London

THIS well-preserved Charles II delft portrait charger established a new house record for Rosebery's of West Norwood in south east London on December 13 with a hammer price of £105,000.

SILVER dealer Daniel Bexfield has claimed a moral victory over the Burlington Arcade planning row after most of the controversial proposals were withdrawn – and others turned down at the consultation meeting on December 8.

THE strong competition that emerged for some of the most exciting pictures at the latest Old Master sales in London helped lift the series and compensated for the lack of interest at lower levels.

“EUROPE certainly shouldn’t be creating new burdens,” said Chancellor George Osborne as he dismissed plans for a financial transaction tax on the City as “a bullet aimed at the heart of London”.

SOTHEBY’S are to change the format of their sculpture works of art sales in London.

MASTERPIECE London has secured planning permission for the third edition of the lavish marquee fair next year.

A HIGHLIGHT of the autumn Russian art series in London was Sotheby's sell-out 127-lot sale of works from the family of Alexander Benois (1870-1960), a name synonymous with the Ballet Russes.

THE days of informal scrapping of precious metals such as gold and silver could well be numbered after a new Bill was put before Parliament on November 15 to tackle theft.

COMPETITION between major collectors and new players in the market for L.S. Lowry saw a host of dramatic prices in London last week as Christie's offered 14 works from the collection of the late hotel magnate Lord Forte.

HOARDINGS set to block the front entrance of Grays antiques centre in London’s West End for up to three years have already hit trade, say dealers.

ATG Editor-in-Chief Mark Bridge, centre, announced the winners of the Antiques Trade Gazette 2011 Awards for outstanding works of art on sale during Asian Art in London at the Gala Party in The Dome at the Victoria and Albert Museum on November 8.

ALL things Asian were in the spotlight in London last week as the capital celebrated Asian Art in London, with a raft of dealers' shows and specialist auctions.

LONDON Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse has written to the leader of Westminster Council condemning the redevelopment proposals for Burlington Arcade.

DEALERS at Grays antiques centre in Central London were left devastated earlier this month at the news that the hoardings for the Crossrail project at Bond Street station are likely to remain in place immediately outside the premises for at least three years.

Planning issues affecting the future of antique trading in Portobello came to a head last week as councillors and their own planning officers fell out at a public meeting in front of dozens of campaigners.

A LONG-running anti-trust complaint against the Andy Warhol Foundation – one that caused them to close the authentication service – concerned a work denied twice by their board.

SILVER dealer Daniel Bexfield has launched a campaign to prevent developers revamping Burlington Arcade off London’s Piccadilly and getting rid of small independent traders in favour of major luxury brands.

YOU get the impression that the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair does not take itself too seriously – the opening page of the website bears the famous Groucho Marx quotation: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

LONDON’S Frieze week opened with more cautious buying this year as concerns about the impact of the current economic turbulence in Europe and the US were much in evidence.

SLIGHTLY nervy might best describe mood in the opening days of the two big fairs in town last week.