Art and antiques news from 2008

A Chelsea antiques dealer has been badly injured after taking on an armed gang who smashed up his premises. Ian Towning, the owner of the Bourbon-Hanby Antique Centre, was subjected to months of intimidation, before he fought back when three men wielding sledgehammers and carrying a gun robbed the centre in Sydney Street, London SW3 on the afternoon of Monday June 9.

Morton and Eden have sold 41 Celtic gold coins found by a metal detectorist in Kent for £35,500. The coins, some of which are shown here, were found over a three-year period between 2003 and 2006, scattered over a ploughed field near Westerham in Kent, the precise location of which is being kept secret.

TWO very different scenes of cricket matches in progress sold recently at very different locations. The artists themselves could also hardly be more contrasting: Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) and L.S. Lowry (1887-1976).

APPRENTICE Andy Cunningham will be among those displaying their skills at the Open Weekend being held at the Edward Barnsley Workshop near Petersfield from June 21-22.

Sotheby’s New York and Christie's King Street both withdrew furniture lots provenanced to dealers John and Carlton Hobbs from sale last week – casualties of the unfolding "fake" furniture scandal first exposed by The Sunday Times.

As BBC cameras rolled for live television, Duke’s of Dorchester sold three pieces of purportedly ancient gold for a total of £56,000 on June 5. The consignment, rejected by at least one major London auction house before Duke’s accepted them, has been the source of much opinion since their sale was announced in late May.

A FRENCH court has ruled for the first time that eBay are directly responsible for what is sold on their website.

Hedge funds operating in the art market are shifting their investments from the medium to the short term. That is the view of Randall Willette, managing director of Fine Art Wealth Management Ltd, who was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Art Investment Conference at the London Business School.

THE owners of The Mall in Camden Passage have appealed against the council’s decision to reject their proposals to redevelop the North London antiques centre.

François Nicole, the Geneva-based pioneer of the musical box, is thought to have made around 440 boxes during his working life, but only 60 are known today. Make that 61: courtesy of a local vendor another turned up at Cirencester auctioneer Moore Allen & Innocent on May 30.

DESPITE the latest news concerning the property company and auction firm Humberts, the Cotswolds fine art operation will continue as before.

AWARDS for best stands were presented on June 5, the preview day of the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair, which closes on June 15.

THE auction record for an English clock was broken at Christie's Hong Kong last month when a late 18th century example by horologist Henry Borrell sold for HK$32m (£2.16m).

Building work is now underway at 22 Queen Street, Edinburgh, the site of Bonhams’ new Scottish headquarters. The first auction at the new premises will be The Scottish Sale – the annual themed event timed to coincide with the Edinburgh International Festival – on August 27-29.

A NEW detailed survey of online art market information services concludes that they have a long way to go to be able to provide reliable information for art investors.

Yet another example of a British auction house benefiting from the craze for all things Russian was seen at Welsh auctioneers Rogers Jones of Colwyn Bay on May 27, when international interest clamoured for this Russian plate.

This year’s FA Cup was seen as something of a turn-up with Portsmouth and Cardiff, two teams from outside the Premier League’s top four, reaching the final. But there was a time when the now-mighty Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were nowhere to be seen in the competition.

ESTATE Agents Humberts’ withdrawal from the fine art and antique auctions market has led to new intiatives elsewhere.

BONHAMS have expanded their Australian operations by buying Melbourne auction house Leonard Joel.

THIS week sees a three-day celebration of the art of the lathe organised by the Worshipful Company of Turners.