UK

There were two in the room when British Bespoke Auctions held a four-and-a half hour sale last week. On the rostrum on April 1, in an office rather than the saleroom (which is closed), was Nicholas Granger. Behind him was Bella, a blue-and-gold macaw who has been by his side for 20 years.

Although often overshadowed by her famous father William, May Morris (1862-1938) was herself an important figure in the British Arts & Crafts movement.

A number of industrial and commercial-focused businesses have operated online-only and timed auctions for some time and have systems in place that allow for very little contact between individuals.

The recent auction held ‘live online’ by Aldridges of Bath included this spectacular hand-woven north Indian long shawl, or dochalla. It came with a colonial provenance.

Dealers and trade bodies have been adapting to the new normal caused by coronavirus. For most this means isolated living and remote transactions. However, in a spirit of energy and invention, traders are finding new ways to promote both their stock and their brands online.

Books, catalogues, ephemera, pictures and other material from the collections of the Shorthorn Society of the United Kingdom & Ireland formed a significant part of a recent Carlisle sale.

Maud O’Reilly (1886-1971), a key figure in Queensland’s Arts & Crafts movement and a student of the LJ Harvey school, showed her pottery at a number of British exhibitions in the mid 1920s.

Among a 200-lot list of vinyl records by a galaxy of rock and pop stars, punk provided the outstanding performance at Cottees’ (18% buyer’s premium) specialist sale at Poole.

Puritan Cotton Mather’s defence of executions is latest work on the subject to surface.

The first 20 lots of the recent football memorabilia sale at Stacey’s in Rayleigh, Essex came from the family of the Edwardian player Benjamin Warren (1879-1917).

An unusual late Victorian silver pocket watch by Herbert Blockley of London sold for an unexpected £2800 at Potteries Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Stoke-on- Trent.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from April 7-25, 2020.

A group of pictures from the collection of the late art dealer Duncan Campbell, who died in 2011, were among the lots drawing interest at Dreweatts.

An unsigned Frank Auerbach (b.1931) sketch in coloured inks of Camden Theatre in London, a favourite subject of the artist, emerged as the top-selling lot at Scarborough saleroom David Duggleby (22.5% buyer’s premium).

A cross-section of Asian art – Qing porcelain, Meiji Satsuma and Euro-Asiatic ivories – provided the prizes at Gorringe’s (21% buyer’s premium) spring sale held in Lewes.

A rare creamware transfer printed and painted beaker offered for sale by Mellors & Kirk (20% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham told a dark tale.

A Linthorpe pottery dish designed for the Middlesbrough pottery by Dr Christopher Dresser sold online well over a £400-600 estimate for £4200 at Paul Beighton (17.5% buyer’s premium).

Responsible for the flowers at the Queen’s coronation, the society florist Constance Spry (1886-1960) is also credited with the ‘democratisation’ of flower arranging.

The Wimshurst influence machine, an electrostatic generator capable of creating high voltages, was developed between 1880-83 by British inventor James Wimshurst (1832-1903).