Features

A rare example of Norfolk Charles I silver – a seal-top spoon made by the patriarch of the famous Haslewood silversmithing dynasty – sold for £3600 at a recent sale of Silver and Objects of Vertu at Chiswick Auctions (26% buyer’s premium) in London.

The market has certainly been challenging but recent results allied with metal prices give encouraging grounds for optimism

As previewed in ATG No 2648, Bonhams’ Fine Decorative Arts sale at New Bond Street on July 5 featured this rare Elizabethan silver-gilt tankard, London 1592, with maker’s mark 'IB' possibly for John Brodie (Brode), or John Bottomley.

Dreweatts’ (26/25% buyer’s premium) Fine Jewellery, Silver, Watches and Objects of Vertu sale of June 18 offered only 35 lots of silver but all were good quality and many rare in form.

The Dreweatts (26% buyer’s premium) sale on June 18 included two Cartier brooches commissioned by Sir Stephen Courtauld to designs inspired by Eltham Palace.

The Fine Jewellery sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on July 10-11 features many fine antique items such as these two documentary pieces.

Serpenti jewels, which followed the launch of Bulgari’s signature gold Tubogas bracelets in the late 1940s, were featured in Vogue and other fashion magazines on countless occasions in the Sixties.

A collection of close to 100 Arts & Crafts belt buckles formed just part of the remarkable Anthony Gardner collection sold by Bellmans (25% buyer’s premium) in Wisborough Green, West Sussex, on April 16.

Highlights from the London Jewels sale at Bonhams on June 13

Watch chatelaine offered at auction was produced by a man who created many works for the Hanoverian household

Fabergé’s rock crystal, platinum, silver and diamond ‘ice flower’ jewels were made by the workmaster Albert Holmström, c.1913-14, after designs made by his niece Alma Pihl (1888-1976).

The Parisian workshop of Henri Picq does not have quite the name recognition of Cartier or LaCloche, but it was nonetheless responsible for supplying both houses with some of the most exceptional jewellery of the early 20th century.

Whereas deltiologists’ celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the British postcard may have been curtailed by Covid lockdown in 2020, no such restrictions encumber the opportunity for philatelists to mark the 100th anniversary of the British commemorative stamp this year.

Postcard collecting offers a wide variety of entry points and can provide insight into social and postal history

You can find stalls selling postcards at many fairs and markets, as well as a range of dedicated fairs.

Sculpture trails are part of the attractions this summer along with dealer shows and auctions

The first Treasure House Fair was launched last year after the demise of Masterpiece and was greeted by dealers and visitors eager for a summer event. The second is now coming up

A closer look at a west London road that can offer more than 40 dealers and galleries selling a wide range of art and antiques

The annual festival of art taking place at galleries across the capital and in several online shows is known as London Art Week and this year has a special focus featuring works on paper

Here we present a selection of 20 museum special exhibitions taking place over the summer