Auctioneers

Becoming the most expensive painting ever sold in Ireland, A Fair Day, Mayo by Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) was knocked down at €1m (£917,430) at Adam's lastest sale in Dublin.

THE thwack of the polo mallet was replaced by the repeated thud of the gavel earlier this month at the Cowdray estate in West Sussex, celebrated as one of the great British polo venues and the seat of the Viscount Cowdray.

ON a sparkling evening at Sotheby’s in Bond Street last Thursday, Henry Wyndham presided over a charity auction in aid of the Company of Arts Scholars, Dealers and Collectors’ charity fund, raising over £60,000 to support the education of young people seeking careers in all areas of the decorative arts from dealing and auctioneering to museums and galleries.

AUCTIONEERS Martel Maides of St Peter Port in Guernsey were amazed to encounter this Channel Islands silver table bell in a recent over-the-counter valuation.

The major houses’ latest New York Asian series highlighted the dominance of the Chinese art market.

THE largest 'Conjuring' sale seen in London for some time, at Bloomsbury Auctions on September 8, had at its core the 460-lot collection of the late Bob Read, a 'Close-Up Entertainer' and lecturer in the UK and USA who was a tireless researcher into the history of magic and conjuring.

CLAUDE Aguttes, the dynamic auctioneer with salerooms at Neuilly and Lyons, has been named president of a new conseil de surveillance or supervisory board to oversee the running of the Hôtel Drouot.

BONHAMS Scotland is to establish two new departments at its Edinburgh headquarters in Queen Street.

BILLED as the largest and most important country house auction of the year, Christie's three-day sale at Cowdray Park in West Sussex, netted £6.4m hammer against a £5m top estimate.

THERE is less than a year to go before the Olympic Games return to Britain for the third time and, rest assured, a number of themed auction sales are already in the pipeline.

Spink have acquired Swiss-based stamp auctioneers Investphila.

STAFFORDSHIRE auctioneers and valuers Cuttlestones have recently opened a second saleroom in Wolverhampton which will host a series of auctions and valuation events throughout the year.

FORTY lots, including luxury holidays, internships and unique visits to museums and stately homes, as well as art and antiques, are to be offered in a grand charity auction at Sotheby's on the evening of September 22 on behalf of the Company of Arts Scholars, Dealers and Collectors. A further 45 lots will be auctioned online at www.i-bidder.com/charityauction

SOTHEBY’S Institute are hosting a one-day conference on the nature of risk at their Bedford Square headquarters on September 23.

SOME fine early English porcelain came up at the latest sale held by Chorley's of Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire.

HUNDREDS of union members and supporters protested outside Sotheby’s Manhattan showroom last week following the lockout of most of its portering staff.

THE uplifting story of how West Auckland FC won ‘the first world cup’ has gone down in the annals of English football.

THE Edinburgh sales at Bonhams and Lyon & Turnbull in August both featured Wemyss wares, offering an opportunity to assess the current market.

AUCTIONEERS Baldwin's have announced the sale of what is being billed as the most important collection of ancient Greek coins to come to auction in nearly a quarter of a century.

The latest sale of Scottish silver at Lyon & Turnbull included a number of early Edinburgh hollowares, including this pair of James VI (I of England) communion cups.