Print Edition

MADAM – Recent events (Brexit, the removal of the exemption for antique ivory, Covid) have all highlighted the need for a clear single ‘Antiques Trade’ voice to speak to Government and the wider world.

Despite having no maker’s mark, the design and quality of this c.1930 oak reclining book table armchair, below, proclaimed Ambrose Heal.

MADAM – Martin Levy’s letter (ATG No 2480) brought back happy memories of my time as a porter at Phillips Oxford in the early 80s.

Dunhill Aquarium table lighters painted by Margaret Bennett and husband Alan in the 1950s-60s remain popular among collectors in these non-smoking days.

This watercolour and pencil drawing from 1833 which became the star lot at a recent sale at Nusser (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich had an imperial connection.

MADAM – Your article ‘A great connoisseur of art‘ (News, ATG No 2479) recording the death of the impressive American dealer/collector Richard Feigen, and the obituary in the same edition (right), while rightly lauding the range of his connoisseurship from early Italian art through to Contemporary artists, didn’t mention his passion, and exceptional eye, for British artists such as Richard Wilson, JMW Turner, David Wilkie, RP Bonington and Samuel Palmer.

Bumper selection of lots offered in Gloucestershire auction house Dominic Winter provides wide-ranging array

MADAM – We are concerned about the imminent imposition of restrictions to limit the trade of ivory works of art within the European Union (front page, ATG No 2480).

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the British Antique Dealers’ Association's election of council members

One of the attractions of the March 24-26 sale at Siebers in Stuttgart is a collection of 18 paintings by 19th century Polish artists who primarily belonged to the Munich school. The works were the property of a family of textile merchants, who moved from south Germany to Lodz, south west of Warsaw, in the 1930s.

MADAM – With nearly 30 years in the horological trade, I am a member of several specialist bodies and have occasionally considered joining BADA or LAPADA.

Rated a museum-quality piece, this rare c.1902 spirit-fired Märklin fire engine led the field at toys specialist Wallis & Wallis (24% buyer’s premium).

Brexit, CITES, new ivory act on the way… it can be hard for the UK art and antiques trade to keep up with the many regulations. However, the good news is that much of CITES has not changed fundamentally, as this update from expert Kim McDonald of The Taxidermy Law Company reveals

In June 1925, only six months before his death, the Swiss painter Felix Vallotton and his wife visited the Périgord for the first time, which he declared to be “the most beautiful countryside on earth”.

In a sale that yielded quality and surprises in most sections, the major talking points at Stride & Son (18% buyer’s premium) were provided by two pieces of furniture. Emerging from the same house and given here-to-sell estimates, both achieved five-figure results.

Among the works of art on sale at Hampel in Munich on March 25-26 is a so-called Pendule au Manège from the early 19th century.

Hugo de Groot, also known as Hugo Grotius, was a Dutch philosopher, political theorist and theologian. His publication 'On the Law of War and Peace' in 1625 earned him the status as the ‘father of international law’.

Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842) was one of the most prolific painters of her era, creating up to 1000 works of art, the majority of them portraits.

Christie’s has explained its policy of holding trade-only viewings of its sales, saying they comprise ‘business meetings’ rather than public viewings.

Following an internal consultation – and a public outcry – the Wallace Collection has announced its library and archive will remain open to the public.