News topics

So-called ‘talc pictures’ or ‘metamorphoses’ were fashionable amusements in European courts in the second half of the 17th century.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including a Magnolia pattern floor lamp by Tiffany Studios setting an auction record

The combination of a master cabinetmaker, a good provenance and a modest estimate made a prolonged bidding match for a late 18th century writing desk more or less inevitable.

A round up of news from three London dealers

Sales ranging from enamel signs to petroliana and breweriana generate a booming market

Illustrator famous for helping to bring alive the beloved bear preferred his other commissions

A first edition, first issue of the Great ‘He’ Bible sold in York for £23,000 hammer was bought by Norfolk book dealer Simon Finch, it has emerged.

Bizarrely, Ralph Fremlin – a devout Christian who founded Fremlin’s Brewery in Maidstone, Kent, in 1861 – was anti-drinking.

Our regular listing of books and works on paper sales

Security-minded German collectors were very keen to acquire pieces from a collection of historic metalwork that was offered by Van Ham (27% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.

Market freshness and good provenance have always been key components in the Old Master sector, and the latest series of auctions in this category underlined how heavily dependent the market remains on the supply of works that have these qualities.

ATG’s pick of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com, featuring both the highest prices over-estimate and the top prices paid online

A recent sale of Books, Documents & Ephemera at Stride & Son in Chichester included this 3½ x 2½in (9 x 6cm) brass and enamel cigarette case.

Our month-by-month review of the year documents major sales, new auction houses being launched, changes to landmark fairs and much more besides

With the first hardback Philosopher’s Stone at stratospheric sums, the soft cover value is rising steadily

A Victorian full-sized lay figure owned by the sculptor James Butler (1931-2022) sold for £4000 at the Hansons (26.5% buyer’s premium) saleroom in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Buffeted by regulatory changes and economic uncertainty, the art and antiques trade still manages to find a way to conduct its business and break records

Karl & Faber’s (27% buyer’s premium) latest auction of Old Master prints in Munich was its most successful sale of this type for many decades, achieving several new German records.

A handful of determined bidders were enamoured of a painted wood panel, originally catalogued as 18th or 19th century, which was in the sale held by Scheublein (27% buyer’s premium) in Munich.