UK

Providing a major boost to Bonhams’ first sale in London with room bidding since the lockdown, a portrait of the writer EM Forster by Roger Fry (1866-1934) set an auction record both for the artist and any Bloomsbury Group picture.

International Antiques and Collectors Fairs (IACF) kicked off its return to business with its first event after lockdown.

Jewellery auction house Elmwood’s has opened a new office in London and hired two new staff as business begins to return to normal after the lockdown.

Sotheby’s held the first of this summer’s ‘super sales’ last week as it combined a series of three Modern and Contemporary art auctions into a marathon four-and-a-half hour live-streamed event.

A record price of £10,200 was paid last month for a pen and ink sketch by fell-walking legend Alfred Wainwright at 1818 Auctioneers of Milnthorpe, Cumbria.

Estimated at just £60-80, a rare Ericsson telephone sold for £10,500 (plus 17% buyer’s premium) at Wessex Auction Rooms in Chippenham.

Triannual 'Art & Antiques for Everyone' fair follows the online model for now ahead of scheduled November live event

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 7-23, 2020.

Not to be confused with the modern reissues, the original Vulcain Cricket was marketed in 1947 as the world’s first wristwatch with an alarm.

Topping the Mid-Century Design sale held by Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, was a trademark work by Peter Collingwood (1922-2008) – the British craftsman at the forefront of weaving for 50 years.

Dealer John Martin runs Mayfly Ephemera. Available via ebay and on the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA) website.

The German-born watercolourist and musician John Baptist Malchair (c.1730-1812) was a key figure in 18th century Oxford.

'Still Life with Red Chrysanthemums' is among the works featured at The Fosse Gallery in Stow on the Wold as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. It was painted by Bristol artist Karen Edwards, a regular exhibitor at the now historic gallery.

Presenting some 434 lots and with a total not far short of £1m, a recent sale held by Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) included a rich enough string of successes to outshine a few of the more highly valued lots left unsold.

It has been an undeniably difficult few months for antiques dealers with shops and centres shuttered and fairs cancelled. However, online events such as the recent ‘virtual’ 'Masterpiece' fair have helped generate some business, and many shops are now open under the usual restrictions.