UK

With only seven others known to exist, this pair of 1750s Worcester gugglets was destined for success when offered on July 22 at Bristol Auction Rooms. Acquired fairly recently by a local private source, the 9in (24cm) high pair were originally estimated at just £400-600.

ONE of the most provocative icons of the British Pop Art movement is Allen Jones’ (b.1937) Table. The original 1969 version of this work – listed in Volker Kahmen’s Eroticism in Contemporary Art as being in the Collection Ludwig, Aachen – was an uncompromising fetish object showing the life-size model naked apart from her leather boots, gloves and bodice gazing at herself in a mirror.

THE response to the Art Deco style in Italy was different from that of the other Northern European countries – often humorous, sometimes surreal and occasionally bordering on the kitsch. These are certainly characteristics of the earthenware figures of Enrico and Elena Scavini’s Lenci factory that playfully combine hippo-riding brunettes with coquettish blondes climbing skyscrapers.

Planning to shortly reopen their Marlborough saleroom, Hamptons have appointed John Haycraft, formerly of Phillips and Dreweatt Neate, as senior valuer and auctioneer.

There were some interesting signs of the times when the superbly preserved Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93) canvas, Autumn Gold, right, came under the hammer with an estimate of £40,000-70,000 on the first day of the Newcastle sale held by Anderson & Garland (15% buyer’s premium) on June 17-20.

TWO months ago in our Decoration and Design column we reported the launch of the Metal Gallery in Mayfair, a new showcase for contemporary metalwork of all kinds.

In terms of ‘Old Masters’ in their strictest sense, the July 9 sale sale at Bonhams (19.5/10% buyer’s premium) Knightsbridge might have been conspicuously short of quality, but the presence of this fine George Stubbs (1724-1806) canvas of a dark bay in a landscape. right, gave proceedings a lift when it sold at £1.75m to an American collector represented by London dealer Ray Waterhouse in the room.

EDINBURGH dealership Georgian Antiques celebrate their 25th anniversary this September and to mark the occasion partner John Dixon will be available for the whole month for free valuations of furniture and other antiques at their warehouse at 10 Pattison Street, Leith Links.

It is one of the best known moments in sport. Donald Bradman, batsman without peer, arrives at the crease in his final test match at the Oval on August 14 1948, requiring just four runs for a Test career average of 100.

WITH interest in Arts and Crafts and The Celtic Revival resurgent, particularly in Scotland, expect a keen reception for an exhibition to be mounted by the prominent Scottish Arts and Crafts specialists Decorative Arts at Doune.

There has been a proliferation of genuine on-the-premises house sales in the provinces over the past few months, with the latest held by Strides (15% buyer’s premium) of Chichester on July 7 at Cooke’s House in West Burton, near Pulborough, West Sussex.

OXFORD’S Ashmolean Museum has made an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £23m for a major redevelopment of the building. The new proposals for Europe’s oldest museum include a dedicated education centre, 100 per cent more display space and state-of-the-art environmental control.

AFTER 71 years devoted to art dealing in the capital city, the Society of London Art Dealers have voted to extend their membership to firms anywhere in the United Kingdom. The decision, taken at the annual general meeting on July 15, reflects a majority belief within SLAD that the association should be working for fine art dealers throughout the country and not just those with a place of business within 15 miles of Hyde Park Corner.

Galloway Antiques Fairs of Harrogate travel to the heart of the Home Counties for the weekend of July 25 to 27 for the Cranleigh School Antiques Fair. Galloway hold two fairs a year at the famous Surrey school, a 42-exhibitor event at Easter and this summer fixture which hosts around 35. Both are generally fully booked with a waiting list.

Dollar rate deters American teddy bear enthusiasts: Daniel Agnew, the teddy bear specialist at Christie’s South Kensington (17.5/10% buyer’s premium), felt the market was a bit softer than usual for the first of his bi-annual teddy sales on June 10.

FOR 35 years known simply as The Snape Antiques Fair, for its 36th annual staging, from July 17 to 20, East Anglia’s premier antiques event will be re-labelled the Snape Maltings Antiques and Fine Art Fair.

IT seems the Herefordshire town of Leominster has quite a buzzing antiques trade with the accent on the decorative. In particular it is strong on textiles and one of the local dealers in this field is going to bring her speciality to a wider audience.

In addition to those almost ubiquitous geographical crests, the WH Goss factory embellished their finely potted miniature wares less frequently with images of royalty and nobility, flags, buildings, verses and flora and fauna.

“Art Deco may be the movement of the moment, but the French have received more than their fair share of praise,” says seasoned Deco dealer Eccles Jerome, who is determined to redress the balance and put English furniture from the Deco era firmly on the design map.

DRAWING on long-ago mercantile wealth (don’t mention the slave trade or even, these days, tobacco imports) Bristol has for years rewarded visits by dealers looking for fresh material. But of late the city has been raising its profile as a premier league centre for antiques.