on the flight, or did you have things to keep you entertained, that y’all were doing?” John Lennon: ‘Well, err, we all got stoned.”

Freud landscape

Rediscovered Lucian Freud and Cedric Morris Suffolk landscapes sell at Essex auction

11 July 2018

A rediscovered landscape attributed to Lucian Freud, found under another painting, has sold at a top-estimate £30,000 at the Sworders saleroom.

Hundred Acre Wood

Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood makes auction record at Sotheby’s

11 July 2018

The original drawing of the map of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood by EH Shepard has been sold for a hammer price of £350,000, setting an auction record for a book illustration.

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Poignant wartime sketches by Artists Rifles member who was killed at Passchendaele

09 July 2018

It has been described as perhaps the most curious regiment in the British Army, but the well-known names associated with the Artists Rifles were certainly not obscure.

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Pick of the Week: The £135,000 order of the day

09 July 2018

A Lesser George sash badge of The Most Noble Order of the Garter was the stand-out lot in a dedicated auction of honours that once belonged to the last Duke of Cambridge to have held that title before Prince William in the present day.

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Cynographia, or coloured canine rarities

09 July 2018

Once described as “one of the rarest dog books printed in the English language”, a copy of Cynographia Britannica: Consisting of Coloured Engravings of Various Breeds of Dogs existing in Great Britain sold at $14,000 (£10,525) at Christie’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on June 14.

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Not quite all his own work?

09 July 2018

An early 17th century work on …the Whole Practise of Artillery made a record sum in sale held by Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn.

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Wristwatch previews: £30,000 plus

09 July 2018

A selection of wristwatch previews.

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A gaoler’s ring?

09 July 2018

This Tudor period gold finger ring with the initials RB was found by a detectorist on land to the west of Crewkerne in 2017.

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Top Mod Brits show global appeal

09 July 2018

More than £47m of Modern British art changed hands in a bumper series held in London, as buyers competed fiercely for blue-chip pieces and lots offering best value.

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Monaco sales reflect life of luxury

09 July 2018

There has long been a tradition of summer sales in Monaco, with an emphasis on the luxury goods area of the market: jewellery, watches, handbags and cars. Here are a few stand-out lots coming up.

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