UK

The United Kingdom accounts for more than one fifth of the global art market sales and is the second biggest art market after the US.

Through auctioneers, dealers, fairs and markets - and a burgeoning online sector - buyers, collectors and sellers of art and antiques can easily access a vibrant network of intermediaries and events around the country. The UK's museums also house a wealth of impressive collections

EBay’s headquarters in Berlin

EBay introduces buyer’s fees on all sales

07 January 2025

EBay has effectively placed a buyer’s premium on sales from private vendors with the introduction of its Buyer Protection scheme.

Dressing painting

Laura Knight portrait of ‘favoured model’ tops estimate in Chichester

07 January 2025

Among the Modern British pictures generating bidding at the end of last year was a portrait by Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) that was lifted to an above-estimate sum thanks to a combination of commercial factors.

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Della Robbia sets auction record in Salisbury sale

06 January 2025

Some strong bids were achieved in 2024 for the best of the Della Robbia Pottery but none higher than the £14,000 tendered at Woolley & Wallis (plus 26% buyer’s premium) for a large plaque by Cassandra Annie Walker.

London Art Week festival calls it a day after 10 years

06 January 2025

After 10 years, London Art Week (LAW) has folded. Citing changes in the UK capital’s art market and financial shortfalls, the board said the December showing of the twice-yearly festival of traditional art will be the last

Famille rose medallion bowls

Fine pair of famille rose medallion bowls is among five lots to watch

06 January 2025

With estimates from £400, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this month

A fragment from HMS Bounty

Fragment from HMS Bounty found in vendor’s attic heads to auction

06 January 2025

A fragment from HMS Bounty that has been discovered in an attic is coming to auction in Derby on February 26.

Memoir of Captain Paul Cuffee

Rare memoir of ‘a man of color’ makes 10 times estimate in Gloucestershire sale

06 January 2025

A scarce lifetime biography of the renowned pan-Africanist Paul Cuffee, found plenty of competition at a recent auction at Dominic Winter.

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Portal to a secret past: Portrait miniatures can pack in plenty of hidden messages says specialist Emma Rutherford

06 January 2025

Emma Rutherford admits to being “a very boring child” who became fascinated by history at the age of 10 or 11.

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Different time and place can deliver a different result in this fickle world of auctions

06 January 2025

The auction market can be a fickle beast, as results for the same items offered on separate occasions sometimes show.

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Birth tablets underline Lowestoft’s sense of belonging

06 January 2025

Porcelain birth tablets with their roots in Suffolk are unique to the factory

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Lowestoft Cannon Ball beaker and cover blasts away estimate

06 January 2025

A recent weekly sale at Gorringe’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Lewes included an English porcelain rarity: a blue and white Cannon Ball pattern beaker and cover.

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Why acquiring another gramophone always sounds like a great idea

06 January 2025

Christopher Proudfoot is the president of The City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS).

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Improved web offerings and marketing in China show how firms can boost business

06 January 2025

Following on from last week’s comments from three fairs and markets organisers on how 2024 has been for their businesses, here is the take from Europe’s largest antiques centre, a fair organiser who is packing them in and a booksellers fairs’ association with a £1m sales figure from just one event.

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Dresser claret jug proved too pricey to produce in great number

06 January 2025

The hugely versatile Christopher Dresser sold 37 different designs to the Sheffield firm of Dixon and Sons from 1879-82.

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Sought-after Chronometer observed in West Sussex saleroom

06 January 2025

A stand-out lot of Bellmans’ (25% buyer’s premium) biannual Fine Clocks auction on December 5 was a chronometer made for the 1874 British expedition to observe the transit of Venus.

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Dealer duo the Hobarts set Irish eyes smiling

06 January 2025

Two sales in London offered personal collection of the Hobarts including artists they had championed

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Five questions with art dealer Patrick Boyd-Carpenter

06 January 2025

Patrick Boyd-Carpenter is an established fine art dealer with over 40 years’ experience in handling paintings, drawings, sculpture and works of art. He is based at Grays Antique Market, London W1

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Crown pin cushion reputably made from royal dress material

06 January 2025

Pin cushions, including an early 19th century example made from a silk dress believed to be worn by Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), were a major feature of a recent auction at Warwick-based Bleasdales’ (20% buyer’s premium).

Titiano Aspetti sculpture

‘The quintessential connoisseur’s collection’ comes to auction

03 January 2025

Lyon & Turnbull will sell the art collection of the banker and financier Bernard Kelly (1930-2022) in London on January 15.

Derrick Warren Lancaster Bomber Photo With Autographs

Guy Gibson Dambusters collection to go under the hammer

03 January 2025

A private collection of memorabilia commemorating Dambuster Guy Gibson (1918-1944) is to be auctioned on January 7 at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire.

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