1) The ‘engraving’ that bidders discovered was a JMW Turner drawing
Catalogued as an engraving, bidders believed this picture to be an original JMW Turner drawing for a print in Scott’s Essays.
A somewhat innocuous-looking lot at Hansons (26% buyer’s premium) proved to be anything but as a number of eagle-eyed bidders spotted a JMW Turner drawing.
2) Rare Northwest coast shamanic mask prompts tribal gathering in Royston
Northwest coast shamanic wolf mask, £14,000 at Hansons Ross.
A 19th century Native American wolf mask, once used in religious ceremonies on the Northwest coast, emerged from the obscurity of a £50-100 estimate to bring £14,000 at auction in Hertfordshire.
3) Annual auction totals: Dreweatts takes top spot again in an increasingly selective market
Among the many strong results in the Robert Kime sale at Dreweatts in October was this English School portrait of a man with pickaxe and a spade in a landscape dated 1601. It was estimated at £10,000-15,000 but sold at £400,000.
Regional firms report that while big buyers remain active the middle level is challenging.
4) New faces at auction houses in the UK and overseas
New recruits Ewan Morton and Madison-Rose McDonald.
A new director at a West Sussex firm and expansion in Sheffield are among the latest Movers & Shakers across the world of art and antiques.
5) Sandwich Islands noblewoman sells for 180-times top guide
Liliha, Wife of Bohki, a small early 19th century half-length portrait of a Hawaiian noblewoman sold for $180,000 ($212,400) at Richard Opfer.
Portrait of Sandwich Islands noblewoman who visited London on diplomatic tour in 1824 appears in Maryland auction
