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

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Pick of the Week: John Gibson terracotta sculpture emerges from house clearance

06 August 2018

Part of the intake for a general sale, a terracotta sculpture by a protégé of Antonio Canova sold for £21,000 (plus premium) at Reeman Dansie in Colchester.

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Corbet oil head and shoulders above the rest

06 August 2018

A small but enigmatic study attributed to Victorian artist Matthew Ridley Corbet (1850-1902) drew dramatic competition at John Nicholson’s in Fernhurst, Surrey.

EU

EU proposals for the crackdown on cultural goods imports delayed

06 August 2018

The European Union’s plan to introduce new laws on the import of cultural goods, due to be voted on this summer, has been delayed until September.

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Persian dagger in Bucks

06 August 2018

It was not only in London that Eastern daggers made a big impression in UK auctions this summer.

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Latest London Art Week shows buyers are looking for personality in their portrait purchases

06 August 2018

Eye-catching, head-turning and mouth-watering: it was the human form, from ancient statuettes to modern portraits, that caught buyers’ attention at the most recent edition of London Art Week.

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Corkscrews bring cheers to Henry Aldridge saleroom

06 August 2018

Two French corkscrews were the top lots of Henry Aldridge & Son’s auction of the first tranche of a single-owner collection of around 450 examples.

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Manton duelling pistols on target in Abingdon auction

06 August 2018

Signed in gold to the 10in (25cm) damascus barrels Manton London, the best-known name among London gunsmiths, a cased pair of 25-bore flintlock duelling pistols led the specialist arms and armour sale held by Antony Cribb (22% buyer’s premium) at Abingdon on July 24.

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Armour that stands out in non-vintage season

06 August 2018

It has not been a vintage season for armour in the saleroom, but some of the recent highlights from London and Munich are shown here.

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Meissen teapot among top sales at 'A Collectors’ Paradise'

06 August 2018

This early Meissen teapot and cover was among the stand-out sales at the joint selling exhibition 'A Collectors’ Paradise' held at Brian Haughton Gallery in St James’s.

ATG letter: Ivory – call for more petitioners

06 August 2018

MADAM – My congratulations to Anthony Bernbaum and to Lewis Baer for their excellent letters: Mr Bernbaum’s account of why he left Online Galleries and Mr Baer advocating the creation of a global trade body for the art and antiques sector (ATG No 2352).

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Guards at the Carmarthen sale forefront

06 August 2018

A famous royal regiment was remembered at the Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) auction in Carmarthen.

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Artists brush up on their military skills

06 August 2018

A very suitable buyer emerged for an 19th century picture of The Artists Rifles by John Evan Hodgson (1831-95) offered in Exeter.

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Mill in splendid isolation sails to high price in Chichester

06 August 2018

A sweeping landscape by John Arnesby Brown (1866-1955) made a multi-estimate sum at Henry Adams (20% buyer’s premium), the second time in four months a work by the painter has done so at the Chichester firm.

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5 Questions: Bill Clark

06 August 2018

Bill Clark runs Clark Art, which specialises in LS Lowry and modern British art, in Cheshire.

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Sketchbook seals bidder interest

06 August 2018

Demand for Scottish artist with a ‘distinctive personality’ drives a good auction result in Somerset.

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Success for slim and sleek styling at Holts

06 August 2018

The classic English sporting gun is a sidelock, but for many the ‘round-action’ shotguns perfected by John Dickson of Edinburgh in the 1870s are the most elegant of all.

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Ivory: trade plays a waiting game

06 August 2018

“I would say in the short term it hasn’t put buyers off but I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know what the future will hold.” Auctioneer Henry Meadows’ take on the forthcoming ivory ban will be shared by many a regional auctioneer in the wake of summer sales.

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Eastern weapons create collections on the cutting edges

06 August 2018

Edged weapons from the East dominated the summer sale at Thomas Del Mar (24% buyer’s premium) in London on June 27 and it was an old collection of Indian dress daggers that produced the highest prices.

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Indo-Portuguese popularity surge

06 August 2018

Ivory frames to this 18th century wooden box, below, with tortoiseshell panels, did nothing to hold back bidding on currently hugely popular Indo-Portuguese material.

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Sketches and scraps make hit albums

06 August 2018

Two albums of 19th century watercolours and drawings produced unexpected results in summer sales.

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