Features

A complete suit of well-matched period armour is rare indeed, so there was no doubting the star of Bonhams’ (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale in London.

A trio of shotgun sales in the spotlight.

Holt’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) sale in London on December 14 included two prime examples of weapons designed to get their owners out of a tight corner.

Attributed to the arms manufactory at Ripoll in northern Catalonia, this pair of 18th century miquelet-lock belt pistols (below) proved the surprise lot of the sale held by Italian arms specialist Czerny (20% buyer’s premium) in Sarzana on December 9. In good condition with an overall inlay of pierced and engraved decorative steelwork, they sold for €15,500 (£13,600).

The American Civil War was fought during a period of rapid technical development in weaponry. While the conventional and reliable Springfield percussion rifle remained the mainstay of the infantry, many innovative firearms saw service for the first (and sometimes the last) time.

As winter moves into spring, London will host two major events for arms and armour enthusiasts.

Focus on lots coming up in sales at four auction houses, two from the UK and two from the US.

The latest recent arms and armour sales on both sides of the Atlantic serves only to reinforce the impression that pistols remain a huge favourite with collectors in this field.

When the US Government invited arms manufacturers to tender designs for a new standard-issue pistol for the US Army in the early 1900s the winner was Colt, with a system devised by John Moses Browning.

A new year is a time for the antiques trade to look forward – with trepidation to the findings of the ivory consultation and Brexit negotiations and with optimism as the industry celebrates key anniversaries and emerging markets...

As 2018 dawns, ATG journalists once again engage in some soothsaying, with the help of industry experts to read the runes.

Online. Offline. Far East. Middle East. Though measurement of the art sector is notoriously tricky, partly relying as it does on sample rather than full dealer data, art market reports proliferated in 2017. The month of March proved the high season.

Our selection of reader letters summing up the issues that roused your passions in 2017...

In the past year dealers and auctioneers have used a variety of ways to raise their profile on social media, from puppy posts to videos of restoration in action...

Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi set the highest price ever for an artwork sold at auction when it took $400m ($450m with premium) at Christie’s New York on November 15.

Here we look back at some of the notable people the trade lost in the past 12 months...

2017 produced some eye-catching prices in the UK’s regional salerooms. Here are some stand-out lots...

Punctuated by moments of real drama, the past 12 months have been as lively as any other in recent memory for the art and antiques trade. Here, ATG journalists analyse some of the high points and challenges

Ivory, the general election, fakes and the closure of a certain well-known London saleroom were the stories that resonated online with readers in 2017.

With the closure of Christie’s South Kensington in July and restructuring at parent company Christie’s, many former staff were on the move in 2017. But, as this selection suggests, they were not the only ones trading places.