Scotland

Two Charles Rennie Mackintosh chairs made for Glasgow’s Argyle Street Tea Rooms starred at Lyon & Turnbull’s Decorative Arts sale in Edinburgh last week.

“We are full up at our antiques and vintage fair in Edinburgh later this month with 250 tables booked,” said Helen Yourston, director of B2B Events.

Pictures formed a prominent part of Lyon & Turnbull’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) Kirkton House sale earlier this month as the contents of the Regency manse near Montrose were dispersed from the auction house’s Edinburgh saleroom.

This large, rare Victorian doorstop depicting Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie as it is inscribed, is offered by Malcolm Eglin Antiques for £395 at the next Galloway fair.

Formerly in the collections of a distinguished English bibliophile, Major John Roland Abbey, a copy of Luigi Mayer’s well-known set of Views in Egypt, Palestine and the Ottoman Empire was one of the highlights of a recent Scottish sale.

At a time when catering for niche interests is a profitable path for auctioneers, recent sales in Scotland, Ireland and England have shown that the furniture market can still come to life – provided it meets three criteria.

A private collection of more than 30 pieces of Pilkington’s Lancastrian lustre excelled when offered at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on October 10.

Two leading regional auction houses – Lyon & Turnbull and Dreweatts – are trying new format sales this autumn in the hope of increasing demand for traditional European art and antiques. Both are creating room sets for viewing works.

Auction house Lyon & Turnbull hails the encouraging return of American interest at its September 5 sale.

August is the month when Scotland takes it up a notch while the rest of the art world has a breather.

This watercolour, below, by Frederic Whiting (1874-1962) took a multi-estimate £2500 at Thomson Roddick’s (15% buyer’s premium) Edinburgh saleroom on August 9.

August can be a quiet time for exhibition-goers as dealers head off home or on holiday following the busier days of June and July. But some galleries take the summer as an opportunity to display an assortment of stock.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Not every Victorian silver tea and coffee service was sold for scrap in the great meltdown of 2011– when at one point the price reached almost £30 per oz.