Latest News Articles by Terence Ryle
Plenty of quality from BADA member of 46 years
12 August 2019The personal enthusiasm of John Braund of Turpin’s Antiques, who died in January aged 90, was early oak and associated metalware.
Music poster group makes major hit at auction
05 August 2019A lot comprising 31 posters plugging top groups and festivals from 1969-72 was the major hit at Bellmans’ (22% buyer’s premium) Photographs, Posters and Prints sale.
Market for late 19th and early 20th century decorative arts is evolving – as are prices
05 August 2019The market for European ‘decorative arts’ – the wealth of late 19th and early 20th century ceramics, metalwork and design – has been in a constant state of flux since it first entered mainstream collecting in the late 1960s. As tastes evolve, so does pricing.
Penzance saleroom hosts first Cornish Asian auction
05 August 2019Penzance auction house David Lay (18% buyer’s premium) is no stranger to the great Chinese boom but in July it staged Cornwall’s first dedicated Asian sale.
Scottish ceramics shine in Stoke
05 August 2019Sold in the heartlands of English ceramics, this example, below, of Scotland’s finest was the estimate-shattering star of Potteries Auctions’ (20% buyer’s premium) July 13-14 sale in Stoke-on-Trent.
Italian sculptures stand out in summer
22 July 2019Italian sculptors were the hottest property as garden statuary flourished at summer sales in the Home Counties.
Jug celebrates a rotten result in 1812 election
22 July 2019Anglicised, Anglican and Tory landowners controlled many aspects of Welsh life in the Georgian period – particularly when it came to politics.
Brahms booms in vinyl revival
15 July 2019The resurrection of vinyl continues apace as was evident when a large collection of classical records offered by Ledbury auction house John Goodwin (15% buyer’s premium) attracted specialist trade and private interest from all over the world.
Aboriginal weapons saved from a skip now sell at auction
15 July 2019Saved at the last minute from a skip, a collection of Aboriginal weapons drew worldwide interest at Martel Maides’ sale in St Peter Port, Guernsey.
Romantic Russians in figure form
15 July 2019The Patriotic War of 1812 stirred up powerful feelings of national pride in Russia.
Louis Vuitton trunk shifts at £7200
15 July 2019Pleased as the vendors were to be told by Gloucestershire auctioneer Martin Lambert that a 1920s trunk from their late parents’ home could be worth £2000, they were happier when pre-sale interest in Tayler & Fletcher’s recent sale brought a revised estimate of £2500-4000.
George II table takes £17,500 and Churchill letters get away
15 July 2019As a reminder of the days when a piece of quality furniture could be expected to top a wide-ranging provincial sale, a George II giltwood and gesso occasional table led the way at Dawson’s (20% buyer’s premium) 550-lot event in Maidenhead.
Glass birds and Mouseman sell in North Yorkshire
15 July 2019The demand for 1960s Pulcini glass birds made by Alessandro Pianon (1931-64) for the Venetian company Vistosi has spiked in recent months.
Musical boxes tune up in two auctions
15 July 2019Two musical boxes catching the eye and ear among the small vertu sections at summer silver sales.
Downsizing of a collection amassed over 15 years results in quality silver on offer
08 July 2019Combining fine 18th and 19th work by major silversmiths with rarities of scholarly interest, the comprehensively catalogued silver sale at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) appealed to specialists across the market spectrum.
Magic Midget makes mighty saleroom price
08 July 2019Racing along to a double-estimate £2400, this tinplate clockwork Tri-ang Magic Midget made by Line Bros in 1933, led the field at the 450-lot toys sale at Gildings (15% buyer’s premium) in Market Harborough on June 24.
Anglo-Italian items earn triple honours in Kent
08 July 2019Art and romance from 19th century Italy, industrialised agriculture from England – two national stereotypes were honoured in triplicate at the Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium).
Surprise new custodian of the Cornish manor has a clear-out
08 July 2019The story of Cornish care worker Jordan Rogers, who proved he was the illegitimate son and legitimate heir to a £50m Penrose mansion, made national headlines in May. It also had a knock-on effect in the auctioneering world.
Church gates lead to bidding battles in two salerooms
01 July 2019In market terms, ecclesiastical gates are not the subject of mass appeal but examples by major 19th century designers certainly had their devotees at two June sales.
Buyer nets a silver tennis bangle
01 July 2019This silver tennis bangle, below, triggered a classic singles match at auction.