Features

Hopes of an easier year seemed rather optimistic as 2021 opened but despite the pandemic disruption many art and antiques firms were able to do surprisingly good business…however, Omicron could put another spanner in the works as 2022 looms

ATG takes a look back at the key moments for the art and antiques world over 2021.

The Rolex Deep Sea Special, with its remarkable bubble case capable of withstanding huge pressure, was created in the early 1950s to test just how deep a diving watch could go.

Enicar watches do not have the instant brand recognition of a Rolex or Omega but they do share many of the same parts.

If ever there were a price to demonstrate just how important condition has become in the top end of the collecting market then it is the record-breaking SFr2.55m (£2.065m) for a reference CK2915 Speedmaster at Phillips (26/21% buyer's premium) in Geneva on November 5.

The impact of the First World War on the wristwatch as an accessory deemed suitable for men is well known.

In contrast to the red-hot trade in vintage and modern wristwatches, the market for antique pocket watches appears very low key. However, as demand for the better-quality pieces remains robust, not all are destined for the scrapheap. Richard Fox reports

Few lots in the Design since 1860 sale held by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh were more admired than a series of Art Nouveau pencil and watercolour jewellery drawings by Frances Macdonald McNair (1873-1921).

The windmill cup was the most popular of the novelty silver wager cups produced from the late 16th century until the early 18th century.

When Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 (which had given religious freedom to French protestants), a flood of Huguenot refugees travelled across Europe to places where they could practise their religion in safety.

In a recent Financial Times article titled 'Dangerous baubles for boys', historian and style journalist Nick Foulkes commented that a friend had “described my hands as looking like a cabinet of curiosities trying to emulate a pair of knuckledusters”.

As very personal items, typically weighing little more than an ounce of bullion, the most numerous silver survivors from the 17th century are spoons.

This Charles II silver mounted coconut cup is particularly rare on account of its marks for the Hull silversmith Edward Mangie (1634-85).

The V&A loses out in £23,000 bidding battle for Prince Albert’s drawings of the diamond and sapphire coronet he designed for Queen Victoria.

London’s historic diamond and jewellery quarter faces challenges but also opportunities

This pair of William III silver candlesticks came for sale at Potteries Auctions (20% buyer’s premium).

Given their relatively small metal content, many silver-mounted ‘tigerware’ beer jugs survived the great bullion melting of the English Civil War, making them perhaps the most recognised example of late 16th century silver today.

Many sales in late November and early December are assembled with presents in mind and silver and jewellery are much to the fore.

Pictured here are two early English pottery tankards – both of them documentary pieces.

Among the best-performing lots at the Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer’s premium) Ceramics & Glass sale was a rare Wedgwood black basalt seal.