London

Veteran antique arms and armour specialist David Williams is joining the Olympia Auctions team as senior consultant.

From elegant furniture by Scandinavian designers to stand-out lamps and decorative pieces… the lines, materials and simplicity that characterise interiors items from the mid-century modern period appeal to a wide range of buyers.

As this year commemorates VE and VJ days, there are likely to be even more collectors and dealers than usual converging on the first of 2025’s biannual Britannia Medal Fairs on Sunday, May 11.

Chairs were in particular demand at the Dulwich biannual Mid-century event

A letter from Robert Falcon Scott – aka Scott of the Antarctic – came up for sale at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) on April 11-14.

In a loss to the sector, Bonhams has shelved its sales of Japanese works of art in London. Specialist Suzannah Yip, who had led Bonhams’ department for 18 years, has left the company after a decision was taken to move operations to Paris.

Seven works by Ithell Colquhoun (1906-88) lead Bonhams’ inaugural British Surrealism sale running until May 1.

Abbott and Holder is hosting an exhibition from April 24-May 10 celebrating the work of John Sutcliffe, one of the great decorative painters and colour experts of his generation.

In 1950, the Swiss artist, architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) joined his cousin Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier) to create a new capital of Punjab.

Guy Peppiatt has produced a new catalogue which is a combined effort with Emma Rutherford: the first time the two dealers have collaborated in this way, though they have worked together in the past.

Oxfam discoveries from a pile of donations include Chinese religious rarity, Communist manifesto and Dickens

Last week in this column we mentioned dealer Gerard Coles who told us that among the fairs and events that he exhibits at, the Spotlight Market in Hackney “keeps me young”.

Books dealership Peter Harrington’s latest catalogue explores how technology has shaped, controlled, and empowered the voiceless, while fuelling the flow of information and culture.