2011

BARNARD Castle auctioneers Addisons are increasing the number of general sales they will hold in 2011.

CHRISTIE’S registered a 53% rise in global auction sales to achieve a record premium-inclusive total of £3.3bn/$5bn for 2010.

THIS locket, believed to contain the hair of Admiral Lord Nelson to one side and Lady Emma Hamilton to the reverse, was previously unknown to Nelson experts but it turned up at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury after being consigned by a vendor in Australia who has family connections to Portsmouth.

DEMAND for fine wines showed no sign of abating at the latest round of auctions in Hong Kong.

AFTER more than 17 months of work, the restoration of the Cucci cabinets, on display at Alnwick Castle since 1930, is complete. The Kent-based conservator Yannick Chastang was chosen to restore what he calls “the most valuable pieces of furniture in the world”.

ANTIQUES including silver was stolen in a raid on a Cotswolds antiques centre in the early hours of Wednesday, January 19.

A SALE of Olympic memorabilia at Vassy-Jalenques SARL in Paris on February 3 includes this rare official Olympic torch from the 1952 Helsinki summer games.

THE parlous state of the English antique furniture market is confirmed this week with a sharp fall in the Antique Collectors' Club's Annual Furniture Index.

CONFUSION reigns over the Export Licensing Unit, whose proposed move to Birmingham from London in a bid to save money was delayed after protests from the London art market.

THE Newark-based fairs organisers B2B Events are launching a fair in May at a new venue in the East Midlands.

THIS exceptional 17th century map, depicting settlements in Canada and North America, was unearthed by Somerset auctioneers Lawrences in the attic of The House of Glennie, near Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

BONHAMS have appointed Fergus Lyons as head of furniture.

ANTIQUITIES dealer Malcolm Hay must wait until February 18 for the appeal against his conviction for trafficking in illegally excavated artefacts to be heard in the Greek courts.

AUCTION Atrium, the Kensington-based auction house established in 2006, have become a member of professional body The Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers.

AUCTIONEERS and dealers should be wary of an absentee buyer who offers to pay by BACS and then have goods collected by taxi.

ESTIMATED at $20,000-30,000, this Vezzi porcelain octagonal teapot and cover attracted great interest among European buyers at the latest sale held by Skinner in Boston.

AUCTION turnover figures for Paris in 2010 show the city’s three major firms – Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Artcurial – gaining market share at the expense of crisis-ridden Drouot.

THIS monumental micromosaic panoramic depiction of Rome, measuring 4ft 11in (1.50m) across, will be offered by Myers Auction Gallery in St Petersburg, Florida on January 30.

YORKSHIRE'S ELR Auctions have moved to new bespoke premises, rebranding as the Sheffield Auction Gallery.

STEPHEN Morris Shipping have moved to new purpose-built premises in Greenford Park.