Features

For many years auctioneers have been itching to move the finest arms and armour from the province of the specialist collector and establish them with a wider audience as works of art in their own right.

Sporting guns are a little different from other areas of the arms and armour market in that many that are well over 100 years old are still in use today.

Russ Withem has joined Morphy Auctions as a firearms expert in the company’s firearms and militaria division.

The farewell party for Christie’s South Kensington, around the corner from Old Brompton Road at The Kensington Hotel on July 19, was a melee of former staff, clients and friends of the auction house. So packed was the room, moving from one end to the other was tricky.

Landmarks along the Christie’s South Kensington memory lane...

With the disappearance of Christie’s South Kensington the London market is in a state of flux. ATG looks to the future and considers the opportunities for the firms that seek to take its place.

South London auctioneer seizes chance to hire specialists as it looks to plug gaps in its offer...

Christie’s veteran Nic McElhatton believes the CSK model will be hard to replicate...

The closure of Christie's South Kensington has meant several firms are vying to gain a slice of the market in one of London's wealthiest area as well as draw the specialist staff who are moving on.

ATG's selection of quotes about the closure of Christie’s South Kensington...

I grew up with Christie’s South Kensington. In late 1975, when I joined the fledgling four-year-old Antiques Trade Gazette, CSK was in its first year of existence.

The UK and European Union now face an uncertain future, with cross-border controls a key concern for exporters and importers as politicians debate memberships of the single market and customs union. What does this mean for the art market and its insurance needs?

“There are insurers in the market who purport to be specialists but who have little, if any, experience in settling difficult claims, such as those involving depreciation as a result of damage. Their premiums are very competitive, but brokers have no knowledge of how claims will be settled.

The business of trading in art and antiques is fraught with risks. With the added complexity of Brexit looming, ATG outlines the insurance steps buyers and sellers can take...

For previous generations of artist jewellers, from René Lalique to Andrew Grima, retail sales and private commissions were everything. Typically it was only much later in the collecting lifecycle, after a period of posthumous reassessment and rediscovery, that their work appeared at auction with any great regularity.

Ahead of the autumn sale of a star lot, Phillips' watch expert Aurel Bacs tells ATG why the time is right for the firm to expand its US watch business

Dendritic agate – a pale chalcedony with treelike inclusions caused by traces of iron or manganese – is a relatively lowly stone but was a favourite of Russian jewellers in particular. Carl Fabergé used it in many pieces in a country where it is considered a stone of longevity, good health and prosperity.

A selection of stand-out jewellery lots from regional auctions.

The collection of Tiffany jewels offered by Christie’s New York (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on June 20 was the finest at auction in recent memory.

Bonhams’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale in Knightsbridge on June 14 included a group of pieces attributed to the British Arts & Crafts jeweller and designer Dorrie Nossiter (1893-1977).