UK

The festive season is upon us. And as art market tradition dictates, this means a generous helping of Old Masters.

Keith Richards Antiques brings a selection of early 20th century silver modelled on historic pieces to the first 2019 staging of The Cotswolds Decorative Antiques & Art Fair at Westonbirt School.

Dealers spend a lot of time and thought on the catalogues they bring out to showcase stock – here is the first in an occasional series looking at recent examples covering a range of art and antiques.

Originally given as presents to infants, early dolls, rocking horses and even board games can now inspire passions among collectors far surpassing the delight of children on Christmas morning and far exceeding most doting parents’ budgets.

A rare rocking horse by one of the top 19th-early 20th century makers, FH Ayres of London, left quite a lot to be desired but raced away at Adam Partridge’s (15% buyer’s premium) Macclesfield sale on November 23.

Musicians from different generations provided sound results at Suffolk saleroom Bishop & Miller (19% buyer’s premium).

The Dutch animal painter Paulus Potter (1625-54) succeeded in producing about 100 paintings before he died at the tender age of 28 from tuberculosis.

When Natalie Smith opened the Woodbridge Antiques Centre in the pretty Suffolk town 11 years ago, she said she was given a great piece of advice: never compromise on quality and presentation.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from December 11-20, 2018.

Despite some condition issues, such as composite body, right hand thumb missing and slight damage to fingers and feet, this bisque head Kämmer & Reinhardt 109 doll sold for £3900 at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) on November 23.

Arthur Saul’s Famous Game of Chesse-Play…, the first published book on the game written by an Englishman, came out in 1614.

“When I was putting this exhibition together, a lot of people thought I would not be able to find 50 different women British artists to show. In the end, I could have shown 500,” says Sacha Llewellyn of 20th century British art specialist Liss Llewellyn.

Dated 1536 and printed in Antwerp, a defective copy of what is known as the ‘mole’ edition of Tyndale’s Newe Testament – so called from the mole (or perhaps hedgehog) depicted on a stone on which St Paul’s foot is resting in one of the many woodcut illustrations – made £30,000 in a recent London sale.

A regular stallholder at Arthur Swallow Fairs is Liam Woodgates, director of the Hopkinson Vintage Antique and Art Centre in Nottingham, where a corner display is pictured below.