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

Sotheby’s saleoom New Bond Street

Sotheby’s slashes buyer's fees and sets seller's commission at standard rate

03 February 2024

Sotheby’s has announced a major shake-up of its customers’ fees, reducing its buyer’s premium for the first time since it was introduced in 1979 and setting seller's commission at a standard rate.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Polar medal.

UK buyer sought for Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Polar medal

02 February 2024

A temporary export block has been placed on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s polar medal in the hope a buyer in the UK can pay £1.7m.

Australian New South Wales Fifteen Pence or Dump

Bag of coins donated to charity shop contained rare 19th century Australian specimen

02 February 2024

A bag of coins donated to Oxfam in Orpington, Kent, contained an Australian New South Wales coin dating to 1813 which is valued at up to £7000.

Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard

Mark Knopfler guitar auction makes more than £7m at Christie’s

01 February 2024

A six-hour sale of 122 lots from the collection of singer-songwriter and Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler took £7.01m (or £8.84m including buyer’s premium).

Maltese silver coffee pot

Maltese silver coffee pot shines at auction

01 February 2024

An exceptional Maltese silver coffee pot took six-times estimate at auction.

Bayeux embroidery replica

Bayeux Museum buys Victorian replica of the famous tapestry from the collection of Rolling Stones drummer

31 January 2024

The Bayeux Museum in France has bought a life-size Victorian replica of the Bayeux tapestry from the Charlie Watts sale.

Harrison Ford's script

Harrison Ford’s Star Wars scripts found in his former London flat come to auction

31 January 2024

A group of scripts, notes and letters from Hollywood actor Harrison Ford, discovered in a Notting Hill flat he rented, are coming to auction.

Jessus on crucifix

Appeal for statues stolen from Salford church

31 January 2024

A group of statues from a church in Salford have been stolen.

Beeleigh Abbey

William Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens feature in part two of the famed Foyle family library sale

30 January 2024

The second part of the auction of The Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey is returning to Dominic Winter Auctioneers.

Wemyss tabby cat

Auction buyers get claws into Wemyss cats

29 January 2024

This smiling tabby cat formed part of an extensive collection of Scottish Wemyss Ware sold at Lyon & Turnbull.

JMW Turner drawing

Pick of the week: The ‘engraving’ that bidders discovered was a JMW Turner drawing

29 January 2024

A somewhat innocuous-looking lot at Hansons (26% buyer’s premium) proved to be anything but as a number of eagle-eyed bidders spotted a significant discovery contained therein.

Dining table

Interior designers target traditional antiques at Battersea's Decorative Fair

29 January 2024

Traditional antiques are very much still in demand, according to reports from dealers at Battersea’s winter Decorative Fair.

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First-time fair exhibitor makes a tasty sale at London Art Fair

29 January 2024

The oil painting 'Four Pears' (1976) by British artist William Scott (1913-89) was one of the stand-out sales at London Art Fair.

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Taking giant steps: fleamarket launches at Olympic Park

29 January 2024

A new fair at The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park called the Giant London Flea Market launches on February 18.

ATG Letter

ATG letter: Thieves are still out there stealing stock

29 January 2024

Following on from my letters last year and articles in Antiques Trade Gazette about the issue of robberies from dealers at markets, I feel compelled to write again.

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Two rare Bessie MacNicol works appear at auction in a week

29 January 2024

Works by Glasgow Girl Bessie MacNicol (1869-1904) – who died in childbirth aged 34 – are represented in many public collections, especially in Scotland.

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Put your money on a dark horse in Norfolk

29 January 2024

Blackdog Events is confident its new fair at a Norfolk racecourse is in the running to be a success.

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Allan Ramsay the royal favourite

29 January 2024

The precise and sensitive portraiture of Allan Ramsay (1713-84) earned him widespread acclaim, aided by his prodigious intellect and social flair.

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Original watercolour for Little Prince makes top price among an array of manuscripts and letters

29 January 2024

An original watercolour of the 'Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry fetched nearly 10 times its low estimate, selling for a record £240,000 hammer.

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Vogue article lights the way for vintage lamps at So Last Century Vintage Fairs

29 January 2024

A recent piece in Vogue discusses this year’s interior design trends which include the attractions of provenance and sustainability of antique and vintage furniture and lighting that can really bring a room together.

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