This Saturday, April 17, Thomson, Roddick and Medcalf will hold their first sale – of antiques and general and household effects – at their newly opened Edinburgh and Lothian saleroom.
The new firm is the result of Scottish fine art and antique auctioneers Thomson, Roddick & Laurie merging with Mark Medcalf Associates, independent fine art valuers.
Joining them as a director will be Martin Cornish, formerly of Lyon and Turnbull, and Charles Graham Campbell of Christie’s Scotland, who will be based in Dumfries where Thomson, Roddick & Laurie already have a strong client base. He will be responsible for business development and valuations in the west of Scotland.
The firm’s valuation department, based at 42 Moray Place, Edinburgh, will cover the whole of Scotland and will be headed by Mark Medcalf FSVA, but the new saleroom has been deliberately located in a business park on the outskirts of Edinburgh and near the M8 for accessibility from all over Scotland and the South.
Speaking to the Antiques Trade Gazette last week, managing director Sybelle Medcalf expressed confidence about the prospects for antiques auctions in Scotland, particularly for middle range items.
“We are aiming at the market which is about halfway between Phillips and Lyon & Turnbull,” she explained. “We feel there is a gap to fill and our private clients in particular feel there is a gap when it comes to finding a place to send middle range items for sale.”
Specialist areas the firm is hoping to develop include Scottish provincial silver (to feature in a sale at the Royal Ettrick Hotel in Edinburgh on April 27) and 20th century decorative arts.
Initially, sales will be held every fortnight, but the firm hopes to have introduced weekly sales within three months.
Merger aimed at Scottish sales gap
UK: A NEW joint venture is hoping to fill the gap left by the closure of Christie’s Glasgow salerooms and Lyon and Turnbull’s Edinburgh auction business.
