Mr Del Mar ran the department for Sotheby’s at Olympia and oversaw the arms and armour element of the recent gargantuan Hanover sale. He has now struck a similar deal with Sotheby’s as coins and medal specialists Morton & Eden, costume and textiles specialist Kerry Taylor and sporting memorabilia specialist Graham Budd. These arrangements effectively allow Sotheby’s to buy in the expertise for their sales programme as and when they require it, while allowing the specialists to develop their own businesses and client services.
In Mr Del Mar’s case, he will still be based at Olympia – a policy that makes sense for storage and security purposes – holding two sales a year, one in June, the other in December.
Taking colleagues Ian Eaves and Franciska Ekman with him, he will produce larger catalogues than the traditional Sotheby’s Olympia publications, which will allow for larger images of lots, and he will also drop the Olympia policy of a £1000 minimum lot value so that he can bring in interesting but low-value items to complement collections.
“Our independent structure will make us more flexible for clients which will be key in building business further,” he told ATG.
The sale starts at 2pm. Contact 020 7602 4805 for further details.
Now Sotheby’s contract out arms and armour
WEDNESDAY, December 14 sees Thomas Del Mar Ltd’s inaugural sale of arms and armour at Sotheby’s Olympia.
