1) Mysterious result at Sotheby’s shows the market is ‘stubbornly mercurial’
Experts were left scratching their heads as a portrait of a woman by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872) sold for £28,000 at Sotheby’s that was neither market-fresh nor featuring a known sitter.
Portrait of a young lady by Margaret Sarah Carpenter, £28,000 at Sotheby’s.
2) BBC Show Fake or Fortune? determines Elisabeth Frink sculpture is the real deal
Spoiler alert: The Frink sculpture unearthed at a car boot sale was found to be worth around £60,000 after experts examined it.
Fake or Fortune? presenters Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce with the possible Elisabeth Frink sculpture. Image: BBC Studios/Anna Gordon.
3) Museum steps in to buy Blessington Commode
An important piece of Irish marquetry furniture scheduled to sell in County Louth last week was withdrawn from sale at the 11th hour after a deal was struck with the National Museum of Ireland.
The Blessington Commode bought by the National Museum of Ireland.
4) Provenance creates a heady brew at the Elveden Hall sale
The yesteryear glamour and excitement of the on-the-premises country house sale may never quite be replicated in the age of online platforms and the demise of costly lavish catalogues, but the Sworders country house auction of Elveden Hall boasted not just on-the-premises appeal but connections to the Guinness family and Duleep Singh.
Luke Macdonald of Sworders on the rostrum at Elveden Hall.
