UK

Two eye-catching but very different armours, one suited to royal palace style and the other more to purist taste, captured bidders’ attention at a London sale.

From newsletters to viewing rooms, dealers have embraced the internet like never before since lockdown, and now some are experimenting with another new media outlet: podcasts.

At Morphy Auction (20% buyer’s premium) in Denver, Pennsylvania, on August 19 it was an exceptional example of an icon of the pioneering life that had everyone expecting some strong bidding.

A north Italian close helmet for field use, c.1550-60, with etched decoration which made £13,000 at Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) on July 30.

Lawrences’ (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Crewkerne on September 10 featured three swords that came to auction from the family of the ‘Father of the RAF’: Viscount Trenchard GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (1873-1956).

Jane Austen was among the names to note in a recent Norfolk sale, with the day’s top bid securing a four-volume, 1818 first of Northanger Abbey & Persuasion.

London ceramics dealer and Swedish Nordic design specialist team up for joint show

Letter highlights early fossil fan Mary Anning who is soon to be the subject of a film.

Silver by major names from the early to late years of last century were major eyecatchers at the Lacy Scott & Knight (20% buyer’s premium) 20th Century Design Sale in Bury St Edmunds.

Jean-David Malat founded Mayfair Contemporary art business JD Malat Gallery in 2017. He is among the participants in this year’s Mayfair Art Weekend.

Despite the latest Covid-19 demands, fair organisers are finding ways to go ahead.

On the same day as Chiswick Auctions’ British & European Fine Art auction (see main report), a sale of Old Master Paintings & Drawings took place immediately beforehand. Comprising nearly 50 lots, it totalled £102,500 including buyer’s premium.

A painting of apple blossom by the Austrian Impressionist Olga Wisinger-Florian (1844-1926) drew a five-way online bidding battle at Canterbury Auction Galleries (24% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on August 1.

Claude Francis Barry’s wartime work The Heart of the Empire, Our Finest Hour, 1940, is among the highlights coming up at Liss Llewellyn’s second season of Hidden Gems.

You might not have been able to get to Portobello Road antiques market on Sunday, September 27, but you could have tried instead a fair on Instagram which ran on the same day from 11am to 1pm.