Auctions

A Beijing enamel vase from a Scottish country house topped the Asian art sale held ‘behind closed doors’ by Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium).

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions - all held online only for now because of the coronavirus alert.

This late-18th century French school portrait of Michel Louis Melan, architect to Louis XVI, will be offered for sale in Osenat’s auction titled La Royauté à Versailles to be held in the town on May 24.

The sale held by Swan Fine Art (20% buyer’s premium) in Tetsworth on May 6 included a fine-quality ventriloquist’s doll, c.1930.

This rare and well-provenanced silver mounted and quillworked presentation pipe tomahawk is billed as a highlight of Morphy Auctions’ three-day May 27-29 sale in Denver, Pennsylvania.

Spread over four days, April 30-May 3, a comics and artwork auction held by Heritage (20% buyer’s premium) in Dallas raised over $7.5m with every lot sold.

The auction calendar has been much changed by Covid 19 restrictions. However, as indicated by these lots offered for sale, an increasing number of auction houses are transacting safely behind closed doors holding timed sales or ‘live online’ sales with bids taken via bidding platforms such as thesaleroom.com or over the phone. Typically purchases can either be collected safely and couriered, or stored by the auction house until the current government guidance is lifted. With auction houses set to be able to be reopen premises to the public from June 1, more and more sales are now being added to the auction calendar.

Both American and European works are on offer in Skinner’s wide-ranging sale of paintings and sculpture to be held live online in its Marlborough rooms on May 31.

Auctions may be down in number but pre-lockdown sales provided some positive market signs

Several works by the celebrated master enamel craftsman Feodor Ruckert featured in the latest Russian works of art sale held by Doyle (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) in New York.

Seven lots by celebrated local artist Percy Kelly (1918-93) put in a decent performance at the most recent Antiques & Fine Art sale held by Cumbrian saleroom Mitchells (22% buyer’s premium).

This unpublished carved wooden statuette from the Senufo peoples of south-east Mali, west Africa, is to be offered in a 154-lot sale of Tribal Art to be held on May 26 by Ader in its Paris, rue Favart rooms in collaboration with the Euvrard Fabre auction house.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period May 7-13, 2020. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

The team at antiques dealership Robert Mills Architectural spent decades salvaging items from closed-down churches, banks, mansions and pubs.

Christie’s Paris rooms has announced a programme of 18 summer sales that it will be holding over May, June and July. These are a mixture of timed auctions and live online (huis clos) auctions.

Results from two salerooms including an £18,000 longcase reflect strong demand

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a pencil and watercolour by Russian artist Vladimir Polunin.

Treadway’s (25/20/15% buyer’s premium) Spring sale in Cincinnati was led by examples of Tiffany glassware and a Gallé ceramic.