Features

This red coral necklace had formed part of The International Fisheries Exhibition staged at the Royal Horticultural Society grounds in South Kensington in 1883.

A selection of wristwatch previews.

As the market develops, some of the ‘secondary’ niche Swiss brands have entered the mainstream collecting arena. The Bonhams (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Watches and Wristwatches sale on June 20 offered a range of 46 Heuers from a single-owner private collection.

This Egyptian revival gold, enamel and gem-set collar necklace below established a new record for the jewellery of Marie Zimmermann (1879-1972) at Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey (25% buyer’s premium) on June 10.

A selection of wristwatch previews.

No two jobs are the same for the art shippers offering a bespoke service at the top end.

How can art and antique buyers ensure their purchases arrive in the same condition as when they were bought, at a competitive price? ATG explores some options...

ATG asked the experts for general advice and tips they would give a first-time buyer new to art shipping.

The post-war industrial modernist designs of Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand remain firm sellers. Pieces from their best-documented commissions, like the furnishings created in the 1950s for the student residences of the Cité Universitaire in Paris, are particularly strong.

In the immediate post-war era the work of the French designer-decorator Jean Royère (1902-81) took a turn to embrace a more organic or ‘biomorphic’ style.

Most high-flying ‘design’ is made in multiples. These can be limited editions in short runs but, as some of the most iconic pieces have been produced in their millions, their commercial value is typically vested in early examples or prototypes.

Post-war material is attracting growing interest across all sectors of the art market. A pioneer was the Design sale that championed the creations of designers and taste makers from the second half of the 20th century and beyond.

The specialist Finnish lighting designer Paavo Tynell proved to be the strong suit in a 111-lot Scandinavian design sale held by Artcurial (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Paris.

A forthcoming exhibition of two private collections spotlights both the genius of 17th century clockmaking and the remarkable objects the market has yielded across a generation.

A late 17th century ebony veneered table clock with a pull quarter repeat took a mid-estimate £17,500 at Chiswick Auctions on June 6.

As a showpiece for horology, the 'Masterpiece' fair lives up to its name. For all its welcome focus on the cool of 21st century collecting, at its core the 'Masterpiece' fair is a high-quality antiques show in the tradition of the Grosvenor House fair it replaced.

Ken Hose, who has published three books on Australian clockmakers, has been fascinated by clocks and their mechanics since he was a teenager.

One of the longest-standing events in the tribal art dealing fraternity takes place this month in Brussels, a key centre of the tribal art market.

Three tribal art previews of objects being offered at auctions in Paris and Vienna.

Last year the UK’s regional salerooms were treated to a generous handful of five- and six-figure bids for unappreciated masterworks of Aboriginal and Oceanian art – a Maori putorino or bugle flute sold to a French dealer for £140,000 at John Nicholson’s of Haslemere among them.