Bellmans

A very rare panorama of 17th century London depicting the city skyline in the wake of the Great Fire of 1666 has sold at auction for £90,000.

Silver across five centuries caught the eye at provincial sales in February.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales below £1700, including a a Francis Cyril Rose self-portrait.

A very different residence to Harold Ward’s Manthorpe House (see Mellors & Kirk story in Auction Reports this edition) supplied the very different contents to the 600-lot single-owner collection, white-glove sale held at Bellmans’ (22% buyer’s premium) Billingshurst saleroom on February 9.

Serendipity had it that three early pieces of European pottery and glass – two of them dated – were offered for sale across a trio of English regional auctions in a matter of days in December.

While five-figure sums for top-end 20th century design furniture are familiar in the international centres of New York, Paris and London, fewer pieces appear in the UK regional market.

While the market shows increasingly discerning tastes, quality definitely counts at auction.

This limited-edition bronze, below, by Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) made £24,000 at West Sussex saleroom Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium).

Standing proud in full riding wear, this early 20th century portrait of a female rider and her two terriers, below, struck a chord with bidders in Sussex.

West Sussex auction house Bellmans has reshuffled its top team following the departure of managing director Jonathan Pratt, who left to join Dreweatts last month.

One of the more unusual clocks on offer this summer was the late 19th century French ‘devil band’ mantel clock that attracted international bidding at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium).

In 1942, the annual ‘Shakespeare Lecture’ at the British Academy was delivered by CS Lewis and called 'Hamlet: the Prince or the Poem?'

A sale of books, maps and ephemera at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) included more than £17,000 worth of 19th and 20th century watercolours and drawings from the stock of a dealer.