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

British and Irish book auctions: July 25-August 15, 2018

23 July 2018

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 25-August 15, 2018.

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Market confidence as regional firms invest in expansion

23 July 2018

Auction houses in Bristol, Staffordshire and Norfolk have chosen to invest in new premises this year. Suggesting continued confidence in the regional auction market, Bristol Auction Rooms, Potteries Auctions and TW Gaze are planning to open new salerooms by the autumn.

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Buyers on the scent of Chiswick Auctions silver

23 July 2018

This novelty silver scent bottle, below, appealing to two niche sections largely immune to the swings of the larger silver market, was a target for collectors when offered at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

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Spoon and snail on offer – but nothing sluggish about bidding at Somerset auction

23 July 2018

Considering that Norwich was, after London, the largest and wealthiest city in England from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, its assay office (1562-1705) was comparatively shortlived. As such, secular silver produced in the city rarely appears on the market.

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Falcon Studio silver from HG Murphy family flies into Salisbury sale

23 July 2018

Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) is currently selling across a number of auctions a cache of items from the family of HG Murphy (1884-1939), whose Falcon Studio produced some of the finest English silver of the inter-war era.

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Antiques blossom amid flower power at Devon fair

23 July 2018

The Royal Horticultural Society’s 65-acre gardens in a north Devon valley form the fragrant floral backdrop for Devon County Antiques Fairs’ quarterly two-day antiques and collectors’ events.

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Extensive library dedicated to agriculture sold over two days in London auction

23 July 2018

Comprising some 3000 books ranging in date from 1473-1840, one of the finest collections of books on agriculture ever assembled was dispersed by Forum Auctions (30/24/14.4% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in a July 10-11 sale that totalled £1.6m.

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Ivory: Lords speak out against ‘kafkaesque’ registration rules

23 July 2018

The so-called de minimis rule – the requirement to register items containing less than 10% of ivory prior to sale – has been criticised in the House of Lords as the ivory bill continues its progress through parliament.

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Medal awarded to the militant Irish Suffragette who tried to blow up a cathedral comes to auction

21 July 2018

It’s déjà vu all over again… yes, we bring you another excellent and evocative Suffragette item of memorabilia up at auction in this, the centenary year of the signing of the Qualification of Women Act. In other words, votes for women in the UK – aged over 30, that is.

'Sketch of the Analytical Engine' by Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace computing book taken to £95,000 at Cirencester auction

20 July 2018

A book by the 19th century computer pioneer Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) – known as ‘the Countess of Computing’ – has sold for £95,000 at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester.

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Nelson memorabilia sails into auction for collecting options at various price points

20 July 2018

Whether your budget runs to four figures or a hefty six figures, two lots sold recently show how various price options can be available in a certain collecting market – in this case, Nelson memorabilia.

Pencil holder

Personal effects of former King Edward VIII and wife Wallis Simpson head to auction

19 July 2018

A watch, writing set and magnifying glass belonging to the controversial couple the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - the former King Edward VIII and wife Wallis Simpson - will be offered at auction this weekend.

The Man

Can’t you hear me bidding? Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts’ former home has items going under the hammer in Gloucestershire

19 July 2018

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get one of the objects from a former home of Charlie Watts, the legendary Rolling Stones drummer.

Carpathia gold medal

Liverpool hero’s gold medal from Titanic rescue offered at Buckinghamshire auction

18 July 2018

A gold medal awarded to the bursar on board the RMS Carpathia, the ship that famously rescued survivors from the Titanic in 1912, will be offered at Bourne End Auction Rooms this summer.

Houses of Parliament

Ivory bill's "kafkaesque process of registration" criticised in House of Lords

18 July 2018

Members of the House of Lords have called for amendments to the bill to ban the trade in objects made of or containing ivory.

Blockchain conference Christies

Blockchain could be “subtle botox” for the art market but not a “facelift”

17 July 2018

Blockchain for the art world is a big opportunity but caution is needed. That was the verdict from Christie’s Art + Tech Summit.

Potteries Auctions

Staffordshire auction house expands in the Potteries

17 July 2018

Staffordshire’s Potteries Auctions is expanding with a second saleroom to increase its auction frequency to two a month.

Wuthering Heights

Dealer offers first American edition of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to mark 200th anniversary

17 July 2018

A first edition of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is among the Brontë books being offered by rare bookseller Peter Harrington to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emily Brontë on July 30.

Bottle

The £30 bottle once thought to be fake is now the real auction deal at £18,000

16 July 2018

A Yorkshire collector who bought what he thought was a replica antique bottle at a fair for just £30 has sold it for a hammer price of £18,000 at auction after discovering it really was from the 17th century.

Dealer-led art fair to launch at Mall Galleries

16 July 2018

‘Affordable mid-point fair’ will open in January to encourage face-to-face trade

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