1) Buyer sought for auction house Wright Marshall
The parent company of Wright Marshall Fine Art Auctioneers is in administration and a search for a new owner is under way.
Wright Marshall Fine Art Auctioneers continues to trade while a buyer is sought.
2) International organised crime group arrested in €2m rare books heist
Members of a crime gang believed to be behind the 2017 theft of 260 rare books in west London have been arrested in a joint operation with authorities across Romania, the UK and Italy.
Around 260 rare books and manuscripts were stolen in west London in 2017, among them was this annotated copy of Jacobus de Forlivi’s scientific tract (after Giacomo Della Torre) De intensione et remissione formarum c.1476-77. It had a retail price of €58,000.
3) Medieval chess figure believed to be a ‘missing’ piece from the Lewis chessmen set sells at £600,000 at Sotheby’s
A chess figure bought in 1964 in Edinburgh for £5 by an antiques dealer and stored in a drawer for decades has sold at a hammer price of £600,000 at Sotheby’s in London.
The chess figure, bought in 1964 in Edinburgh for £5, has sold at a hammer price of £600,000 at Sotheby’s in London.
4) Ministers block export of 18th century watercolour by “genius” landscape artist
An 18th century watercolour by the artist who John Constable described as a genius has been barred from export in the hope a UK buyer can be found.
This c.1785 17in x 2ft (43 x 62 cm) watercolour by John Robert Cozens (1752-97) ‘The Lake of Albano and Castel Gandolfo’ has been temporarily barred from export.
5) ‘Toulouse Caravaggio’ sold in private sale ahead of planned auction
The painting dubbed the ‘Toulouse Caravaggio’ has been sold in a private sale two days ahead of its planned auction.
The ‘Toulouse Caravaggio’. Image copyright: Cabinet Turquin
This list is based on unique users for individual news stories over the period June 27-July 3, 2019.
