UK

MADAM – I did a double – no, triple – take when I read the article ‘First Doctor Who script up at auction’ in ATG No 2332.

“It’s not the age or pedigree – it’s the look of the piece.” The phrase became less a heresy and more a cliché during the latter years of the furniture boom of blessed memory, when the increasingly influential decorator trade was spending substantial sums on 19th and early 20th century reproductions.

The venerable Antiques for Everyone (AfE) fair is still open to change in its 33rd year. The next edition runs from April 5-8 at Birmingham’s NEC, hosting around 200 dealers who offer items to fit a variety of tastes, functions and wallets.

On the Baroque façade of Girona Cathedral in Catalonia stands the figures of Saint Joseph and Saint James, carved in the 1960s by local sculptor Anton Casamor (1907-79).

Contemporary art drew considerable interest at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium).

There is little like a new house-record to leave an auctioneer smiling but there was considerably more for Luke Macdonald to celebrate following Cheffins’ (22.5% buyer’s premium) spring sale.

A previously unpublished John Constable sketch drew prolonged bidding at south London saleroom Roseberys.

Cartographic rarities showed the way to strong results at the Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) saleroom.

Gallery openings have declined steadily during the last decade, according to the recent The Art Market 2018 report. In 2017, it says, around 87% fewer new galleries were established than in 2007. But that’s only part of the story.

Deep snowdrifts accompanied the March 2 sale at Chippenham Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Wiltshire.

MADAM – I have pieces of antique elephant tusk ivory that I collected unconcerned about the (now well-known) conservation problems.

Peoples of Russia part II… On these pages last week (ATG No 2330) mention was made of the series of porcelain figures of ethnic Russians produced by the Imperial Factory in St Petersburg from the late 18th century up to the revolution.

In our continuing series looking through the keyhole of ‘bricks and mortar’ shops and centres, ATG talks to Nicola Crooks who runs Antiques and Chic with her husband Nick.

This year marks a 20th anniversary for Northamptonshire dealer Mark Goodger. He first established the business Hampton Antiques with his wife Sara in 1998 and deals in antique boxes and accessories from the 18th-21st centuries.